Natural food poisoning medication and from a doctor

Food poisoning often occurs due to indiscriminate snacking due to consuming food or drinks that are contaminated with bacteria, parasites, or viruses. If it has already happened, what are the drugs that can treat food poisoning?

Home remedies to treat food poisoning

Symptoms of food poisoning usually appear within hours after you eat or drink something contaminated with germs. But generally, you don't need medical medication if your symptoms are mild.

Basically, this condition can heal itself in the next 1-2 days. However, there are some drinks and foods that can help you recover quickly.

1. Water

Water is often referred to as a natural remedy for those of you who experience food poisoning. When poisoning, the most common symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting. This will reduce the amount of body fluids.

In order not to lead to dehydration, you must drink more water. After vomiting or having a bowel movement, drink one glass of water to replace wasted fluids.

You can also replenish your body fluids by drinking warm broth with a flavor that tends to be bland, such as chicken soup or clear vegetables. Do not drink broth with strong, spicy, or oily spices, as this will make the condition worse.

2. Low-fiber foods

Some foods such as white rice, toasted white bread, and bananas can also be a remedy to help you recover during food poisoning.

These foods are low in fiber and fat, making it easier for the intestine to digest when it is inflamed.

3. Ginger tea

Ginger is one of the ingredients most often used as medicine to treat several disorders of the digestive system.

Thanks to its anti-inflammatory, pain-fighting, antibacterial and antioxidant properties, ginger spices can soothe a choked stomach.

Ginger can also reduce nausea. This is because one of the substances contained in ginger has a function to block toxins from bacteria and helps prevent fluid buildup in the intestines.

You can mix warm ginger tea to get this benefit. To do this, peel the ginger clean to the size of 1 - 4 cm and boil it in a pot of water until it boils. Drink ginger tea 1-2 times a day.

4. Probiotic foods

Food sources of probiotics contain good bacteria that can balance the bad bacteria in the gut. Probiotics can also help your body regenerate lost healthy bacteria and improve the work of the digestive system and the body's immune system.

Usually, you have to wait until your stomach begins to recover, then start eating foods with antibiotics. You can get its intake from yogurt or boiled tempeh.

5. Take a break

Apart from trying natural remedies, resting at home is one of the highly recommended treatment steps when you experience food poisoning.

By resting, you will give your body time to repair deep tissue that has been damaged by viral and bacterial infections. Rest also helps supply enough energy to fight bacteria that cause food poisoning.

When to see a doctor?

In some cases, food poisoning can cause more severe symptoms or last more than three days. If so, symptoms can lead to severe dehydration.

Be vigilant if you experience symptoms such as:

a mouth that feels very dry,
extreme thirst,
little or no urine comes out,
dark colored urine,
fast heart rate,
decreased blood pressure,
the body feels weak and lethargic,
dizziness, especially when you move from sitting to standing,
dazed,
feces and vomit containing blood,
tingling hands, or
fever above 38 ° Celsius.

Immediately go to the nearest hospital emergency room to get proper food poisoning treatment.

Medicines that doctors give when food poisoning

Below are some of the food poisoning medications that will be given by the doctor.

1. Oral rehydration

Quoted from the Clinical Guidelines of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, the first-line treatment in hospitals for food poisoning is rehydration.

Rehydration will be given with drugs or supplements containing electrolytes (sodium and glucose), generally in the form of ORS.

The doctor also may order an IV containing an isotonic sodium chloride solution, and Ringer's Lactate solution.

Your doctor's oral rehydration medication will work more quickly to replace the electrolyte fluid you lose when you experience food poisoning.

2. Adsorbent type drugs

In addition, you will likely be given adsorbent drugs such as kaopectate and aluminum hydroxide.

This medicine helps solidify the stool if diarrhea from food poisoning lasts a long time. This medicine is only used if your diarrhea condition lasts for more than a few days.

3. Antibiotics

Antibiotics such as cotrimoxazole or cefixime may be given to your doctor if the cause of your food poisoning is certain bacteria, such as an infection Salmonella typhii or Listeria. The drug works to inhibit the growth of bacteria that enter the body.

Antibiotic drugs can also work if the symptoms of food poisoning are caused by a parasitic infection.

However, if the cause of your food poisoning is due to a viral infection, the doctor will provide other treatments. Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics.

4. Paracetamol

Please note, food poisoning can also cause fever and headache symptoms. Fever appears as an inflammatory effect that occurs when the immune system is fighting an infection. Meanwhile, headaches are triggered by dehydration.

To fix this, the doctor will provide paracetamol, which can be in the form of oral or intravenous drugs. However, infusions are usually given to patients with infants or children. Paracetamol will work by reducing pain and reducing fever.

Things that must be considered when dealing with food poisoning

When taking medication or taking treatments to treat food poisoning, you must also adopt some healthy habits to speed up recovery.

You should avoid consuming foods and drinks that are difficult for the body to digest, such as foods high in fat and fiber, spicy foods, fried foods, caffeinated drinks and alcoholic beverages. It is feared that these foods will worsen the diarrhea you are experiencing.

Make sure you only eat food that is clean and free from germs. Be careful when storing, washing, and processing ingredients into a food menu. Always wash your hands before and after cooking, clean fruit and vegetables, and use clean utensils.

The next important thing is not to take medication without a doctor's prescription. For example, suppose you want to stop diarrhea during food poisoning by taking an anti-diarrheal medicine. You shouldn't do this.

Diarrhea is the body's reaction to remove toxins from the body. When you take diarrhea medicine, it slows down your digestion, making the toxins or germs that cause diarrhea stay in your body longer. In the end, the symptoms will be experienced longer.

If you want to use chemical drugs, always consult your doctor to ensure their safety.