Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Food poisoning from eating fish
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Around fifty thousand people worldwide annually contract ciguatera fish poisoning, making it the most common form of food poisoning from ingestion of contaminated fish by 2020. In this form of food poisoning, various symptoms arise from ingesting certain fish that contain toxins (poisons). Some signs include dry mouth, vomiting, abdominal cramps and joint pain, but in severe cases breathing difficulties and coma are possible. Immediate medical follow-up is necessary for all patients as symptoms evolve rapidly in some patients. No antidote is known, but symptomatic and supportive treatment is needed. The overall outlook is very good, but at times the signs are life-threatening and patients die.
Causes: Fish contaminated with ciguatera toxins
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Ciguatera is a form of food poisoning
Symptoms
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The condition is characterized by a wide range of gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines), neurological and cardiovascular symptoms. The onset of symptoms occurs after a few minutes to 30 hours after ingestion of toxic fish. The typical features appear between one and six hours and include abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and watery diarrhea. In some cases numbness and paresthesias (tingling) of the lips, tongue and throat occur. Cold allodynia is also possible. This involves a change in temperature perception in patients where touching cold surfaces causes a burning sensation or an unpleasant, abnormal sensation. Other described features are malaise (a general feeling of sickness), dry mouth (xerostomia), a metallic taste in the mouth, muscle pain, joint pain, blurred vision, photophobia (hypersensitivity to light) and transient blindness. In more severe cases, hypotension (low blood pressure), salivation, watery eyes, a (itchy) rash, chills, shortness of breath, slow heart rate (bradycardia), coma
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11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
Treating food poisoning
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Treatment of fish poisoning is symptomatic, although in some patients atropine reduces some of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal signs. In addition, some doctors recommend administering charcoal (antidote) in conjunction with pumping out the stomach. The charcoal absorbs the toxin if given up to four hours after ingestion. Furthermore, an administration with moisture is necessary if dehydration symptoms are present. In addition, osmotic diuretics (water pills) are available to reduce symptoms. Over-the-counter pain relievers (NSAIDs) are also helpful for pain relief
Disorder Complications
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About one in ten patients with severe symptoms will die of ciguatera fish poisoning. Typically, however, only 0.5% of all fish poisoning patients die.