Do you ever know the bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes? This bacteria is the bacteria that commonly caused the infections called listeriosis. Basically, you could find this bacteria in a soil, dust, animal feces, processed foods, or raw meat. When this bacteria invade your body, there will be some symptoms that you will feel and some of them considered to be hazardous.
What Caused Listeria Infections?
The most common thing on why you can be infected by these bacteria is because you’re eating the foods that already contaminated with these bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes is commonly lives in the soil and watery environment, so there is a possibility that the healthy fruits and vegetables that grown in the soil could be contaminated with these bacteria. Furthermore, another reason on why these bacteria could invade into your body is because you’re not cooking raw meat properly since these bacteria could easily have a contact with the animal.
The Symptoms of Listeria
After you already know why the Listeria could happen, now you might wonder what are the symptoms when these Listeria monocytogenes invades your body? Here are the lists of Listeria symptoms.
- Fever
This is one of the most common symptoms of Listeria Monocytogenes Infections that you could get when you’re suffering from Listeria. So, fever basically could happen because of the result of your immune system that detect the invaders coming into your body. These invaders could be the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, or toxins.
In the case of this condition, the Listeria invades your body from the food that you just ate. These Listeria are considered as pyrogens, which are the fever producing substances and thus, the pyrogens will send the signal to the hypothalamus in the brain. The hypothalamus in the brain then will increase the body temperature to allow your body to fight against these Listeria, which is resulting in fever that you feel.
- Muscle Aches
This is another common symptoms that you could get when the Listeria invades into your body. Well, while most of people though that the muscle aches or muscle pain caused by the excessive tension in the muscle, you might need to see the fact that the infections caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi that occur in the body will also lead you to the muscle aches.
In the case of this condition, the bacteria called Listeria, when these bacteria invade into your body, they will invade directly to your muscle tissue, or they also will release the substances that will make the damage to your muscle fibers, which then will lead you to the muscle aches.
- Nausea
Other common symptoms that you will more likely to get when the Listeria coming into your body is nausea. Nausea is a symptom when you feel some discomforts in your stomach, which then will lead you to vomiting to relieve those discomforts. Basically, the common cause of the nausea and vomiting could come from motion sickness, dehydration, cancer therapy, and also because of the food poisoning.
In the case of Listeria, the common cause this bacteria could invades to your body is from the food. This bacteria could encourage the stimulation in the brain which the brain will send the signal to your body to emptying the stomach with vomiting. The signal from the brain that makes you vomiting is commonly occuring because the stimuli like bad smells, infection, and also dizziness.
- Diarrhea
Other common symptoms that you could get when you’re suspected of having the Listeria bacteria in your body is diarrhea. Diarrhea without a doubt could be caused when there is something wrong related to your digestive system, and the bacteria and viruses are the major problems of your digestive system.
In the case of Listeria, when these bacteria invade to your body, they will also more likely to affect your bowel. Listeria bacteria are considered as bad bacteria and these bad bacteria will affect the amount of the healthful bacteria in your digestive system. When your digestive systems are fueled with bad bacteria like Listeria, then your bowel will not function properly and can’t absorb the liquids from the food that you ate. When your bowel can’t absorb the liquids from the food, the result is watery bowel movement and watery stools too, which you usually called diarrhea.
- Headache
The other symptoms that could occur whenever you’re having the Listeria in your body is a headache. The headache can be caused by the bacteria infections such as Listeria because when the bacteria invades to your body, they will be more likely to go to the area of your gastric ulcers and influence some activities in there which will lead to the headaches, although right at the moment the health experts still figure out the link or the mechanism between the bacteria activities in the gastric ulcers and the headaches.
But, when you’re going to the doctor and you’re suspected to having the headache because of the bacteria infections like Listeria, they may precribed you with some antibiotics to relieve this symptoms.
- Back Pain
The other symptom that you could get from Listeria is that you could also get a back pain. Whenever you’re having Listeria that invades your body, generally these bacteria will get into your spine by taking the vascular route.
This is because the veins in your spine drain the pelvic and then this will provide the direct route from the Listeria to your spine, and the infection from Listeria without a doubt would make you suffer from the back pain. According to the research, about 40% of the chronic lower back pain can be caused by the bacteria infections.
- Abdominal Pain
This is also the common symptoms of Listeria Monocytogenes Infections  coming into your body. So, when the Listeria invades your body, they will also cause an inflammation in your gut. This inflammation without a doubt will make you feel some discomforts around the abdominal area. In fact, the people who have a weak immune system is very susceptible from suffering the inflammation of the bacteria around the gut.
To treat this problem, you need to take foods that contain a lot of potassium, like banana for example. Also, you need to stay hydrated throughout the day so that you need to consume sufficient amount of fluids. Furthermore, eating in a little portion but often with the addition of salt would be very beneficial to overcome this abdominal pain.
- Stiff Neck
Listeria infections could also lead you to stiff neck. So, when the Listeria coming into your body from the mouth, this will lead you from the neck stiffness because the bacteria would cause the inflammation in the layers of the tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord. This symptom usually will follow up with other symptoms, such as fever and headache. Well, when you’re going to the doctor, they will most likely to give you some antibiotics to reduce the pain caused by Listeria’s inflammation.
- Seizures
This symptom commonly occurs when the common symptoms that caused by Listeria such as fever, stiff neck, headache, and losing the bowel function become complicated. So, a seizure is the disease that caused by the change in the brain electricity, which then will make you suffer from violent shaking and loss of control.
This seizure, if you left it untreated, will lead to the coma, or even the death. Sure that you don’t want to suffer from this deadly disease. So, the best thing that you could do is keep the hygiene of the foods that you eat, and also get the sufficient time of sleep, exercise regularly, and avoid drugs at all cost.
- Confusion
Do you ever feel that you’re finding it really hard to concentrate at times? Well, that’s what confusion means. Confusion is the symptom that makes you can’t think clearly and feel disoriented when making the decision.
Listeria could make you suffer from this disorder, especially when these bacteria doing some infections in the brain. If this disorder is not treated well, this disorder will turn into a chronic complication called dementia, which is commonly caused by the decline of the brain function.
So, if the people that you love seems to struggle to keep the concentration and sometimes behave unpredictably, you should call the doctor immediately.
- Loss of Balance
Do you know that the Listeria could also make the people become loss balance? Well, this disorder is commonly occuring when the bacteria, including Listeria, invade your body and then cause an inflammation around your inner ear which without a doubt would make you feel loss of balance.
So, if you feel loss some balance because of the infections and inflammation that occurs in the inner ear, you should call the doctor immediately since the doctor could prescribe you with the antibiotics. But, in case you have Meniere’s disease, you need to take on the surgery.
In addition to that, how to prevent this loss of balance? Well, it is hard to prevent it since you surely don’t know what foods that would bring Listeria to your body. So, all you need is make sure that you’re eating the healthy foods and keeping thing hygiene.
Listeria in Pregnant Women and Their Infants
Pregnant women are very susceptible of having the Listeria infections compared with the normal people. Why? Because when the normal people get infected with the Listeria, sometimes they can get away with it if their immune system is healthy enough.
But, when it comes to pregnant women, sometimes the mother wouldn’t feel the symptoms that they are infected by Listeria, but their infant is very susceptible from this type of bacteria, and it could be the fatal one. What are the symptoms and the disease that caused by Listeria bacteria in pregnant women? Here are the lists for you.
- Meningitis
One of the most deadly complications that the Listeria could give to your body is the fact that Listeria could lead you to meningitis. Listeria monocytogenes are kinds of bacteria that classified as bacterial meningitis, which will cause the inflammation of the membranes in around your brain and your spinal cord.
So, if you’re suffering from the symptoms that already listed above like headache, fever, and stiff neck, you could possibly suffer from this deadly disease. In fact, if you left this disease untreated, you’ll become paralyzed permanently and also have memory loss. If you want to prevent yourself from this disease, you need to start eating the healthy foods, and keep your immune system healthy by quit smoking and get the plenty time of rest.
- Miscarriage
This is one of the fatal symptoms that the Listeria can cause to the pregnant women. You might know that the miscarriage could happen because of the unhealthy lifestyle or other diseases. But, one thing that you should know is that the miscarriage will also could occurs to pregnant women because of the infections of bacteria, and this Listeria monocytogenes bacteria could lead you to miscarriage.
In women, the miscarriage caused by bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes could occurs because these bacteria could cause the inflammation in the endometrium, which is making it impossible for the embryo to develop. So, it is a wise move that during your pregnancy, you have a routine schedule to have the medical check up related to the health of your pregnancy, so that there is no way the bacteria could interfere the growth of your infant.
- Stillbirth
This is another fatal symptom that could occur when you’re having Listeria monocytogenes inside your body. So, stillbirth is a kind of devastating problem, which is defined when the fetus died mysteriously during the 20th weeks of your pregnancy. And the scary fact is, one of ten of stillbirth is caused by the infections, whether by bacteria or by viruses, including this Listeria monocytogenes.
So, how come the Listeria monocytogenes could lead you to this hazardous symptom? It is because the Listeria could travelled from the vagina into the uterus once they invades your body, which then will infect the fetus and inhibit the development of the embryo.
- Septicemia
This is another deadly symptom when the Listeria bacteria invade your body. So, septicemia is defined as the disease that occurs whenever there is a poison in your blood. This poison is commonly caused by bacterial infections, including Listeria monocytogenes, that enters your bloodstream. When these bacteria enter your bloodstream, the toxins that contained in bacteria without a doubt will affect the pureness of your blood and this will be carried by the bloodstream to the other parts of your body.
When the toxins that contained in the bacteria are blended with your blood and these mixtures are carried by the bloodstream, this will affect the health of the other parts of your body too. When you already have this disease, there is no other options than go to the hospital as soon as possible since if you left it untreated, it will lead you to sepsis disease.
- Sepsis
As already mentioned above, when the septicemia is untreated well, that disease will lead you to sepsis disease. Sepsis is a disease that could occur when the complications of septicemia happen. So, sepsis could happen when the inflammation throughout the body occurs.
This inflammation, as you already know, is caused by the toxins of the bacteria like Listeria that enters the bloodstream. The inflammation caused by these bacteria would be very hazardous to the other parts of your body because it could lead the blood clots and also it will block the oxygen from reaching your vital organs, which resulting in organ failure.
- Pneumonia
When Listeria monocytogenes invades into the body of pregnant women, there is also a possibility that the pregnant women would suffer from pneumonia. These bacteria could lead you to pneumonia because they can cause some problems with your lungs once they get into your body, which are they will more likely to inflame the lungs and fill your lungs with fluid and cellular debris.
The result of that incident is that you will feel breathlessness or pain as you try to take in the oxygen. When you already have this disease, you need to go to the doctor immediately since they will prescribe you with the antibiotics to solve this problem.
How to Prevent Listeria Monocytogenes
So, now you already know that these bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes are really harmful for the health of your body. But, you shouldn’t worry about these bacteria at all when you know the way to prevent it. So, in the article below, you’ll find out how to prevent yourself from the invasion of these bacteria. Here are some tips for you.
- You need to make sure that you wash all of the fruits or vegetables with cold and running water before you’re consuming it. Remember, even when you’re about to slicing the skin of the fruits and you wouldn’t eat it, you still need to clean it up.
- Before you want to prepare the foods, you need to sanitize your kitchen and clean up every utensil before you use them to process your foods.
- When you want to cook the meat, you need to make sure that the meat is well cooked. Do not eat the raw meat since the Listeria monocytogenes could invade your body through a raw food.
- Although you’re buying the meat that is already properly cooked in the factory, you should not store these meats for more than two weeks because there is a possibility that the meat that already properly cooked can be contaminated with bacteria before the packaging process occurs.
- If you like to drink the milk, make sure that you buy the pasteurized milk since unpasteurized milk would be more likely to contamined with a lot of bacteria.
- Don’t use the same utensils, for example the knife, when you want to cut the fruits and vegetables, especially after you cut the uncooked meat. The solution is that you must properly clean the knife with soap before you use it for cut another things.
- You should not consume the foods that already refrigerated in a long time since this Listeria monocytogenes could live in the cold condition and can grow in the refrigerator.
Now you already know everything that you need to know about the symptoms of Listeria. So, although these bacteria infections could be very harmful to your body, you shouldn’t worry about these harmful bacteria as long as you keep the hygiene of yourself and the environment around you. Well, stay healthy!