Visitors?

[ajml13]

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and so grateful for all the information everyone has posted over the years.
I am a usually healthy 35 year old female who was diagnosed with CDiff after a round of Amoxcillin for a sinus infection back in August. I had 1 round of Vanco and 1 round of Dificid. Both were unsuccessful in clearing the CDiff and my most recent test came back positive, even though I have no symptoms. Now, I'm supposed to go see an ID next month to seek further treatment.
Anyway to the point, my parents who are in their mid 60s want to come visit myself, my husband, and our baby for 3 weeks in December. Should I tell them to stay home because of this bacteria? They will be sleeping and keeping their luggage in our guest house (which is not infected/contaminated), but we all will be in the main house most of the time. If we bleach/disinfect everything before they come and during their stay, does anyone think it be safe for them to visit and not become infected or pickup the bacteria or should I just have them stay home? I'm afraid if they pick it up then down the line have to take an antibiotic for an illness, they could get sick or die :( Am I being paranoid? They are very active healthy people but my dad goes get the annual cold and a sinus infection almost every year so I'm worried for him.

[beth22]

Hello ajml13 and welcome to the site. You can find more information for new posters in the first forum.

Are you still having symptoms of c dificile? After treatment you can test positive for a while and not need any more treatment if you don't have symptoms. I tested positive for 2.5 years and did not treat per my doctor's advice. My husband was in the same house during all my relapses and we slept in the same bed and used the same toilet and he never got sick. You say that your parents are going to be sleeping in a guest house. Is there a bathroom in there that they can use? The only way to get infected is through fecal/oral contact, so as long as everyone is washing their hands well and not putting them in their mouths, you should be fine. You can check with your doctor if you are worried.

[georgina]

I have shared everything with my husband : the bed , the bathroom , a cold and the flu , covid etc, but NEVER shared Cdiff , even though i was on and off positive for a few years (like Beth :)) ) three years or so. Don't worry , as long as you practice good hygiene , you disinfect the toilet after u use it , and wipe with a clorox wipe the surfaces of your bathroom everybody should be just fine. Also , Cdiff is a comunitary infection now and not just in your house, so just think how much Cdiff is on money , and we could not stay away from those .

[roy]

Testing to prove a cure is not recomended and is almost impossible.
Being positive is not a disease if there's no symptoms.
You mention a baby.
Did you know that 3 out of 4 babies carry C. Diff?
That's normal and they do not need treating.
Very possible that junior is the source of your C.Diff so tell Dad all diapers are now his job:-).

[Jodiekee]

My 15 yr old, my 13 yr old, and myself use the same bathroom because we only have one.
I’ve been having c diff a while now. Active symptoms.
They never got it.
Every time I go, I spray the toilet with bleach scrubbing bubbles and wipe it down with paper towels.

[ajml13]

Thank you for all the responses! Sorry for this long response to everyone...
The only symptoms I'm currently having is constipation and some mild cramping, which I now know constipation can cause Toxic Megcolon and I'm so scared. But so far, no symptoms of that. I am going to see an ID doc on Tues, so hopefully he can help us all find a solution for this - that doesn't sacrifice my ability to breastfeed because my baby won't take a bottle! And if I have only constipation, maybe I can just treat that and move on with my life, I dunno.
I just need to stay healthy for my baby's sake, he's only 7 months and we have no family or anyone to help us with him if we are sick.

Yes we were told and I read similar stories about peoples spouses never getting sick when they had the disease. But, a few months after me, my husband got it and had terrible diarrhea for 12 days - way worse than I ever did! And we thought he was not going to improve. But he did and he's finishing up his treatment tomorrow. Hopefully he doesn't relapse. He's had to go on short term disability because of this awful bacteria. We've been working our butts off to bleach everything including our tile floors in our whole house. We are exhausted!
Yes, I'm pretty sure either our baby or our dog has the cdiff bacteria. The baby has actually been showing symptoms of cdiff infectiom too: tummy upset, gas, diarrhea, general fussiness, but he has improved in the last day or so. And the dog actually has had D too so we are going to get him tested as well just to try to find what exactly our risks of relapse might come from.
Our guest house does have its own bathroom - I thought initially they would be safe too because of that fact, but after my husband got so sick, it scares me to think it could be passed so easily and make someone so sick. But if we continue bleaching and washing hands constantly, maybe it will be ok. I could really use some family love and support right now, I'm so depressed.

[ajml13]

Haha! Yes, I wish!! He's being treated for Cdiff now too though and we don't want him to relapse, so we are both being careful to wear gloves nd wiping down with the hospital grade Clorox Sporicidal/germicidal Bleach wipes that kill Cdiff when changing diapers. And, I was originally using cloth diapers but when my husband got sick, we decided to switch to disposable and it kills me to see so much trash go out to the curb every week, but if it will help us stay healthy, so be it.
We are also going to have the baby tested in December just to see if he's a carrier so we will have to practice good diaper hygiene at least for the next month and a half til we find out.

[ajml13]

And, I don't know if the Const I'm experiencing is actually from the CDiff or not. I've been prone to it in the past and I always get dehydrated in the winter, so hopefully the ID can tell me something!

[roy]

Just keep in mind that testing positive for C. Diff is totaly different to being sick with C.Diff colitis!
Baby should NOT be tested because C.Diff is normal in under 2yo and is not a disease.

[ajml13]

Good to know! Thanks, Roy! But, would it be prudent to at least just know if the baby is the possible source of the infection in the house as a way to avoid relapse? That way we can be sure to always use gloves when changing him, bleach any clothes with blowouts, etc. Thoughts?

[beth22]

I would wear the gloves when changing him. C diff does not usually cause any harm to babies and many are carriers. But, to protect yourself, wear the gloves. I would probably have the dog tested.

[ajml13]

Thanks, Beth! We have an appt to get the dog tested and swabbed next week.

[ajml13]

So, how long will we have to act as though the baby has cdiff (treating his diapers as if they were radioactive, wearing gloves, disinfecting his changing station, etc? Will it be forever until he's potty trained? Will I ever be able to go back to the nice cloth diapers we bought?

[beth22]

Next time you take the baby for a checkup, I would ask the pediatrician about it. Your baby may not even be a carrier. You could have picked it up at the hospital or elsewhere.

[ajml13]

So, my husband and I both tested negative last week after our treatments so my parents agreed to come down. They will be here in 3 days....THREE DAYS. And guess what... after no symptoms for 2 months TODAY I am having rumble guts and cramping with a formed BM. I am so worried that I have relapsed. What do I do?!?! Should I ignore it (my husband thinks I should), should I call the doctor, should I tell them to not come?! I'm so scared. What happens if I do relapse while they are visiting for the next 3.5 weeks?
I cannot give this awful disease to my parents but I don't want to rob them of seeing their grandsons first Christmas . Any advice would be really appreciated.