If left untreated, cholera's rapid and severe fluid loss leads to life-threatening complications. The primary risk is profound dehydration, which can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure (shock), acute kidney failure, irregular heart rhythms, and coma, often resulting in death within 12 to 24 hours of onset. Rapid intervention is critical because it directly addresses this cause; immediate and aggressive rehydration with Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) or intravenous fluids reverses the dehydration, stabilizes the patient, and prevents these severe outcomes from developing.
For the vast majority of patients who receive prompt and adequate rehydration, a full recovery is expected with no long-term health consequences. Once the bacteria are cleared from the system and fluid levels are restored, the body's organs can resume normal function without lasting damage. However, in cases where treatment was severely delayed and kidney failure or neurological damage occurred, there is a potential for lingering effects, but this is rare with proper medical care.