14 Prevention Tips to Protect Yourself From Salmonella

When it comes to intestinal infections, salmonella poisoning is the second most common cause in the United States. Over 7000 cases of salmonella are reported each year. However, most cases of this illness is not reported. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are over a million people in the United States contract salmonella every year and that there are over 20,000 hospitalizations caused by salmonella and nearly 400 deaths occur as a result of salmonella.

Salmonella typically occurs because a person eats food that is contaminated with feces of humans or animals who carry the bacteria. Meat, poultry, and eggs are the common culprits. However, fruits and vegetables can also become contaminated with the bacteria. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do in order to prevent salmonella poisoning. Here are 8 prevention tips to use to protect yourself against this bacteria.

1. Hand Washing

Washing your hands is extremely important for many reasons. When you are touching different surfaces your hands can carry around the dirt and germs that are on these areas. It is especially important to wash your hands before you handle any type of food. If you are handling raw food such as meat, eggs, vegetables, or fish it is important to make sure that you wash your hands after handling any type of food.

Make sure that you are also washing your hands after going to the bathroom, after you touch the garbage can, after blowing your nose, and after touching any animals. When you wash your hands it is important to make sure that you use soap and warm water. Make sure that you scrub the soap in between all of your fingers and that you rinse them thoroughly. You should wash for at least 20 seconds each time.