Have a death wish?

[farmgirlwannabe]

*climbing up on the soap box*

 

Okay. Yes, it's a free country (at least for the time being) and we each make our own choices - but please people! The idea behind prepping and everything else we talk about here in this wonderful place is to SURVIVE whatever may come our way. So why would you want to play Russian Roulette with yourself and your family when it comes to preserving foods?

 

We have some great people here that know "all the rules" to keeping us safe when preserving foods. Listen to them. Only take information from trusted sources. It doesn't matter what anyone's grandma did years ago. This is now. Things have changed like in every other aspect of life.

 

Seriously. It's a scary thing. Botulism can kill you - dead. If you survive, it could make you wish you were dead. Below is some of the information from the CDC about it.

 

What is botulism?

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium

Clostridium botulinum

. There are three main kinds of botulism. Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin. Wound botulism is caused by toxin produced from a wound infected with

Clostridium botulinum

. Infant botulism is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin. All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be especially dangerous because many people can be poisoned by eating a contaminated food.

What kind of germ is Clostridium botulinum?

Clostridium botulinum

is the name of a group of bacteria commonly found in soil. These rod-shaped organisms grow best in low oxygen conditions. The bacteria form spores which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions that can support their growth. There are seven types of botulism toxin designated by the letters A through G; only types A, B, E and F cause illness in humans.

What are the symptoms of botulism?

The classic symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin. If untreated, these symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles. In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days.

How is botulism diagnosed?

Physicians may consider the diagnosis if the patient's history and physical examination suggest botulism. However, these clues are usually not enough to allow a diagnosis of botulism. Other diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, stroke, and myasthenia gravis can appear similar to botulism, and special tests may be needed to exclude these other conditions. These tests may include a brain scan, spinal fluid examination, nerve conduction test (electromyography, or EMG), and a tensilon test for myasthenia gravis. The most direct way to confirm the diagnosis is to demonstrate the botulinum toxin in the patient's serum or stool by injecting serum or stool into mice and looking for signs of botulism. The bacteria can also be isolated from the stool of persons with foodborne and infant botulism. These tests can be performed at some state health department laboratories and at CDC.

How can botulism be treated?

The respiratory failure and paralysis that occur with severe botulism may require a patient to be on a breathing machine (ventilator) for weeks, plus intensive medical and nursing care. After several weeks, the paralysis slowly improves. If diagnosed early, foodborne and wound botulism can be treated with an equine antitoxin which blocks the action of toxin circulating in the blood. This can prevent patients from worsening, but recovery still takes many weeks. Physicians may try to remove contaminated food still in the gut by inducing vomiting or by using enemas. Wounds should be treated, usually surgically, to remove the source of the toxin-producing bacteria followed by administration of appropriate antibiotics. Good supportive care in a hospital is the mainstay of therapy for all forms of botulism. A human-derived antitoxin is used to treat cases of infant botulism and is available from the California Department of Public Health.

Are there complications from botulism?

Botulism can result in death due to respiratory failure. However, in the past 50 years the proportion of patients with botulism who die has fallen from about 50% to 3-5%. A patient with severe botulism may require a breathing machine as well as intensive medical and nursing care for several months. Patients who survive an episode of botulism poisoning may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years and long-term therapy may be needed to aid recovery.

[Christy]

Sigh, been having this discussion on another forum with a very enthousiastic male survivalist. Bless his kind heart, he is doing everything he can for his young family.

Somehow it is hard to get into his head that certain things cannot be canned at all and others require a pressure canner.

Do you mind if I copy your post and perhaps PM it to him or even post on the board?

[farmgirlwannabe]

By all means...please do. I am sorry if it comes across a little harsh to anyone, but I'm just a little intense about the subject matter.

[Canned Nerd]

We tend to get even more intense about it when it has been a personal experience within your circle of family or friends.

 

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Thanks for posting this. It is indeed a very serious thing not enough people take seriously.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Everyone should also keep activated charcoal on hand and administer immediately if you suspect botulism poisoning. This is first aid and should be done as you are getting the person to medical care as quickly as possible.

[Violet]

I don't promote fear, but I do teach this, as you know. I am glad that some of you find the seriousness in survival. I know that by following the safe guidelines and recipes you are fine in homecanning your foods. I have done my own for the past 36 years. It can still be fun and rewarding to can, even if you cannot safely make up your own recipes and can them.

Hope you can convince that man to do things safely. I know this year there was a lady and her 2 children that got botulism from homecanned green beans in our state. Don't know many details or the update. The only report I got was the mother was in the hospital on a ventilator and the children were supposed to survive. The mom was a nurse, but that didn't mean she understood the knowledge of safe food preservation. I do hope she and her children will not have permanent damage done.

 

[rainygardener]

Yep, your right. Even my Mom who canned, made me take classes from the extention office from someone who was certified in home canning. Our instructor was very happy to teach the correct way to can, but very strick on safety. Our instructor also insisted we purchase updated ball canning books every 5 years and get updated safety sheets yearly from the extention office.

[FINE]

Thanks for the reminder, Stacy!

[Donit]

Yes, Thanks!!!! I have learned a lot about this part of canning in the last couple of weeks from different threads past and present here on Mrs. S. I learned canning as a small child with my mom and grandmother, but never updated my information about safe canning practices after leaving home. I am one of the people who have been doing very unsafe things.....for a long time. The worst thing I have done is the way I have disposed of food and jars with spoiled low-acid food in them.....just never knew. I now see that this is not a reason to continue, just to be thankful that nothing bad happened. Thanks so much to everyone who gave info and links....and for your patience with those of us who are here to learn...especially with those of us who think we already know. Wishing safe canning seasons to everyone.

[susie]

All the French grannies over here are still alive after canning everything in boiling water baths for centuries.

[farmgirlwannabe]

Really? Hmmm....

 

Botulism neurotoxins have a paralyzing action. Through progress in food safety, botulism has become a rare disease (about 30 cases of botulism per year in France).

Bernard Poulain

Director of the Laboratoire Neurotransmission et sécrétion neuroendocrine (Neuroendocrine Secretion and Neurotransmission Laboratory, CNRS),

Strasbourg

 

So, after a review of information here is what the figures show:

 

France: population 61,538,322

Average # of Botulism cases per year 30

 

USA: population 304,059,724

Average # of Botulism cases per year 26 (260 Cases from 1990-2000 - 103 of them from 1 incident in Alaska alone)

 

By the research I have done this morning, it is quite obvious that France has a much higher percentage of cases of Botulism per year than the United States does.

 

Most of us here choose to use the safe and approved recipes and methods to provide food for ourselves and our families.

 

 

Supporting websites and info

 

Presented here is an outbreak of nine cases of type B botulism that occurred in France in 2000 followed by a review of the relevant literature. The outbreak resulted from the consumption of home-canned asparagus and required the intubation of six patients.

 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/kydufv4l15b027n2/

 

More about botulism in France

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442075

 

Three cases of an outbreak of familial foodborne botulism are reported in France

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1127025...ogdbfrom=pubmed

 

botulism info USA

[Violet]

Within this year I know we had 3 cases in our state from green beans.