For some, the holiday season rhymes with indigestion or intoxication.

Before the New Year, Jimmy Mohamed gives you back the keys to identify one or the other and, above all, gives valuable advice to avoid them!

This is unfortunately one of the possible consequences of the (too) copious meals which punctuate the end of year celebrations: indigestion.

This is particularly what happened to Geoffrey, an auditor who explains having had a bad experience last year with his stepfather's lobster, which made him sick all night.

He would therefore like to avoid making the same mistake and wondering how not to be sick "from a digestive point of view", when he is about to face a food marathon again.

In "Sans Rendez-vous", Doctor Jimmy Mohamed takes stock of these pathologies and gives his advice to avoid having a bad memory of these end-of-year celebrations, which already promises to be special because of the health context. 

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Respect the cold chain

This is the first rule to follow, and one of the main reasons for poisoning: the cold chain.

"When you go shopping, and you put the oysters in a bag before going to other businesses, you break the cold chain", explains Jimmy Mohamed.

"Oysters are then reserves for bacteria and therefore reserves for vomit."

Same thing with leftovers: often the mistake is made of leaving food out of the fridge for too long.

"We must therefore remember to put food back in the fridge as quickly as possible and not leave it lying around on the table."

Intoxication or indigestion?

By the way, what's the difference between indigestion and intoxication?

The first is discomfort: you eat more than usual and you will see a massive intake of fat.

As a result, you will feel bloated and have a bit of diarrhea the next day or two. 

Food poisoning is linked to spoiled food.

You will therefore have digestive signs quickly and those around you who have eaten the same thing will be sick.

It is most commonly a viral infection with norovirus.

But you can also be prone to bacterial infections like listeria, campylobacter, salmonella. 

The digestive signs are different depending on the person.

Some people vomit the food quickly, in less than an hour.

They thus get rid of the foreign body which does not have time to pass the barrier of the duodenum, between the stomach and the intestine.

So they won't even have diarrhea.

But some don't vomit right away.

The bacteria therefore pass through the duodenum, between the stomach and the intestine.

They will therefore have abdominal pain, cramps, very watery diarrhea.

Sometimes, depending on the bacteria or virus, it is even possible to have blood in the stool and temperature.

Some infections can be serious.

Knowing when to see the doctor

First, watch the setting in which the poisoning occurs.

If it affects an elderly person, with multiple pathologies, or a toddler, it can be serious.

The person will become dehydrated much more quickly.

Second thing: the severity of the poisoning depends on the bacteria that infected the person.

If it's a little staphylococcus, it's usually not a big deal, the person has diarrhea and it's okay.

On the other hand, listeria monocytogenes, which represents 0.1% of infections but 25% of cases of mortality.

If ever the affected person has blood in the stool, a high temperature, that it does not improve or is at risk, it is necessary to consult quickly.