Home Remedies for Food Poisoning

If your perfect picnic and tasty egg salad sandwich has turned into a not so perfect case of food poisoning, you may be debating whether or not the day has to end with a trip to the hospital or drug store. While food poisoning may feel like pure torture in the form of vomiting and diarrhea, oftentimes these ailments can be cured at home. Antibiotics are rarely needed for food poisoning and the only cases that usually need stomach pumping are in severe cases of poison or contaminated foods with pesticides or poisonous mushrooms.

If you feel the onset of indigestion and worry that it may be food poisoning, a common remedy in India is to mix 3-4 drops of mint essence with water and drink the mixture. This mixture helps to calm acidity and discomfort in the stomach. Although it may not cure and eliminate the bacteria (this is mostly done through the body's natural method of elimination) it will help ease the side effects of food poisoning. Another recommended method is the usage of charcoal powder (1/4 cup) or tablets mixed with water. Charcoal powder is believed to absorb toxins and pollutants.

If the steps mentioned above are not successful, then you need to follow these next steps. The excessive amount of liquid lost in a short period of time because of diarrhea and vomiting can result in dehydration. Therefore, most importantly you should be taking steps to make sure that your body stays hydrated in order to avoid worsening your condition, try to stay in the bed and rest at the same time. To begin with you should continuously take sips of clear liquids while avoiding caffeinated and sugary drinks.

If your body is tolerating the liquids and you are no longer vomiting or experiencing diarrhea then you should attempt eating some foods that are easy on the stomach. The types of food that you should begin eating are plain starchy foods such as saltine crackers, bread, rice or potatoes. Many believe that the starches in the food actually help to absorb the poison in the system.

Finally, although you may be wishing the poisoning would quickly pass, the best home remedy is time. Usually in 24 hours the body should be well on its way to recovery. All of the things mentioned above should be able to aid you with the side effects of food poisoning, but your own body is often working the hardest to purge the impurities.

Sources:

http://firstaid.webmd.com/food-poisoning-treatment

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/home-remedy-foodpoisoning.html