Botulism| Michigan Food Poisoning Lawyers
Posted by
Daniel BuckfireSeptember 29, 2008 5:06 PMTags: Michigan,
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Botulism The Michigan food poisoning lawyers at our firm frequently handle cases involving clients who have contracted Botulism food poisoning. These cases frequently involve people who have become ill after eating food that was prepared in unsanitary restaurants, day-care centers, nursing homes, camps, or under any other unsanitary conditions.
Botulism is an infection of the small intestine caused when the Clostridium botulinum bacteria enters the body through cuts and wounds or when the bacteria is ingested after being stored in improperly canned, preserved, or packaged food. The natural environment for the bacteria is soil and untreated water, but it can live for a prolonged period of time in improperly stored food, such as home-canned vegetables, cured pork and ham, smoked or raw fish, and honey or corn syrup.
Botulism Symptoms include:
- Abdominal cramps
- Weak breathing, which may eventually lead to breathing failure and death
- Dry mouth
- Difficulty swallowing and speaking
- Double vision
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Weakness, which may eventually lead to paralysis
- Constipation
- Weak cry and weak feeding/sucking (infants)
Botulism presents a very serious health threat and can be fatal if left untreated. Like other forms of food poisoning, botulism also carries associated risks of dehydration. Also like other forms of food poisoning, botulism is particularly dangerous for young children, the elderly, people who are or recently have been sick, and most especially infants. Prompt medical treatment can greatly decrease the danger of long-term and permanent damage. Anyone who may be suffering from Botulism food poisoning should drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and should seek medical attention immediately.
Reporting your illness, either through ReportFoodPoisoning.com, or directly to your health department, allows your health department to identify outbreaks and prevent others from becoming sick. Persons suffering illness from food poisoning can also pursue their legal rights against the restauarant or seller of food.