Q: I travel overseas a lot and heard that cholera is on the rise. Will Cipro and Imodium do the trick?
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A: Neither of those will do you much good. With cholera — a nasty stomach illness that’s caused by bacteria and found in South America, Asia, and Africa — it’s a simple equation: You will lose massive amounts of fluid, which have to be replaced quickly or you might die. We lost 40,000 patients to cholera in the refugee camps I worked at in Zaire, after the Rwanda genocide. I treated a small boy for cholera and became infected myself. Two days later, I felt the worst I’d ever felt, so I put myself on a Ukrainian Antonov transport plane to Nairobi. I was so weak I couldn’t raise my head off the floor. In the toilet I could see what looked like rice water, which is characteristic of cholera. Not pleasant. That day, I was admitted into a Nairobi hospital and, with an IV in both arms, I could feel my liver and kidneys pop back into shape. Here’s what you need to know: If you have cholera, get yourself to a place where enough fluid is available both through an IV and as an ORS (oral rehydration solution with electrolytes, for cases of extreme dehydration in which patients feel dizzy and nauseated). Be sure to carry lots of ORS in your backpack. If you start taking ORS when you first become sick, that may be enough to fend off major illness.
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Email your questions for Dr. Bob Arnot to dr.bob@mensjournal.com.
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This article originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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