Everyone Thinks They Have Diarrhea

It could be cyclosporiasis or is it just IBS? That’s every question cultural food and group chats are difficult at the moment.

Joye Pate was forced to ask this question earlier than most, when she woke up on a Monday in late June with stomach pains. The 28-year-old had just gone to New York, and his first thought was that he had eaten something that did not agree with his stomach. He went to the bathroom and saw that his toilet was empty.

“An hour after it happened, I found myself back in the bathroom,” Pate told WIRED. “And really, it only happens every hour or so.”

Monday was diarrhea every hour. Tuesday was the same. By Wednesday, Pate was frantically searching, trying to figure out what was causing it. On Thursday — after eating little other than soup and crackers — Pate got the diagnosis: cyclospora.

About 7,000 people across the country may suffer from diarrhea, according to Centers for Disease Control and Preventionalthough experts estimate that the number is almost certainly very high. At publication, the number of cases in Michigan alone was 4,312.

But if you look at Instagram, you can imagine that everyone you know – in all parts of the country – is affected: bad for the gut, good for the results. Although germs aren’t ubiquitous, social media is making them so, causing anxiety up and down your diet.

Pate never tested positive for cyclospora, but felt that her symptoms – which lasted a full week – fit the bill. He TikTok for experience they have been flooded with comments who think they may have cyclosporiasis themselves. He wanted to share his experience because, at the end of June, there wasn’t much news going around.

Now, Pate says, cyclospora can be found on his social media. TikToks by people who claim to have the disease, as well as videos from people who are afraid of getting sick, add up to thousands of views. Suddenly, it seems that everyone wants to talk about their stomach problems.

“I feel like I’m 99 percent symptom-free, but I also have stomach issues all the time,” Meagan Rose said. TikTok with over 40,000 views. “And now I’m really stressed, because I’m like — when will I know?”

Foodies, too, love cooked vegetables. “Trying to prevent diarrhea, so how do we feel when we eat mashed potatoes and meat?” said cookbook author Arash Hashemi of An explosion occurs in an Instagram story on Wednesday.

“Avoid raw produce? Boost your lettuce,” wrote the New York Times Cooking Instagram account in a recipe-related article.

“I was very upset after eating a salad from my bodega and my stomach was bothering me all afternoon at work, but I have a history of IBS,” one woman, who asked not to be identified, tells WIRED about her experience with days of diarrhea. “There I was in the bathroom and I was looking at Instagram and I saw a post about insects.”

Michigan health officials have identified lettuce or salad greens as the cause of the problem, but no source, grower, or retailer has been named yet. The old outbreak of cyclosporiasis is tied to green vegetables, herbs, and raspberries.

One of the obstacles to tracking this epidemic is identifying it. Cyclospora is not as common as a foodborne pathogen E. Coli it’s salmonella, and stool tests don’t always show it. Also, most people with diarrhea do not seek medical attention unless their condition is severe.