Cholera is caused by a definite bacterium which is spread in much the same way as typhoid. Scrupulous sanitation is necessary and great must be exercised to boil all water, especially during an epidemic. Flies transmit the disease and every effort should be made to keep them away from food and babies.

Symptoms:

One to three days after exposure the patient begins to feel slightly ill and a little diarrhea begins. In some cases it does not amount to much more than that, for some people are not as susceptible to the disease as others. Usually the onset is sudden. Profuse watery stools pour forth, sometimes with such force that the patient cannot control them. The stool is light grey in color, which fact gives it the name “rice-water stool.” Vomiting is also severe and often projectile, which means it shoots out of the mouth. With the loss of fluid from vomiting and diarrhea, the patient becomes dehydrated very soon. There is marked loss of electrolytes in the blood; that is, the essential light elements like sodium and potassium. Prostration and mental dullness follow; the eyes become sunken. The blood pressure drops. The urine fails and the temperature becomes subnormal.

Treatment:

Unfortunately antibiotics are not of much help in this disease. They actually render the stool free from the bacteria but do not alter the course of the disease. The main treatment is to restore the great loss of fluids and the electrolytes, sodium and potassium, to prevent dehydration of the system. If the patient can take fluids by mouth he should be given a quart of water every three hours. During the day he should be given a total of 15 grammes (1/2 ounce) of salt and also 8 to 16 grammes of potassium chloride which can be purchased from any chemist. If the patient is unable to take liquids by mouth, call a doctor or a nurse and arrange to have fluids given intravenously. Do not wait. Dehydration progresses fast. Time must not be lost. Remember it is important to keep up the body fluids and electrolytes. Keep the body warm if the temperature goes down.