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Food Poisoning Infection
vs.
Food Poisoning Intoxication
What’s the difference?
There are a number of ways in which food can make you sick. Chemicals, heavy metals, foreign objects, food-infesting insects, parasites, fungi, viruses and bacteria are all possible causes.
The greatest and by far most common risk of becoming ill or dying from food is from contamination with harmful microorganisms, commonly known as germs. The likelihood of becoming seriously ill by microorganisms is far greater than that of pesticide risks, environmental contaminants, nutritional imbalances, food additives and natural toxicants.
Microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, molds, parasites and more. Bacteria and viruses are by far the major cause or source of foodborne illness cases in most of the world.
Microbial food poisonings or foodborne illnesses mainly fall into one of two categories. The first is food infection, where the microorganism itself grows inside your body and is the source of your symptoms. The second is food intoxication, where a chemical or natural toxin (often produced as a by-product of bacteria present in the food - known as an exotoxin) causes your symptoms or illness. Most bacterial food poisonings are actually food infections.
The symptoms of food infection and food intoxication are similar. Both can produce food poisoning related symptoms: headaches, vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, dehydration and so it is not always clear which you are experiencing.
Here Are Some Differences That You Can See in Many Cases:
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Food Intoxication – more prevalent symptoms include nausea and vomiting and the onset time or time between consumption of food and first sign of symptoms is shorter. This makes sense because essentially you are experiencing a chemical poisoning and your body tends to react or respond quicker. Depending on the amount of toxin present and your body’s reaction, you can experience symptoms in as little as 2 hours after consumption. The most common microorganisms responsible for food intoxications include Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157, Clostridium perfigens, Clostridium botulinum Food Infection – more prevalent symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever and chills (fever and chills will be more rare in an intoxication). With an infection, remember it is the actual cells, or virus that is causing your symptoms and it takes time for the cells to reproduce and start attacking your intestine or other parts or your body in the case of viruses. |
The most common microorganisms responsible for food infections include Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Norwalk Viruses, and Hepatitis A
Depending on the severity of your symptoms, or if you are a higher risk person, (infant, child, elderly person, pregnant woman, or an already ill person with weakened immune system i.e. cancer, kidney disease, diabetes etc.) the treatment for either will be the same – rest, light fluids etc.
If you end up at the doctor’s office or a hospital, the medical treatment will most likely depend on whether you are experiencing intoxication or an infection. The main treatment for bacterial infection is antibiotics. For intoxication, the treatment will further depend on the type of source and/or type of toxin and may just involve medications or methods to flush the toxin out of your system.
About the Author
Michael Doom worked as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) for Los Angeles County for more than 21 years. For most of these years he worked as a field inspector and Supervising Senior REHS in the retail food inspection programs. His experience within Los Angeles County has taken him to some of the smallest “mom and pop” restaurants and markets in the poorest areas of south Los Angeles, as well as to the largest facilities and affluent areas on the west side. He has literally conducted thousands of inspections of numerous types of restaurants, food markets, warehouses, events, and more; educated hundreds, if not more than a thousand, food facility owners, managers and employees on food sanitation and food safety, and how to prevent food poisoning hazards; has supervised more than 50 field inspectors that were responsible for an inventory of food facilities larger than many U.S. states.
Mr. Doom has a B.S. in Biology from Loyola Marymount University, an REHS with the state of California, holds a Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential from the Project Management Institute, and a Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University. Mr. Doom continuously works to expand his knowledge and experience in the subject of food safety, sanitation and food poisoning prevention.
He can be reached at Mike@foodpoisoningprevention.com