Comments on: C Diff Spreading

By: Kathleen Parker

Kathleen Parker — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 01:18:01 +0000

My mother died from c-diff too! February 23, 2005. I also think that she contacted it from the Rehab. she was in. She broke her hip. Other that that, she was fine. I miss her so much. She was 75.

By: charlotte

charlotte — Wed, 31 May 2006 18:53:00 +0000

that is how I understand it too
I may not use the exact correct terms but my understanding is the same
i dont know but in my fathers case I believe there was some neglance on the hospitals part
he was treated while in the hospital in may for c- diff for 4 days from the 4/27 – 5/1 for some reason the did not send him home on any meds for this he was home until the 14 of course at this point it was already getting bad we thought he had a bad virus we took him in and he was rediagonosed with c-diff on the 14 he was not treated until early morning of the 17 by that time his white blood count went up drastically i suspect this was the point his bowles stopped working he was left in a regular ward until we threatened to move him to another hospital finally the dr agreeded to move him to ccu while saying he wasnt bad enough to move
he lived aprox. 12 hours after that he declined so quickly.
my father wasnt treated steady not even for ten days so to say his was a resistant strain i think is far fetched because he wasnt treated correctly until it was too late

By: Virginia Maksymowicz

Virginia Maksymowicz — Wed, 31 May 2006 15:02:11 +0000

In response to Christine and Charlotte:

(Charlotte, our parents died one day apart from each other . . . I’m so sorry.)

This is how I understand C-Diff infections from the doctors and nurses who cared for my mother.

First, Clostridium Difficile is a bacterium, not a virus. A good number of us might already have a strain of it in our intenstines, but there are new, deadly strains that are developing. You CAN pick up the bacterium, expecially in its new virulent form, which is why gowns, gloves and rigorous handwashing are recommended when interacting with patients who have been diagnosed with an infection. The C-Diff spores can live for a long time on various surfaces, and the Centers for Disease Control recommend cleaning with diluted bleach in order to kill them. You do NOT contract the toxins.

Second, a C-Diff INFECTION can be set off by taking certain antibiotics, which, by killing beneficial bacteria in the intestines, upsets the natural floral balance, allowing the C-Diff to multiply out of control. As the bacteria reach critical mass, the two toxins they emit begin to attack the cells of the colon. So the C-Diff bacterium itself doesn’t start in one’s system from taking antibiotics but a C-Diff infection can start after taking antibiotics.

The less virulent strains of C-Diff are able to be combatted with antibiotics like Flagyl or Vancomycin; the more virulent strains, unfortunately, do not respond as well. Age, the overall health of the person, and how soon the infection is diagnosed all play a part in whether someone can survive this disease.

Is this correct? Could a health care professional weigh in and comment?

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Wed, 31 May 2006 11:20:18 +0000

RE: Comment by Christine (cna)
I am SURE I am understanding this C- diff thing correctly. and you dont GET THE C_DIFF TOXIN by taking the antibotic. You contract the virus or toxin in hospitals or from other people by contacting it with your hands or something and then by mouth. when you take an antibotic or even a medicine that kills lots of stomach acid that normally keeps c-diff under control it allows it to begin growing. the bad bacteria takes over in my fathers case(he died may 18 of c-diff this year) he had such a severe case his bowels totally stopped becaused they were too infected and inflamed to go on. The drs. told us he had a severe case that wasnt responding to the medication once it gets to the point the bowels stop working its VERY hard to treat because the way its treated is by the meds passing through the bowels.His WBC went from 8500 to 35000 in just 3 days. we all could have the toxin in us right now but our body could be keeping it in check.

By: Christine (CNA)

Christine (CNA) — Wed, 31 May 2006 06:00:13 +0000

Does everybody realize a common thing they keep mentioning when they state they got C-diff?? it started in your system from taking an antibiotic. Read online in medical journals and they will tell you the cause is usually from antibiotics we take. (sure it can be contracted from another and cautions have to be followed through) Don’t we realize what our bodies are going through now a days -we are having several problems because of the immunities we have built up against antibiotics – MRSA is a big problem and can be very difficult to get rid of and trying to find the right antibioties.

By: Virginia Maksymowicz

Virginia Maksymowicz — Tue, 30 May 2006 20:53:11 +0000

My mother died on May 17 from C-diff. She was 87 and up until recently had been totally independent and in good health.

About two months ago she broke her rib; after the hospital, she spent three weeks in a rehab/skilled nursing center near her home in New Jersey. The Sunday before Mother’s Day, she came to stay with me in Philadelphia while she regained her muscle strength and mobility. She was fine on the trip, slept reasonably well, and had breakfast Monday morning. She started getting some intenstinal cramps, which by the afternoon had escalated into severe pain. We rushed her to PennPresbyterian Hospital where they diagnosed that she had C-diff. She didn’t have the usual symptom of diarrhea perhaps because she had gotten dehydrated in the center as well, and because the infection might have initially isolated itself in one of the pockets of her intenstine (she had diverticulosis).

The ten days she was in the hospital were awful. C-diff is an especially mean bacterium and she, apparently, picked up the new, virulent strain of it (see the Centers for Disease Control’s website ). She was in terrible pain, depite huge doses of morphine. They pumped her full of Flagyl and Vancomycin but to no avail . . . it spread like crazy. By the last day, the infection had gotten into her blood.

Even the doctors and nurses were feeling powerless in the face of this infection. But I cannot praise them highly enough and I couldn’t have gotten through it all without them.

They think that she probably picked up the C-diff in the rehab center. All the rooms in this center are doubles sharing a toilet with the adjoining room (i.e. four patients per bathroom). This sounds like a prescription for rampant spread of this disease. It was most likely triggered after her doctor had prescribed Zithromax because of the risk of pneumonia (the rehab center was not doing much “rehab” — she was left in bed for three weeks and had started developing congestion due to inactivity . . . )

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Mon, 29 May 2006 05:36:53 +0000

In responce to post 4 and 10
My father just passed away from c-diff on 5/18/2006
shortly before his death he too experienced extreme weakness he couldnt lift his arms or even get himself out of bed
he was in the hospital the last time for only 4 days he went in on Sunday with severe diarrhea we insisted he be tested for c-diff for some reason he wasnt treated until tues eve. by that time it was too late unbeknown to us wed. morning his WBC was 25000 my sister and I found out his wbc was 30500 early thurs morning we insisted he be moved to icu this was 5am at 7 am the drs were telling us he had a 90% chance of living within an hour they had him on a ventalator
things continued to worsen it was too late to treat him he was in septic shock his blood pressure bottomed out
at 5pm the drs told us he had no chance his heart had already stopped 3 times and there was nothing else they could do he passed away at 6:10 p
if you think you or someone you love has c-diff PLEASE stay ontop of it ask questions and make the drs pay attention this isnt something to mess around with its so serious

By: JoAnn

JoAnn — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:25:06 +0000

Ben,
Here’s hoping that your father-in-law is in good hands. My husband had C-diff twenty years ago and miraculously survived it, which took many,many months. He took Vancomycin for a very long time. He has had no ill effects since then.
However, my friend has it now as the result of the antibiotics given when she had gastric by-pass surgery. She was in ICU for 5 days and now is home, but recovery is very slow. It is very contagious so take precautions!!!

By: Ben Sheerer

Ben Sheerer — Sun, 21 May 2006 18:16:48 +0000

My father-in-law is about 74 years old. He was admitted to the hospital about 10 days ago. The reason was sever dehydration. He has a rare blood disease which affects his blood platelet blood count, he takes Interfiron for that. Few weeks before being hospitalize, he had kindey stones and was given strong pain killers to take care of the sever pain that he was experiencing. Docs thought that he was paasing the kindney stones. However he was so sleepy that he did not eat or drink for 5-7 days. Now he is the ICU, he is on a ventilator his blood pressure is low, his heart is week and his kindey is shut down, he is on dialises. He was admitted to the ICU after a Stens were placed in his utherals and a kindey stone was removed. He started experiencing diarrhea since the first day he was in the Hospital. No one paid attention. Now, he is so week and his alway sidated . Today, he was diagnosed with C-diff, after reading these reports, I am very concerned and alarmed about his ability to fight this disease in addition to his other weeknesses. Please let me know if there is a definite treatment for C-DIFF. His body can’t take anymore of the doctor’s guess work.

Please pray for him as I will pray for all of you.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 19 May 2006 11:40:39 +0000

If you suspect you may have c-diff, would it be smart to try a acidophilus supplement to restore balance of the bacteria?