Stay away from digestive tract infectious diseases, you need to know this secret

"We pay a lot of attention to food hygiene, how come we still have gastroenteritis?" Recently, the Department of Gastroenterology of our hospital has admitted many patients with acute gastroenteritis, bacillary dysentery and other digestive tract diseases, most of whom are elderly. Many patients are puzzled by this.

After careful questioning, the doctor found that these patients had a common habit, **often leaving unfinished food on the table covered instead of in the refrigerator; or not heating up leftovers from lunch and eating them with dinner. **65-year-old Granny Cai had a good reason:

"You can't put hot food directly into the refrigerator, it will waste electricity."

Experts from Jinyintan Hospital remind us that summer is a hot season for gastrointestinal infectious diseases. If food is not stored properly and is contaminated by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, it can easily cause gastrointestinal dysfunction or damage, resulting in nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and affect health, especially for the elderly and children.

As long as the temperature is right, the bacteria in the food will multiply rapidly

In fact, food is usually contaminated with bacteria, including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella. There is no problem when the number is small, but once it multiplies in large numbers, problems will arise when it is eaten.

There are many factors that affect bacterial proliferation, including the nutritional content, pH, water content, cooking methods, etc. of food, but the greatest and most common factor is temperature .

So, what are the suitable and unsuitable temperatures for bacterial proliferation?

Studies have shown that most bacteria cannot survive above 60°C , and below 4°C , bacterial proliferation slows significantly (not to say it stops). In the range of 60°C to 4°C, bacteria can grow relatively quickly, so 4°C to 60°C is also called the "dangerous temperature zone" for food.

In addition, 35℃ to 37℃ is the optimal growth temperature for common foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus. Wuhan is hot in the summer, and the food is about this temperature when it is cooled. Therefore, the shorter the stay time of food before entering the refrigerator, the better.

Every minute you leave it at room temperature increases the risk.

At the same time, leftovers taken out of the refrigerator must be heated thoroughly before eating.

When putting food in the refrigerator, do the following: As soon as possible + seal it

The best way to reduce the growth rate of pathogenic microorganisms on food is to shorten the time the food spends in the "temperature danger zone" after it is cooked. In layman's terms, any food you are not going to eat should be cooled to below 4°C as soon as possible.

How fast is as soon as possible?

Even if it's a dish that's just out of the pot and you don't plan to eat it right away, you can seal it and put it in the refrigerator.

In a word, the principle is to put it in while it is hot. The sooner it is cooled, the safer it is.

Here we must emphasize that raw and cooked food should be separated, vegetables and fruits should be separated, and they should be sealed and stored. This can not only prevent the food from tainting each other, but also reduce water evaporation, which has many benefits.

In addition to cooked dishes, bought dishes that are not to be eaten immediately should also be put in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and other foods that need to be refrigerated should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours; if the room temperature exceeds 32°C, this time should be shortened to 1 hour. Experts remind Cheng Hailin, deputy director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Jinyintan Hospital, that the main symptoms of gastrointestinal infectious diseases are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, with or without fever. Fever is more common in children, which can easily cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, and severe cases may cause shock.

With the arrival of summer, the temperature rises and food spoils easily. After eating unclean food, the disease can develop in as little as a few hours. The onset is acute, with the main symptoms being vomiting and diarrhea. The abdominal pain is mainly in the middle and upper abdomen. The diarrhea may occur several times a day in mild cases and more than ten times a day in severe cases. Invasive bacterial infections may cause mucus, pus and blood in the stool due to damage to the intestinal mucosa. Some patients also have symptoms such as fever, headache, and myalgia. If you have the above symptoms, please seek medical attention immediately to avoid delaying the onset of severe illness.