“We really do worry about the diarrhea as the main problem that the E. coli causes,” said Gaensbauer.
In most cases, E. coli-caused diarrhea is watery and resolves in a few days, but it can also progress to bloody diarrhea, which tends to happen a day or two after the watery diarrhea starts, according to Gaensbauer.
“Anybody who has bloody diarrhea should absolutely be seeking care to get evaluated,” he noted.
If you ingested a potentially contaminated food that is linked to a known outbreak, you should seek care from your physician regardless of whether you have any type of diarrhea, Gaensbauer said. You can check for outbreaks at the CDC’s website.
It’s important that you talk with your doctor about the medications you’re taking, as certain anti-diarrheal meds can make an E. coli infection worse, Gaensbauer noted. Additionally, you want to make sure you stay hydrated if you do have diarrhea.
Some people who ingest E. coli don’t get sick at all. This likely means their immune systems can handle the bacteria, he said.
There is also a rare E. coli complication that you should be aware of, known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome. This causes injury to the kidneys and can be quite severe, particularly in children.
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome “often occurs about a week after the diarrhea has started, and diarrhea may actually have already resolved when this sort of second complication comes up,” Gaensbauer said. Common signs of hemolytic-uremic syndrome include diarrhea and bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, chills and fever, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
For children who have been infected by E. coli, it’s doubly important to work with their doctor to monitor for these symptoms. Overall, children under 5, adults over 65, and folks with weakened immune systems are at most risk of complications from E. coli.
