Preliminary reports show that Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, may have died from food intoxication and asphyxiation.
What is food intoxication and how can it be deadly?
What is food intoxication?
Foodborne intoxication is caused by consuming food containing a toxin or chemical," according to the Cabell-Huntington Health Department.
The USDA said it is the same as food poisoning. An example is botulism, caused by the toxins released from the Clostridium botulinum bacterium, not the bacteria themselves.
The toxins come from the waste of microorganisms. There are also seafood toxins such as scombroid and ciguatera. Toxins may come from chemicals and poisons such as cleaning products, pesticides, sanitizers and metals.
They can even come from viruses.
The toxins are also found in nature and produced by mushrooms.
As for viruses, food intoxication can be caused by norovirus and hepatitis A.
The most common symptoms of food poisoning are:
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Stomach cramps
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
The symptoms and when they develop may depend on the source of the illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Complications from food poisoning include:
- Meningitis
- Kidney damage
- Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
- Arthritis
- Brain damage
- Nerve damage
What is asphyxiation?
Asphyxiation occurs when the body cannot get enough oxygen. It can happen from an allergic reaction, drowning or something blocking the airway, called by the Cleveland Clinic “foreign object blockage.”
A foreign object can block the airway when food isn’t swallowed correctly or when choking on vomit.
There are also other causes of asphyxiation such as asthma, position, chemicals, opioids, drowning and strangulation.
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