What is the characteristic stool appearance in cholera?

What is the characteristic stool appearance in cholera?

• A. Rice water stools
• B. Watery stools with mucus
• C. Bloody diarrhea
• D. Steatorrhea

Answer: (A)

Cholera produces a secretory, volume-depleting diarrhea, and the stool takes on a characteristic rice water appearance. It’s pale, grayish, and very watery with fine flecks of mucus and epithelial debris, giving it a milky look. This pattern reflects the toxin-driven increase in chloride and water secretion in the gut, with little to no blood or fat involved. Other descriptions don’t fit as well: watery stools with mucus can occur in many diarrheas but lacks the distinctive rice water look; bloody diarrhea points to invasive pathogens like Shigella or certain bacteria; steatorrhea is fatty, greasy stool from fat malabsorption.

Cholera produces a secretory, volume-depleting diarrhea, and the stool takes on a characteristic rice water appearance. It’s pale, grayish, and very watery with fine flecks of mucus and epithelial debris, giving it a milky look. This pattern reflects the toxin-driven increase in chloride and water secretion in the gut, with little to no blood or fat involved.

Other descriptions don’t fit as well: watery stools with mucus can occur in many diarrheas but lacks the distinctive rice water look; bloody diarrhea points to invasive pathogens like Shigella or certain bacteria; steatorrhea is fatty, greasy stool from fat malabsorption.