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Tips to Prevent Food Poisoning This Summer 

If you have ever suffered from food poisoning, you’ll know how horrible it is. Contracting it over summer can be particularly disappointing as it forces you to miss out on sunny days, social gatherings, and summer fun. What’s worse is contracting it while you’re on vacation, away from home and your medical resources.

Food poisoning occurs when microorganisms develop on food, particularly protein sources such as meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs. Keep in mind that food items like these are not sterile when you get them, making it easy to ingest the microorganisms on this food or to cross-contaminate other items.

Our Top Tips to Prevent Food Poisoning

 Wash your hands

Wash your hands thoroughly with cleanser and water then pat hands dry. Always wash your hands before handling food and immediately after touching raw meat, eggs, and fish. Washing your hands before eating is also important, whether you cooked the food yourself or ordered it in a restaurant.

• Wipe down worktops

Always wipe down the work surfaces before and after cooking with hot, soapy water. If you cook with meat, fish, or eggs, be especially sure to wipe down the surfaces thoroughly.

• Use a separate chopping board

Utilize different cutting boards for raw meat, vegetables, and cooked food. This habit is simple but can stop the spread of dangerous microorganism from being passed to each food product.

• Check use-by dates

Pay attention to use-by and best-before dates. Throw out anything that is past its use-by date, and check products past their best-before date for mold, unpleasant smells, changes in consistency that will signal that they are past their prime and should not be consumed.

• Make sure food is thoroughly cooked

Whether at home or away on vacation, food should be piping hot throughout and visibly cooked. Do not eat meat that is red or bloody.

These tips should help to keep food poisoning at bay this summer. For all of your health concerns and any of your medical needs, visit Sand Canyon Urgent Care. We welcome walk-in patients. Our onsite diagnostic and lab facilities help us to best serve you and your loved ones. Call us at (949) 536-7892 or visit us here to get started!

What You Should Know About Heat Stroke This Summer

Heat stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when the body can no longer cool itself. The body suffers from dehydration as it can’t release internal heat into the environment, resulting in core temperatures of over 104 degrees Fahrenheit. As you can imagine, this is neither pleasant or comfortable. The worst part is that many people aren’t aware they are in danger of heat stroke until it’s too late.

What is heat stroke?

Heat stroke occurs when your body’s natural process to cool the body fail. Generally, this occurs as a progression from milder heat-related illnesses, such as heat cramps, fainting, or heat exhaustion. It results from prolonged exposure to high temperatures, usually in conjunction with dehydration. In turn, this leads to the failure of the body’s temperature control system.

Symptoms of heat stroke

The most reliable symptom of heat stroke is having a core body temperature above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Other symptoms may include:

• Throbbing headache
• Dizziness and light-headedness
• Minimal sweating despite the heat
• Red, hot, and dry skin
• Severe headache
• Muscle weakness or cramps
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dark-colored urine
• Confusion, disorientation or staggering
• Seizures

Treating heat stroke

If you suspect that someone has heatstroke, seek medical attention immediately. If possible, take the person’s core body temperature and initiate first aid to cool it to 101 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. These cooling strategies can help:

• Place the patient in an air-conditioned room
• Fan air over the patient while wetting his or her skin with water from a sponge
• Apply ice packs to the patient’s armpits, groin, neck, and back
• Immerse the patient in a bath of cool water
• Loosen any tight clothing
• If muscle cramps occur, gently stretch the affected muscles to ease the pain
• If unconscious or not fully conscious, place him or her in the recovery position

If you or a loved one experience any symptoms of heat stroke, visit Sand Canyon Urgent Care immediately. If a higher level of care is needed, our triage staff and/or providers will direct patients to the appropriate specialist or to an emergency room for further treatment. Call us today for more information!