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3d (edited) • Health Articles
Summer Stomach Bug - 18 States
*From time to time, Ask Lynne will focus on health news that's affecting a large population — either globally, in the USA, or in Canada*
The CDC is investigating a surge of parasitic illness across 31 states this summer. Confirmed cases currently: 843 cases of cyclosporiasis acquired in the United States, reported across 31 states, with Michigan alone accounting for a huge share of that spike.
𝐂𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, but this year's case count is notably higher than usual for this time of year, which is why it's making headlines now.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 - watery diarrhea sometimes described as "explosive" - cramping and nausea - fatigue and low-grade fever - loss of appetite
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬 — 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬. 🟢 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 "𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥."
This is the part I really want people to understand, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. Cyclospora isn't picked up by a standard stool culture. If your doctor orders routine lab results (blood work and stool tests) and Cyclospora isn't specifically part of the panel, it can slip right through — even if it's what's actually making you sick.
ASK "𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚?" That one question is a small, but powerful piece of healthcare navigation.
Spead is through food or water contaminated with it — not from person to person. Past outbreaks have been linked to - Fresh cilantro and basil - Spinach and mixed lettuce blends - Raspberries and other fresh berries. Geography offers some clue about where cases are showing up, but it's 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝. The beginning of this spread has not been pinned down.
See a doctor when: diarrhea lasts more than a few days — you have ongoing fatigue or loss of appetite — symptoms improve and return.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲.
Most people recover on their own eventually, but treatment (a specific antibiotic) can shorten the illness considerably — which is exactly why getting the right test results matters.
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 — 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.
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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Summer Stomach Bug - 18 States
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