Pink has revealed she is spending this summer recovering from a bacterial infection (Pic credit: Instagram/iStock)
Pink has revealed she is spending this summer recovering from a bacterial infection. The 45-year-old singer shared a glimpse of her recovery in an Instagram post – with a picture of herself resting on a couch while hooked up to an IV due to an E. coli infection. “This is all normal and everything is going well,” she wrote, adding, “When you go on vacation and have food and E. coli decides to move into your gut, you kill it with friends and daughters and red wine and a vitamin IV concoction.”
An E. coli infection can lead to severe gastrointestinal issues, including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and fever.
“Ahhh life and lemons and lemonade and great memories that I might remember,” Pink, who appears to be on the mend, added in the caption.
While E. coli is a diverse group of bacteria that is normally harmless and lives in the intestines of humans and animals, some of the strains, like STEC, produce toxins that can make people very ill. According to experts, STEC is often transmitted by eating contaminated food but can also be spread through close contact with an infected person, as well as direct contact with an infected animal or its environment.
What is an E. coli infection?
An E. coli infection is any illness you get from strains of E. coli bacteria, which include harmful strains of E. coli that cause watery diarrhoea, stomach pain, and other digestive symptoms if you accidentally ingest them. Doctors say these are sometimes also called diarrheagenic E. coli, and they are often what people mean when they talk about E. coli infections.
But the E. coli that usually live in your gut can also get in places they are not supposed to be.
Signs and symptoms of E. coli infection
A few signs and symptoms of E. coli gastroenteritis include:
- Severe diarrhoea, which can be watery or sometimes even bloody
- Stomach pains and cramps
- Loss of appetite
- Low fever
Abdominal or pelvic pain- Pain or burning sensation when you pee
- Cloudy and foul-smelling pee
Doctors say the symptoms of STEC infection usually develop within three to five days after drinking or eating foods contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Other strains can make you sick within hours. Sometimes, symptoms even start up to 10 days after exposure. Types of diarrheagenic E. coli include:
- Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)
- Enterotoxigenic E. coli (
ETEC ) - Enteropathogenic E. coli (
EPEC ) - Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC)
- Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC)
- Diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC)
How do you get an E. coli infection?
Experts say the most diarrheagenic E. coli strains spread through fecal-oral transmission, which happens when bacteria from poop, which is too small to see, make their way into your mouth and digestive tract. A few forms, like STEC, also transmit through undercooked meat and unpasteurised beverages. Specifically, you can get E. coli from:
- Eating contaminated foods
- Drinking unpasteurized beverages like milk
- Drinking contaminated water
- Touching poop or contaminated surfaces
- Not wiping or cleaning properly after going to the bathroom