r/Cyclospora

Maybe this is a silly question, but I know basil is capable of being contaminated by cyclospora and I wasn’t sure if the sauce is cooked at a high enough heat to deem safe. My contamination ocd is killing me ;;

hello :) i'm very sure i have contamination ocd, but i'm not 100%. anywho, my parents are making a dinner that has shredded lettuce (not taylor farms, it's grocery store dole lettuce) and i'm very terrified about getting cyclospora because of the outbreak. my state was one that had the lettuce recalled but i'm still paranoid, considering trump laid thousands of food inspectors off of their jobs and it's the reason we haven't been able to accurately source all of the companies supplying the affected lettuce (or so i've heard). is there any information that would ease this worry?

For context, I got diagnosed with the cyclospora thing, whatever whatever. It’s fine, I started antibiotics on Tuesday morning and I’ve had no symptoms since then, I feel great. My energy is back and so is my appetite. Since like July 10th I haven’t been able to eat normally. I’ve almost exclusively eaten white rice and bananas and that’s it. Im fucking starving and I want good food again like desperately. Obviously I don’t wanna trigger my stomach to get all fucked up from eating super fatty or spicy food, so I’m willing to chill on that for like a little bit. But I want real food. I’m tired of just eating rice and plain toast and bananas. I can’t stand it anymore. Yesterday I had waffles with bananas on top and some maple syrup (not a ton but a reasonable amount) and I also ate the Trader Joe’s kimbap from their frozen section along with some soy sauce. I feel totally fine. My stomach tolerated both of those with ease it seems. So when the hell can I go back to eating normal? Can anyone else who’s had this help me out? Please lol I can’t go another week without like pizza or some shit that I actually enjoy

As the title says. Are the pre cooked, microwaved dinner/ food packets with veggies safe to eat right now? I think they would be, but my ocd is telling me otherwise. Those are my only food options for a while and I don’t want to risk catching this.

Is everyone experiencing cyclospora at an awful level or are some just like a normal stomach bug? Really interested

Exactly what it says on the tin. I have no reason to suspect that my soil and/or water could be contaminated, but is it safe to consume produce that you grow yourself?

Anyone have a confirmed case of cyclosporiasis? I have a probable case & am waiting for my lab results. This is no fun, Friends. I did not expect to be getting Oregon Trail-level dysentery this summer.

My symptoms started on July 4 & became terrible on July 7. I continue to have symptoms although I'm feeling a little better. I'm really run down & have lost over 6 pounds.

Possible sources:

Cilantro

Basil

Green onions

Bagged cole slaw mix

Bagged shredded carrots

Bagged shredded red cabbage

Strawberries

Fishtown/Port Richmond area

Tell me how you're doing, Philly.

Hey guys I'm having a rough day and I need some opinions/reassurance. For the past few weeks I have been a wreck, convinced that I'm going to get cyclospora. I live in Austin TX and I've been avoiding all risk foods for, at the very least, the past two weeks. But for the past 3 days I have been having a few loose stools a day and lots of uncomfortable cramping and bloating. No watery d* or anything else.

Has anyone here had cyclospora and if so, did it start mild like this and then get worse? Or is this more likely just anxiety and IBS? Its just weird because usually my IBS causes constipation. I did have to take a fluconazole pill for a yeast infection so maybe it's that? I'm so tired of spiraling like this and feeling sick and anxious all the time. This is getting to be too much.

I’ve seen sick over a month now, finally tested positive last week for this hell ridden parasite. I’m on day 4 on bactrim. I’m mainly feeling better, my bathroom issues have mainly ceased. However, no matter what I eat for dinner, I feel so bloated when I go to bed that I’m uncomfortable. I’m talking it feels like my stomach is going to burst. Does anyone else feel this way?

I've noticed I poop less doing this, and since most of the time I can't eat might as well makes the stomaches worse tho, but so far no one has asked this question. Basically are there benefits to fasting while infected with cyclospora.

Just a heads up for anyone waiting on Cyclospora test results through LabCorp around the Atlanta, Georgia area.

I submitted my stool sample on July 13, 2026, and LabCorp is currently estimating that my results won't be back until August 10th. Nearly a month for a stool test is absolute insanity.

At this point, my doctor is probably just going to go ahead and treat me for Cyclospora rather than wait another couple of weeks for confirmation.

For anyone wondering, I've had diarrhea on and off since June 27. It got better for a short time and then came back much worse. I've been taking Imodium and Pepto-Bismol constantly just to keep the explosive diarrhea under control.

For context, I also have SIBO and chronic digestive issues, so my gut isn't exactly normal to begin with. I don't think this came from Taco Bell because I don't eat there. My best guess is that it came from a bagged salad at a fast-food restaurant. Since then, I've completely avoided uncooked foods and have been eating a mostly carnivore diet.

If you're in or near Atlanta, Georgia, and you're waiting on LabCorp stool testing, just know that it may take close to a month to get your results. Has anyone else experienced delays this bad? Did your doctor start treatment before the results came back, or did they wait for confirmation?

Starting June 14th, I had cramping and mild diarrhea / looser stools for several days, then severe watery diarrhea for 2-3 days, then occasional intermittent loose stools with mostly normal stools. I also had the most appetite loss I’ve ever had (even worse than with norovirus) starting 10 days into illness, as well as bloating and nausea well after 2 weeks of it starting. The whole thing felt like a stomach bug for 4-5 weeks. I had norovirus for the first time in 9 years just 6 weeks before getting ill again, but this was much longer and worse. I had lightheadedness and fatigue which continued up until a few days ago, as well as waves of mild nausea. I went from 157 lb to 143 lb (5’10”, M). All the aforementioned symptoms led me to believe it could’ve been Giardia, Crypto, or Cyclospora even before the outbreak was announced. I had already seen a Dr (before the outbreak was announced), and they said “it was within the normal time period for this thing,” so I wasn’t given treatment. I already had contamination OCD that flared like crazy during this. I can’t say 100% it was cyclo, but it definitely is at least as likely as all other causes in my opinion.

I retrospectively attributed it to a salad I had at an event that likely contained SYSCO iceberg lettuce. It was about 27-28 hours before the first wave of symptoms started. Incidentally, I only ate that salad because the other homemade one at the event had raw sprouts in it, and I was just a little more cautious after I already had norovirus a few weeks before. I didn’t have any food avoidance issues, just was taking a slight precaution. However, I rarely ate out during this period to avoid getting sick again.

Today I was finally feeling better and more brave so I ate at one of the restaurants I like and tried to order no raw produce. I had pickled red onions, but it had parsley in it. I was tempted to not eat it, but since I told myself that would just be OCD behavior since I already bought it I ate it. I then realized I ate at this place on June 11th and had the same item that had parsley. I’m worried now I could get a second infection and that I messed up tremendously since parsley and cilantro have been linked to Cyclospora, and they’re saying there are some outbreaks which aren’t related to the lettuce.

my family has a home garden where we grow things like cilantro, basil, tomatoes, and squash. also, my brother works on a farm and frequently brings home vegetables. is there any possibility that we could get cyclospora from our own produce? there are goats and chickens on the farm my brother works at and we have chickens at home, although none of the animals come in contact with the plants. i’ve had bad anxiety about the outbreak and wanted to check if the vegetables my dad grows are safe. oh yeah also, what about pickled vegetables? can i eat pickles without worrying about cyclospora? thank you :)

Does anyone else have this presentation?

About 1.5 weeks ago is when I started getting this crampy aches feeling in my stomach. Which was followed by that night… you guessed it… the runs.

Fatigue came and loss of appetite but not much else.

I’m gaining my appetite back but it seems going to the bathroom is hit or miss. Some are normal and then some are liquid again and I can hear the gurgling…

Is this a typical presentation? I live in SE MI where we are having a huge outbreak and I have eaten at Taco Bell within the timeframe.

it started around July 4th. I was on my period so I wrote it off as period diarrhea but once my period ended the diarrhea still lingered. It wasn’t super watery but it was mush, explosive, multiple times per day in the beginning, felt like I couldn’t empty enough, mucus, abdominal cramping that went away after going, hot flashes, no fever but I did have a 99 temp a few times, excessive gas and fatigue. I didn’t throw up but I felt super nauseated on my period and wrote it off as period symptoms but looking back I wonder if the cramping and nausea was actually also the parasite. finally after some time I felt my gut recovered. bowel movements were solid or half solid half diarrhea and then it came back. I’m unsure if I should get tested, as I really don’t have the funds rn, but I’m just worried. I feel pretty ok but not knowing is making me panic.

I’m definitely not dehydrated and my appetite has come back but it’s just been reoccurring on and off so whenever I feel like it’s gone I’m like I can’t get too comfortable. I have awful health anxiety so the fact I’m the only one in my family who has symptoms and they keep saying it’s probably not the parasite I’m like lost on what to do. I ate raspberries, grapes, those fruit salads, strawberries, cilantro, green onion, and probably whatever else I forgot. I always eat fruit and veggies so I have no idea what it could be.

Extreme stomach cramping, diarrhea, some nausea and feeling like weak living in the bathroom basically. Me and my kid both. We haven’t been eating much produce at all but all the produce we have ate I will list below
I’ve narrowed down and wrote a list of all produce we ate.

Both of us ate Costco romaine lettuce
Both of us ate lettuce from JCWs

I ate lettuce from Apollo burger

She ate lettuce and tomatoes from sonic
She ate grapes from Costco
She ate lettuce and tomatoes from Culver’s

We all ate lettuce from in and out and husband doesn’t have symptoms.