I was very concerned about one of my dialysis patients that told me he missed a treatment because he thought he gave himself food poisoning.  He claimed that he thawed a piece of chicken on the counter and became ill.  He did not realize that harmful germs multiply like wildfire at room temperature. For dialysis patients, missing even one treatment can be life threatening.  I am definitely going to have to launch a food safety education program with ALL of my patients. I also want to mention that food safety should be  important to EVERYONE.  According to the USDA, one in 6 Americans will get sick from food poisoning this year, and 100,000 will end up in the hospital.  Here is the first of many food safety tips I am planning to post:

Acceptable methods of thawing frozen food:

• In the refrigerator
• In cold water
• In the microwave

WHEN IN DOUBT, DO NOT TASTE FOOD TO SEE IF IT’S “STILL GOOD.”  THERE IS NO WAY TO TASTE OR SMELL THE BACTERIA THAT CAUSES FOOD POISONING.  REMEMBER, WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!

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