During holidays, when people are exposed to a variety of foods, visits to the emergency room for gastrointestinal symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting are also frequent. Overeating and drinking more than usual can cause gastrointestinal disorders such as indigestion, gastroesophageal reflux disease, abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and diarrhea, so caution is needed. During holidays, people cook food in larger quantities than usual and store it for longer, which can increase the risk of food poisoning.
Doctors advise that personal hygiene is essential for holiday table safety. Wash your hands frequently with soap under running water for at least 30 seconds. In particular, be sure to maintain hand hygiene before and after meals, after using the restroom, and after going out. Preparing holiday foods also needs to follow food hygiene. It is good to know in advance how to respond when food gets stuck in the throat and makes breathing difficult.
◇Use separate dishes for meat and seafood
When preparing ingredients to make holiday foods, you should also plan your shopping order to maintain freshness. Buying shelf-stable foods first, then refrigerated foods, and then meat and shellfish is also a way to prevent food poisoning.
To prevent food poisoning from cross-contamination, keep eggs and raw meat separate so they do not come into direct contact with vegetables and fruits. During cooking, use separate cutting boards and knives for meat, seafood, and vegetables, and after use, clean them thoroughly with boiling water disinfection or detergent.
Also be careful not to refreeze food after thawing it or leave it soaked in water for a long time after thawing, as this can allow food poisoning bacteria to multiply.
In particular, be careful of norovirus infection when eating shellfish or seafood. Norovirus survives even at low temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius and is considered a major cause of winter food poisoning. In Korea, in Feb., the number of infected patients hit the highest level in 10 years, becoming a serious social problem.
Yoon Jin-gu, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital, said, "With norovirus infection, symptoms such as sudden vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and chills appear," and noted, "If suspicious symptoms appear, you must see a specialist to receive an accurate diagnosis." Yoon said, "If vomiting and diarrhea are severe, fluid therapy may be necessary," and added, "Antidiarrheals can block the excretion of the virus and delay recovery, so it is better to avoid using them if possible."
Norovirus can reinfect within a short period after infection. Even after symptoms disappear, it can be shed through stool for up to two weeks, so pay close attention to hygiene management.
◇Kids may gulp while playing—watch for emergencies
In an excited or noisy atmosphere, a child may play around and eat foods like songpyeon or put foreign objects in their mouth, leading to an emergency where something gets stuck in the throat. Cut food into small pieces and have the child eat slowly, and guide them not to move around or laugh while eating to prevent accidents.
If food or another foreign object gets stuck in a child's throat, perform emergency measures quickly to secure the airway. If you are not familiar with the procedure or feel uncertain, promptly call 119 and follow their instructions.
According to Bae Woo-ri, a professor in the pediatric emergency room at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, for infants under 1 year old, place the child face down along your forearm so the face points downward, and deliver five back slaps with the palm between the shoulder blades. Then lay the child on their back and press quickly and firmly five times with two fingers slightly below the line connecting the nipples. Repeat these two maneuvers until the foreign object is expelled.
If a child over 1 year old cannot speak or breathe, perform the Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrusts). Stand behind the patient, make a fist with one hand, place the other hand over it, position it between the navel and the rib cage, and thrust forcefully upward from below, repeating until the foreign object comes out.
You can also combine the technique of leaning the patient forward and delivering back blows. Only use your fingers to carefully remove a foreign object when it is visible in the child's mouth, and do not try to force it out if you cannot see it.