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Botulism - Symptoms, Causes and Prevention

Botulism in Urdu

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Doctors For Botulism

General Physician in Lahore - Dr. Muhammad Nouman Anjum

Dr. Muhammad Noum...

4.9 / 5 (1606 Reviews)

Experience: 9 years

Rs. 1,500

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Gastroenterologist in Lahore - Asst. Prof. Dr. Mujahid Israr

Asst. Prof. Dr. M...

4.9 / 5 (1174 Reviews)

Experience: 15 years

Rs. 2,500

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Family Medicine in Lahore - Dr. Asim Allah Bakhsh

Dr. Asim Allah Ba...

4.9 / 5 (632 Reviews)

Experience: 25 years

Rs. 1,500

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General Physician in Lahore - Dr. Waqas Gondal

Dr. Waqas Gondal

4.9 / 5 (87 Reviews)

Experience: 7 years

Rs. 500

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Pulmonologist / Lung Specialist in Lahore - Dr. Muhammad Taimour

Dr. Muhammad Taim...

4.9 / 5 (784 Reviews)

Experience: 45 years

Rs. 2,000

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Endocrinologist in Quetta - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suresh Kumar

Assoc. Prof. Dr....

4.9 / 5 (1469 Reviews)

Experience: 15 years

Rs. 2,000

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Summary about Botulism in English

Botulism is one of the most dangerous foodborne illnesses. Although it is rare, it may cause paralysis and can be life-threatening. Botulism is mainly linked with canning vegetables and fruits at home. Those commercially canned foods may carry a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, that releases a neurotoxin, attacking the nervous system. It is possible to get Botulism besides food poisoning.

Symptoms of Botulism

Symptoms of Botulism may appear from 6 hours to 10 days after initial infection. On average, foodborne and infant Botulism symptoms appear between 12 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food.

Symptoms of infant botulism include:

  • difficulty feeding
  • constipation
  • irritability
  • tiredness
  • drooling
  • weak cry
  • drooping eyelids
  • paralysis
  • loss of head control and the floppy movements due to weakening of muscles

Signs of wound or foodborne Botulism include:

  • facial weakness
  • difficulty in swallowing or speaking
  • blurred vision
  • trouble breathing
  • drooping eyelids
  • paralysis
  • nausea, abdominal cramps and vomiting, only in foodborne Botulism

Causes of Botulism

Causes of Botulism depend upon its type, which includes:

  • Wound Botulism occurs when an organism enters the open wound and starts producing toxins there. Injection drug users are at significant risk of this type of Botulism.
  • Foodborne Botulism is caused by consuming foods that contain the Botulinum toxin.
  • Infant Botulism happens when infants consume either bacteria or its spores, which grows in their gut. 
  • Iatrogenic Botulism may occur when you overdose on a Botulism toxin or botox.
  • Adult intestinal colonization occurs when the bacteria colonize your digestive tract. It is a rare form of Botulism.

Risk Factors of Botulism

Specific actions that increase the risk of getting Botulism include:

  • Injecting certain drugs like black tar heroin increases the risk of getting Wound Botulism.
  • Eating home-fermented or home-canned foods that are not prepared safely increase the risk of becoming seriously sick.
  • Drinking different kinds of alcohol put people at the chance of getting this illness. For example, prisoners who drink “hooch” or “pruno” made in prisons put themselves at a high risk to get Foodborne Botulism.
  • Getting Botulinum toxin injections due to cosmetic reasons such as wrinkles or medical reasons such as migraine may put you at an increased risk of getting Iatrogenic Botulism. The conditions for getting this type of Botulism arise if they overdose, if they have an underlying problem with muscles or nerves and if they weigh less than a normal adult or are children.

Preventive Measures of Botulism

Botulism is easy to prevent in most cases. The risk of getting this illness can be reduced with the following preventative measures:

  • Be careful of any fermented fish or aquatic game foods.
  • Follow the techniques properly while canning foods at home.
  • Throw away any bulging or open cans of food that are prepared commercially.
  • When cooked and wrapped in aluminum foil, potatoes may create an oxygen-free environment and where Botulism can survive. Keep the cooked potatoes hot or try to refrigerate immediately.
  • Refrigerate those oils which are infused with herbs or garlic.
  • Boil the foods for 10 minutes to destroy the Botulism toxin.

As a rule, an infant should never be fed with corn syrup or honey because they may contain Clostridium botulinum spores.

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