People catch cholera by drinking water or eating food that contains cholera bacteria. It can cause severe diarrhoea which, untreated, can lead to dehydration and even death.
Early symptoms
Most people with cholera have mild symptoms or none, and get better on their own. About 1 in 10 develop severe, life-threatening symptoms. Early signs include:
- watery diarrhoea, sometimes called "rice-water stools" because it is milky white;
- vomiting;
- leg cramps;
- restlessness or irritability.
Symptoms usually start 2–3 days after swallowing the bacteria, but can appear within a few hours or up to 5 days.
During an outbreak, anyone with acute watery diarrhoea — 3 or more loose stools a day — should seek care.
Later symptoms: dehydration
Losing fluid fast through diarrhoea and vomiting causes dehydration. People with severe cholera may have lost more than 10 percent of their body weight by the time they get care. Signs of dehydration include:
- a rapid heart rate;
- skin that has lost its elasticity;
- dry mucous membranes;
- low blood pressure.
Untreated, severe dehydration can lead to kidney failure, shock, coma and death. But with early, proper treatment, even people with severe cholera can survive.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Cholera Signs and Symptoms." https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/signs-symptoms/index.html · Treating cholera: https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/treatment/index.html
- The original's photographs are © UNICEF and are not reproduced here.
- Rewritten in hubnx's own words.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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