Shigella Subway outbreak: just a thought about your illness
09.03.10
The Dupage County Health Department announced on March 4, 2010 that it "is investigating the cause of a cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses primarily among customers of a Subway restaurant located at 1009 E. Roosevelt Road in Lombard. Restaurant ownership and corporate representatives have been cooperating with health officials, and the Lombard restaurant has been closed pending further results of the investigation.
We have been contacted by ten families that are likely victims of the outbreak. We will file suit tomorrow on behalf of a young boy who ate a shigella-contaminated sandwich at the restaurant in late February and suffered a severe gastrointestinal illness as a result. Fortunately the is recovering, but he has a ways to go.
Many of the people we have spoken with have done what most ordinary Americans would do when suffering from a severe case of foodpoisoning, a primary symptom of which is, of course, diarrhea: they went to the drugstore, or more likely had a friend or family member go for them, and purchased either Imodium or Lomotil in an attempt to get the diarrhea to stop.
Source: Food Poison Journal
DrSugar on Irritable Bowel Syndrome
02.03.10
According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse , IBS is a disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, and bloating, with constipation and diarrhea as secondary symptoms. However, symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people with IBS have horrible constipation while others sufferer from diarrhea. Some IBS patients even alternate between episodes of constipation and diarrhea.
The cause of IBS is unknown. It has been hypothesized that the normal contractions of the bowel muscles are either overactive and strong (resulting in diarrhea) or underactive and weak (resulting in constipation). It has also been hypothesized that certain foods, stress, and hormones can play a role in triggering the development of IBS. Some people who have a history of recent viral or bacterial infection in the intestinal tract can develop IBS after the infection resolves. Studies have shown that people who have a parent or sibling with IBS are at increased risk of developing the condition. Fortunately, IBS does not result in inflammation or changes in the bowel tissue and does not increase your risk of cancer of the colon and/or rectum.
Source: FitSugar.com (blog)
Program propelled her from manager to owner
28.02.10
By KELLY HANNON
A wish list at the register keeps track of what 7-Eleven customers desire to buy at Maribeth Steven Cree's store.
Skoal Cherry. Empanadas. Corn dogs. Vanilla Coke. Tylenol Allergy & Sinus.
Winning lottery tickets.
"I think we all want that," Cree said, laughing.
Since Cree bought the 7-Eleven franchise at the corner of Deacon and Leeland roads in Stafford County three months ago, she has stocked 23 new items from the customer wish list.
She added Diet Mountain Dew to the soda fountain.
She lowered beer prices.
Fresh grapefruits, yogurt and organic juices are now in the refrigerated case.
She increased her inventory of Duraflame logs, just in time for the January and February snowstorms.
"In this area, firewood is huge. You wouldn't believe," Cree said.
All of these decisions felt revolutionary to Cree, 51, whose association with the company began when she was a child. She was used to adhering to corporate policy as a store manager or taking direction as an electronics technician in the U.S. Army.
Source: The Free Lance-Star