When 30-year-old Ella Rhian set off on a dream vacation across Vietnam and Bali, she never imagined a simple meal would alter her future. But after bouts of food poisoning on her vacation, she was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease.
Rhian, who is from London, shared her experience of being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than 13 million times.
“I got food poisoning whilst in Vietnam after eating street food and then a BBQ seafood meal,” Rhian told Newsweek. “And then again in Bali.”
But instead of making a full recovery, Rhian said she knew all was not well.
“After the first bout, I knew something felt different in my stomach.”
The symptoms worsened shortly after returning home.
“A month after getting back, I had extreme stomach issues that kept me up all night and then blood in my stool which carried on for months until I went to the doctors,” she said.
She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a lifelong condition that requires ongoing management. In captioning on the video, Rhian shared: “She doesn’t know it yet but on this holiday she’s going to eat street food and get food poisoning which will trigger an autoimmune disease with no cure which will make her chronically ill for the rest of her life.”
Madison Reeder, Registered Dietician and Director of Clinical Operations at Modify Health, told Newsweek that while food poisoning itself does not cause ulcerative colitis, it could act as a trigger for those already predisposed.
“Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon and rectum,” Reeder said. “It’s an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the gut lining, leading to long-term inflammation.”
“UC isn’t caused by food poisoning or eating a specific food,” Reeder explained. “However, an illness or infections, or certain foods, can trigger or worsen symptoms in individuals who already have UC. The exact cause isn’t fully understood but is believed to involve a combination of genetic predisposition, immune system dysfunction, and environmental factors.”
Rhian was also told by her doctor that the food did not cause her UC, but could have exaggerated symptoms of the disease.
“Of course the doctors said there’s no cause, or you won’t be able to know when it was, but something felt different in my body after that and I believe we know our bodies better than anyone else,” she said.
‘It Has Changed My Life’
Thankfully, she is now in remission from UC and doing much better, and she doesn’t regret her trip.
“It has changed my life but I believe it would’ve happened to me at some point due to genetics, and you can’t live your life in fear of something bad happening. I had the best trip and don’t regret anything,” Rhian said.
As well as this viral video, Rhian has documented other parts of her health journey since being diagnosed, including her first colonoscopy.
“I think it’s so important to raise awareness for autoimmune conditions and also signs and symptoms of bowel cancer. I have a family history of bowel cancer so it was really key for me to get the message out that blood in your stool is not normal and to see a doctor,” she explained.
The video sparked a series of responses, from support to people questioning the illness altogether.
“I did not expect it to blow up as much as it has,” Rhian said. “The reaction has been mixed, there’s been a lot of medical misinformation with people telling me I have parasites and it can be ‘cured’ or ‘reversed’ which is simply not true for autoimmune conditions and then there’s people telling me God will heal me. But mainly, there’s a lot of people in the same boat which I find crazy. It just shows more research needs to be done into autoimmune diseases and their triggers.”
Reeder emphasized that while UC cannot be cured, managing the condition is all about lifestyle.
“There’s no known way to completely prevent UC, as it is largely influenced by genetics and immune system factors,” Reeder said. “However, maintaining a healthy lifestyle—such as following a balanced diet, managing stress, avoiding smoking, and staying physically active—may help reduce the risk or severity of flare-ups.”
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