When you are pregnant, you need to pay extra attention to many things that you may be taking casually till now and that includes avoiding food poisoning. Food poisoning during pregnancy can make you sick, may cause vomiting and even diarrhea. This may make you in turn feel unwell and the medicines thus taken may not be good for your developing baby.
It is therefore important to be extra careful about preventing foods that can cause infections or doing anything that may increase the risk. The following are a few of the most effective tips to avoid food poisoning during pregnancy.
- Food poisoning often results due to transferring of germs and dirt from your hands to your food and into your mouth. Therefore, it is important to wash your hands properly before cooking food or consuming it. Also, you must wash hands after going to the toilet, touching any kind of dirt or litter and after returning home from work or anywhere else.
- Bacteria is more likely to spread faster if your hands are damp and hence it is important to dry them well before cooking or eating.
- To prevent bacteria from developing in your food, it is important to store it at the right temperature. Your refrigerator must be 5 degrees C or colder and your freezer must be minus 8 degree C.
- Germs usually like lukewarm temperatures and hence you must always keep hot food hot and cold foods cold.
- Always buy fresh meat, poultry and fish and clean them well before cooking and eating.
- Whenever you store your food in the fridge or outside, you must cover it with a cling foil or film.
- It is always advisable to keep cooked food at the top of the fridge and raw food at the bottom.raw vegetables and meat must be kept separately.
- Always eat food within its recommended time period and always check the date before buying any eatables.
- Wash your fruits and vegetables thoroughly before cooking them or eating them raw.
- Whenever you go outside to eat, always ensure that the quality of the food and the hygiene standards of the place are good. Avoid eating street food during pregnancy because they can be contaminated and may cause food poisoning
- Maintain good hygiene standards at home and in your kitchen. Empty the dustbins across the house regularly and do not let any waste accumulate in and around your house.
- Avoid having dirty tables, cookware, crockery and glassware in the house.
- If you or any other member of the house has sores or cuts on the hands, then you must keep them covered with waterproof dressing especially when cooking or eating.
- Do not drink water from the tap and always drink filtered water during pregnancy. If possible, always boil the water and store it in bottles to be consumed throughout the day. Do not have any drinks outside the house which may not have clean and filtered water used for its preparation.
