What Is Salmonella? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention - Everyday Health

Your treatment for salmonella will depend on factors such as your symptoms, age, and your general health. Most cases of salmonella get better within a week without any treatment. The main concern when you have food poisoning — from salmonella or other infectious organisms — is dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Below are some tips your doctor may recommend to treat your symptoms at home.

1. Drink plenty of fluids, such as:

• Water
• Diluted fruit juice
• Sports drinks (which can help replace lost electrolytes)
• Clear broths
• Pedialyte or similar electrolyte replacement drinks (but speak to your doctor before consuming or administering them)

2. If you're having trouble keeping anything down, try sipping small amounts of water or sucking on ice chips.

3. Eat saltine crackers or pretzels to help replace electrolytes (sodium is an electrolyte)

4. Eat small meals throughout the day.

5. Do not take anti-diarrheal medicine unless your doctor recommends it; these medications may prolong diarrhea from a salmonella infection.

If your doctor is concerned that you may be at risk for severe dehydration, or if you have a high fever or severe abdominal pain, he or she may recommend you go to the hospital for treatment with intravenous fluids and monitoring.

Medication Options

If you have a weakened immune system or if your symptoms are severe and are not getting better, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat your salmonella infection. According to the CDC, antibiotics may be recommended for:

• People with severe illness (such as high fever, severe diarrhea, or bacteria that has spread to their bloodstream)
• Adults older than 50 with underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease
• Adults 65 and older
• Infants younger than 12 months old
• People with compromised or weakened immune systems (such as cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or people with HIV/AIDS)

Doctors may prescribe antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, and ceftriaxone to treat patients with severe salmonella infections. But worryingly, antibiotic-resistant salmonella has become a problem in recent years. Infections from these "multi-drug-resistant strains" of salmonella can be more severe and result in higher rates of hospitalization.

According to the CDC, as many as 16 percent of the salmonella strains that cause foodborne illness are now identified as being resistant to at least one essential antibiotic — resulting in an estimated 212,500 cases a year. Another frightening stat: an estimated 2 percent of salmonella has been shown to be resistant to three or more essential antibiotics, which translates into approximately 20,800 cases a year.

Alternative and Complementary Therapies

Probiotics are one potential complementary or alternative treatment that's being explored for salmonella. These are live microbes, usually bacteria, that may be similar to the kind we normally have in our gut. Studies have suggested that some probiotics may help shorten a bout of diarrhea.

Researchers are still studying how probiotics may help treat food poisoning such as salmonella infections — so be sure to always talk to your doctor before using probiotics or any other treatment for your gastrointestinal problem. But given the increasing problem of antibiotic-resistant salmonella strains, potential alternative treatments such as probiotics are becoming more important today.

Prevention of Salmonella

Most salmonella infections are caused by contaminated food. The best way to reduce your risk for getting salmonella is to follow good food safety measures and take steps to prevent food poisoning.

Follow the four rules of food safety recommended by the CDC:

• Clean Wash your hands and surfaces such as cutting boards and countertops often and rinse fruits and vegetables under running water.
• Separate Avoid cross-contamination by using a separate cutting board for raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and by keeping these items separated from other food
• Cook Make sure food is cooked to the recommended internal temperature to kill germs.
• Chill Keep your refrigerator temperature at 40 degrees F or below and never leave perishable food out of the fridge for more than two hours. Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or in the microwave, because leaving food out on the counter to defrost can allow bacteria to multiply rapidly.

Remember, too, to always wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet or changing diapers and to wash your hands after contact with animals.

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