What should you know about diseases like cholera?

Cholera is an intestinal infection that can produce sudden, watery diarrhoea and vomiting. Other infections can look similar, so symptoms alone cannot identify the germ. The main danger is loss of water and electrolytes: thirst, dry mouth, reduced urination, weakness, dizziness, and unusual sleepiness can develop as dehydration worsens.

Illness can spread when food or drinking water is contaminated, or through poor hand hygiene. Safe water, careful handwashing, and separating soiled laundry or bathroom items from clean household items reduce transmission. A person with [Diarrhoea](/symptoms/diarrhoea/) may need assessment even when the cause is uncertain.

Start small, frequent sips of a correctly prepared rehydration solution. [Oral Rehydration Therapy](/treatments/acute-and-urgent-care/oral-rehydration-therapy/) replaces water and salts more effectively than very sugary drinks. Continue breastfeeding when relevant and eat light foods as tolerated. Contact a clinician promptly, especially after travel, an unsafe-water exposure, or illness in a young child, older adult, or person with a chronic condition.

Seek urgent help for repeated watery stools with weakness, fainting, confusion, very little urine, sunken eyes, inability to drink, blood in stool, or persistent vomiting. Severe dehydration may require [IV Fluid Therapy](/treatments/acute-and-urgent-care/iv-fluid-therapy/) in a medical setting.

Ask whether testing is needed, how to prepare rehydration solution safely, how to protect household contacts, and which symptoms mean you should return urgently.