Teen Has Legs Amputated After Eating Leftover Noodles: a teen’s fingers and legs are amputated after ingesting rotten noodles and contracting sepsis. A precautionary tale about eating leftovers. The irony is that this case study, which was first published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March of last year, has recently been recirculated on social media.
Note that it is generally a poor, awful idea to eat leftovers from a year ago. A 19-year-old male was hospitalized after eating rice, chicken, and lo mein leftovers from a restaurant, and doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) wrote a case report detailing what occurred to the patient. He started experiencing gastrointestinal pain, nausea, and vomiting about 20 hours following this meal. Shortness of breath, muscle aches, headaches, and neck stiffness were among the symptoms that worsened. His face, chest, abdomen, arms, and legs started turning purple as a result of eating lo mein noodles, which is unusual. His companion took him to the hospital’s emergency room as a result.
His companion had eaten from the same noodle stash as him, vomited, but was unaffected. The teen’s shortness of breath worsened and his blood pressure plummeted as he was being treated in the hospital. As a result, he needed oxygen and was put on a ventilator, among other things. To ensure that he received the best possible care, physicians moved him to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Massachusetts General Hospital via helicopter. He received treatment for shock and organ failure at the hospital.
In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Khan claims that revenge is best served cold, but that doesn’t hold true for leftovers. Heat leftovers to 165°F or higher to ensure that bacteria such as Salmonella are killed. If the item is extremely dense, it may be necessary to cook it at higher temperatures. It’s important to thoroughly cook all of the leftovers.
Neisseria Meningitides in Blood and Urine
He had Neisseria meningitides in his blood and urine, which is the worst kind of bacteria. All kinds of issues, including “purpura fulminans,” were being caused by this bacteria that had entered his system. Responses like “cool” are not appropriate when someone tells you that you’ve got purpura fulminans. It’s one thing to have Purple Rain. Purpura fulminans is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate attention.
Seven to ten days following a bacterial infection in your blood, numerous of your blood clots can form throughout your body, causing purpura fulminans. The purplish regions of skin death caused by these blood clots can develop in size and create lesions known as purpura because they obstruct blood flow to different parts of your skin. If blood clots form in your arms, legs, feet, toes, and fingers and prevent oxygen from reaching these areas, you run the risk of starving your body’s tissues to death.
Clots can also block off blood supply to vital organs including the liver, lungs, heart, and kidneys, putting your health at risk. The entire circulatory system of your body can fail at some point. In the end, the 19-year-fingers old’s and both lower legs below the knees had to be amputated by the doctors. Fortunately, he made it through the trauma and appears to be healing well.
Of course, medical journal case reports tend to focus on more exceptional or even extremely rare occurrences that result in serious harm. In most cases, you won’t find a case report of anything more ordinary, like “struck head when attending Harry Styles performance so had to lay down on the sofa” or “threw outback while reaching for a French Fry so now making sure French Fries are closer to me.” The encounter with this 19-year-old was really unusual. You don’t have to respond, “What are you trying to do, murder me?” if someone says,
“Hey, would you like some leftovers?”
There are a few things you should keep in mind when handling, preserving, and eating your leftovers. Before storing any leftovers, make every effort to keep them clean. In the event that someone says, “I only sneezed on these twice, so they should be fine,” immediately throw away the remaining food. Purchase new food with the additional money you’ve saved.
Food should be stored in only sanitary containers. Remember that everything that has been licked clean is not clean. None of this is true. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers as soon as possible, no more than two hours after they’ve been cooked. Waiting till the end of the trilogy is through to clean up is a bad idea. Make sure your leftovers are stored in clean, airtight containers. Bacteria should be treated as if they were members of one’s own family. Allow no place for the growth of microorganisms.
Keep in mind that three to four is the golden number when it comes to inviting guests over or storing food in your home. Keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer for no more than three to four days or three to four months, whichever comes first. The same may be said about relatives, however, they should not be kept in the fridge or freezer for more than three to four days. Taste and smell alone will not be sufficient to establish if food is still edible. Bacteria can lurk in food that appears to be entirely safe. Of course, don’t eat your leftovers if they try to escape or quarrel with you.
At all times, you should follow these good food safety measures. Even if the food is contaminated, it doesn’t mean you’ll be hospitalized. It’s possible that you won’t have any symptoms at all. In any event, the MGH case study serves as a sobering reminder that things could get a lot worse very quickly indeed. For those of us who find ourselves questioning whether or not our leftovers are still edible, the answer is simple: toss them away and start over.
Ensuring the Safety of Leftovers
According to WebMD, bacteria can quickly grow in food left at room temperature, therefore to limit the risk of food poisoning, leftover food should be refrigerated no later than two hours after it is removed from a heat source like an oven or warming tray. That food needs to cool down before it can be refrigerated is a fallacy and hot items can be placed directly in a refrigerator, according to the website. To speed up the cooling process, WebMD recommends cutting food into little chunks and storing them in ice water-filled leak-proof containers.
After undergoing a battery of tests, including blood and urine, the college-bound young man was found to have Neisseria meningitides, a potentially fatal bacterial infection that has caused blood clots and liver failure. Purpura fulminans, an uncommon and severe consequence of meningococcal septicemia, was the cause of JC’s skin necrosis. One dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine and one dose of the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine had been administered to JC without a booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (CDC). “Mostly good” is how the paper’s authors describe JC’s recovery from his illness.
WebMD advises against waiting until food smells bad before throwing it out if it’s been leftover from a restaurant because bacteria can’t always be seen or smelled. Cold leftover takeout food is also discouraged on the website. Food must be heated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit before harmful bacteria may be killed. A food thermometer is the best way to tell if it has reached the desired temperature. The thickest or deepest part of the dish should be placed in order to ensure equal cooking. Bacteria and viruses can be killed at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the USDA.
