(№52) SPECIALIST’S ROSTRUM

Botulism being a very dangerous disease appears with the symptoms of gastroenteritis. The poison separated in the process of the disease brings to a respiratory and cardiovascular muscle paralysis as a result of the effects to the central nervous system. If the aid is not shown on time the disease may occur with serious complications, can even end with death.

Consuming stale or expired canned food is the main factor that causes botulism disease. In smoked meat products, canned goods prepared without enough thermal processing (not well-boiled, not sterilized) a favorable environment will appear for the survival of botulism causatives and the disease causatives produce a powerful poisonous substance (botulotoksin) from itself.

Botulotoksin doesn’t lose its power up to one year in external environment, several years in canned goods. The most dangerous thing of this is the color, smell and taste of stale product don’t change. In some cases, the lid of glass jar of canned products are raised a little (swelling) is seen.

The main symptoms of the disease can be shown during two hours, a week or ten days. This can be shown as the form of circumstances such as weakness on a patient, nausea, vomiting, appearin of things being two (diplopia), difficulty in speaking and swallowing, dysfunction in the arms and legs.

Dear compatriots, if you feel such characters on you, contact the doctor immediately. Remember, this disease cannot be cured at home.

A special serum against poison is used in medicine. The earlier serum is sent into the body of a patient suffering from botulism, the less risk of death is decreased.

What should be paid attention in order to prevent the disease? First of all, preparing home canning products is not recommended. If the products needed to prepare at home, housewives, first and foremost, need to comply with sanitary requirements, and secondly, canning technology is well studied, and start to prepare them. Otherwise, they may put at risk the lives of their relatives, neighbors, guests who visit the family. If we consider that the canned goods are consumed more in winter season, housewives must pay a serious attention to their quality, not absolutely allow use canned goods which look suspicious in appearance.

Nigorakhon VASIEVA,

Munojatkhon SUFIBEKOVA,

doctors of the family clinic № 6 in the city of Andijan.