{"id":5371,"date":"2019-04-11T08:20:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T08:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2021-06-02T10:25:56","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T10:25:56","slug":"14-early-signs-of-listeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/14-early-signs-of-listeria\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Early Signs of Listeria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Listeria is a bacterial illness that occurs when you eat food that is improperly processed, such as hot dogs and deli meats. Even if you freeze and refrigerate your food, listeria can still grow. Pregnant women, newborns, and individuals with a weak immune system are at a higher risk of developing listeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthy people don\u2019t have to worry too much about falling ill to listeria. They can still have listeria, but it won\u2019t affect them. Even if they do have symptoms, they are mild. Individuals who are at a higher risk of developing listeria need to seek medical attention quickly. The longer you wait to seek treatment, the more difficult it will be to treat it. It can cause death in individuals that are at a higher risk. You can avoid listeria by not eating unprocessed foods and washing your hands at every chance you get to avoid being exposed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Diarrhea <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

are one of the earliest signs of listeria. Diarrhea <\/a>can occur anywhere and at any time. An individual will need to be near a restroom at all times or wear adult underwear. Individuals don\u2019t want to let diarrhea symptoms to persist for too long because it can cause other issues. A medical professional can stop diarrhea by taking blood tests to diagnose listeria and then prescribing antibiotics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The antibiotics need to be taken as prescribed. If you stop taking the medication too soon, it won\u2019t clear the listeria. The medical professional may prescribe other medicines to help with diarrhea as well. While you\u2019re taking the antibiotics, you may want to stay home, especially if diarrhea hasn\u2019t stopped. Your doctor will tell you when you can go back to work and what to do to prevent listeria from coming back, such as watching what you eat and washing your hands often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Fever <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

is an early sign to look out for when you have listeria<\/a>. The fever may not be that high, but it\u2019s enough to cause you some concern. When you have a fever after eating contaminated food, you should seek medical attention. There is no need to wait to see if the fever will go away because it more than likely won\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the emergency room, the medical staff will give you IVs and other medicines to help lower your fever. At the same time, they will take X-rays and blood tests to find out what is causing you to have a fever. Once they know that you have listeria, they may let you go home after your fever is at an acceptable temperature and prescribe some antibiotics. You will also receive information on listeria itself, so you can educate yourself on what it is and how to prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Muscle aches <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

is another sign that you could have listeria. The reason for the muscle aches is because it\u2019s affecting your immune system. It\u2019s even worse if you already have a weak immune system<\/a>. It will cause you to sit or lie down because any sudden movement could cause pain. Individuals with a weak immune system and pregnant women need to seek help immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The muscle aches can put you down to the point where you\u2019re unable to walk. The sooner you get treatment, the better. The same thing applies to pregnant women. The muscle aches may be bearable for her, but it could be causing major damage to her unborn child. Listeria needs to be dealt with so that you can go on with your life. This bacterial infection can cause long-term pain, if it\u2019s left untreated or if you wait too long to get treatment. You can cause permanent damage to your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Nausea <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

is one of the early signs of listeria. It will cause the individual to be unable to consume any food or water. When you feel nauseated, you\u2019ll be unable to go to work for a long time. If it gets too worse, you\u2019ll need to go to the hospital to help relieve the symptoms of listeria. At the hospital, you will find out that it\u2019s listeria that has been causing nausea<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you arrive home, you may have to stay home for a few days until your doctor gives you the okay to go back to work. It\u2019s important to get a handle on nausea because by not eating and drinking for a long period of time, it can cause weight loss and damage to your organs. Also, individuals who are in the higher risk category need to seek medical treatment early to avoid additional side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Mild flu-like symptoms <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

are one of the early signs that pregnant <\/a>women will notice. Pregnant women may just take cold remedies to cure the symptoms, but later on, find out that the symptoms don\u2019t go away. When pregnant women have any type of symptoms, they need to visit their primary care physician. They are not just treating themselves, but their unborn child as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listeria affects pregnant women at a much higher rate than the general population. They need to be extra careful about the types of foods they put into their bodies. Even if the symptoms are mild and not affecting them as much, it could do a lot more damage to the unborn child. The primary care physician can give the pregnant woman some antibiotics to clear up the listeria and keep an eye on her unborn baby. The unborn child could still be born with some defects because of the mother having listeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Vomiting <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

is another early sign to indicate you have listeria. Every time you eat or drink something, it will come back up. If you are vomiting<\/a>, it\u2019s best to go to see a doctor right away. It\u2019s not a good sign if you\u2019re vomiting a lot. By eating contaminated foods, such as smoked seafood, hot dogs, and raw and unpasteurized milk, it can cause vomiting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your body may not be able to handle those kinds of foods. Sometimes processed foods aren\u2019t handled properly and are contaminated. If you eat those processed foods, you will more than likely get sick. The vomiting may get so bad that you have to be placed into the hospital. This may happen if you waited too long to seek treatment for listeria. You can also ruin your organs by constantly vomiting. If you have other health issues while dealing with listeria, it can make those issues even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Stomach cramps <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

is an early sign that people have when they have listeria. A lot of the times when people have stomach cramps<\/a>, it could mean they have to go to the bathroom. For women, it could mean she\u2019s about to have her period. With listeria, you have to think back to what you ate a couple of days before that could have triggered the stomach cramps. With stomach cramps, you may experience diarrhea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have listeria you could have more than one symptom. The only way you will get relief is by going in to see the doctor have some tests performed on you. The tests will indicate that you have listeria. The doctor will provide information and a written prescription to help fight listeria. Your stomach cramps should go away once the antibiotics start working. If not, you must be eating contaminated food while trying to clear the bacteria infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Headaches <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

are one of the earliest signs for people who are immune to listeria to look out for. Listeria spreads to the nervous system and causes headaches. The headaches won\u2019t go away on its own. Individuals who are immune to headaches with listeria are pregnant women, older adults, and people with a weak immune system, such as cancer and HIV patients. Since it affects these individuals differently, listeria needs to be treated as soon as possible because it can cause death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death can occur even if listeria is treated. Sometimes listeria has caused damage that there is nothing else that can be done to help the individual. If you are immune to getting headaches<\/a>, seeking medical attention on a regular basis is key to saving your life. Headaches with listeria can cause paralysis and tremors as well. A lot of the times symptoms don\u2019t occur until a month later when it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. Chills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patients who are experiencing listeria infection notice they start to develop a fever in the early stages. This symptom occurs due to the brain signaling the hypothalamus <\/a>to increase pyrogen production. These proteins bind to nerve endings, forcing the nervous system to turn up the temperature. By inducing fever, the body is trying to eradicate the infection by providing it with a hostile environment to prevent its spread through the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this strategy usually proves effective, some infections may produce a high fever that leaves the patient in a state of delirium, forcing doctors into treating it to prevent brain damage. The high temperature associated with listeria infection often produces chills in patients as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chills occur when the body lags behind the new temperature setpoint induced by the increase in pyrogenic activity. As a result, the patient may start to feel cold and shiver, even though their temperature is nearing 100F.
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10. Confusion and Loss of Balance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Listeria infection may also cause symptoms of confusion and a loss of balance in patients. The bacteria responsible may enter the throat or the sinus, resulting in congestion and feelings of \u201cbrain fog<\/a>\u201d that make it challenging to think. Patients may become confused and get out of bed, forgetting what they wanted to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of confusion is quite common, and usually a side-effect of a fever that causes a reduction in cognitive functions within the brain. Should the infection spread to the sinus and the vestibular system, the patient may also start to experience a loss of balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The onset of vertigo means that the patient may start to feel like the room is spinning, even when they are lying down. There is no known medical treatment for either of these symptoms, and doctors will let the patient ride out the infection without administering and treatments for these symptoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The confusion, brain fog, and vertigo associated with listeria infection typically fade after treatment with antibiotics to kill off the invading bacteria.
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11. Tremors and Convulsions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Listeria bacteria can have an adverse health effect on the nervous system as well. When bacteria start to infect the nerves, the disease begins to produce symptoms of tremors <\/a>and convulsions in patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affected individuals may notice that their hands start to shake when they bring a glass to their mouth to drink. They may also lose strength in their hands and drop items that they pick up. Individuals who are dealing with convulsions and spasms may want to drink out of plastic cups to avoid breaking glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the nervous system undergoes bacterial attack, the patient may also find that they start to experience minor convulsions and involuntary spasms in their limbs. Patients may wake up suddenly from a muscular jolt, or they may feel spasms in their arms and legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, these symptoms are not treatable, and doctors will need to cure the bacteria to reduce any signs of nervous system infection.
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12. Encephalitis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This life-threatening complication of listeria infection affects the brain. Should the bacteria spread into the nervous and neurological systems, the patient is at risk of developing severe inflammatory complications of brain tissue \u2013 known as \u201cencephalitis<\/a>.\u201d This inflammation of brain tissue often presents mild symptoms at first, including a headache and a slight headache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if left undiagnosed and untreated, the inflammation may turn into encephalitis, where the patient may end up battling for their life. In the advanced stages of the condition, the patient starts to lose cognitive function, showing signs of confusion and brain fog, as well as diminished motor skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, most cases of encephalitis are easy for physicians to treat with antibiotics to kill off the invading pathogen responsible for the condition. Most patients make a full recovery from the symptoms a few hours after administering medication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encephalitis infection may cause the patient to feel symptoms of fatigue after the infection clears up, and they may need to sleep for an extended period to recover from the effects of the disease on the brain.
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13. Meningitis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On rare occasions, listeria bacterium can enter the nervous system, causing havoc on the nervous and neurological systems. We\u2019ve already discussed the potential for developing encephalitis from the bacteria. However, the bacterial infection of the nervous system may also affect tissues around the spinal cord as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If left undiagnosed and untreated, the patient may run the risk of the condition developing into meningitis \u2013 a life-threatening inflammation of the brain. One of the most notable symptoms of meningitis <\/a>infection \u2013 is a stiff neck. Unlike encephalitis, which is easy for doctors to treat if they get to it in time \u2013 meningitis is far more challenging to cure. Patients with the disease find that it may take up to three weeks for the condition to clear, even with the use of medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meningitis differs in its effects on the body. In some cases, patients manage to fend off the infection naturally, while others with weak immune systems may require treatment with antibiotics.
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14. Signs in Children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It may surprise you to learn that pregnant women are at 10-times the infection risk of contracting listeria than other females or males. According to data, 12 out of every 100,000 pregnant women experience listeria infection, with the figures being 0.7 for every 100,000 of the general population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical science is still unable to provide a clear answer as to why the disease affects pregnant women more than the general population. However, it\u2019s thought that the immune system may play a role as its dealing with producing antibodies <\/a>for the fetus as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases of listeria infection in pregnant women, the mother may remain unaffected by the bacteria while it attacks her unborn baby. As a result, the mother may experience a miscarriage if she does not receive adequate treatment in time. In some cases, the infant may also receive a life-threatening infection in the first two to three weeks after birth.
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