How Do I Know So Much About Botulism?

Some of you may be wondering...why does this SLP think she is qualified to write about botulism?

"She's not a [doctor/microbiologist/infectious disease expert/etc]!!"

I am no doctor, that is for sure, but I, like you, do have eyes for readin' and a brain for thinkin'.

And one of the books I read that really helped me understand how botulism can present in radically different ways is Recognizing Botulism by J.A. Talkington.

Dr. Talkington has been studying botulism cases for over 15 years, and her book includes 120 case studies of foodborne botulism cases that occurred in the U.S. from the years 1902-1931.

Drawing on information from newspaper articles, public health records, and the medical literature, it details not only the wide variety of symptoms of botulism, but also the difficulties that physicians had in diagnosing the disease, especially when the disease appeared to be "mild". (Unfortunately, this is still the case, as many modern day physicians and nurses are not trained in recognizing the full spectrum of botulism symptoms.)

Imagine my surprise as I began reading through foodborne botulism cases from over 100 years ago, and recognized symptoms I myself had experienced after 12 units of Xeomin spread systemically throughout my nervous system. Extreme dry mouth, globus sensations, neck muscle fatigue, brain fog, "nervousness", and feelings of "drunkenness"? Yep. All are documented symptoms of botulism victims who ate tainted canned foods.

Dr. Talkington (or, the "botulism guru" as I call her) is opening a botulism museum in Peoria, IL, which takes tourists through exhibits that display art, food, and details from the 13 different chapters in her book. More info about the Historical Botulism Museum can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569381538120

 I've attached a pamphlet she wrote that includes highlights from each of the botulism outbreaks from her book below.

If you really want to understand botulism of all kinds, foodborne OR iatrogenic - it's the same disease, this is the book you NEED to read! Amazon link: https://a.co/d/85eqzXR

Pamphlet here:

Museum Guide to Recognizing Botulism.pdf

Download PDF • 3.05MB