Scared I may have spread cdiff to my 3yo. How many of you have spread to someone?

[jesspal]

Hi all,
I was diagnosed with c-diff 2 weeks ago after being sick for 2 months. I am 35 with a 4 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old. I could only handle 7 days of a 14 day flagyl treatment due to adverse reactions.

I felt as though I was being poisoned. My GI made me test again before he prescribes Vanco so waiting on results. Oddly I only had D for a 2 days. It has other symptoms. Headaches, blood and mucus, extreme fatigue,stomach pain, dizziness, nauseous,and swollen abdomen. I feel sick. I feel that I've lost my health. I feel lost in all of this.

Worst of all my 3 year old just started having D And I am terrified that he has c-diff. He also had some mucus. My question is how many people on here have spread c-diff in their home?? We are using seperate bathrooms and I have cleaned with bleach but for the 2 months before I was diagnosed we were sharing bathrooms. Should I bathe him seperatly from my other children now? Please help.

Sincerely,
Sad Mom

[amyc]

It is possible that you shared the infection, but most people here have shared bathrooms with family members with no transmission. I would call your child's pediatrician so they know what's happening. If you continue feeling sick you need to communicate that to your doctor as well. Sorry you are dealing with this mess.

I would encourage you to find a GI doctor.

[NanciT]

Hello Jespal and Welcome to the site. Please read the first thread for all new posters

Sorry you are having a rough time, Flagyl can be very harsh to take, I could not tolerate and was changed over to Vanco after day 5. It often is based on symptoms rather than testing, if D returns are you are unwell, please call the doctor and also consider seeing a GI.

As far as passing this onto a family member, it is not something I have seen on this site since I have been a member, I am sure other's will jump in here. We have had many concerned and I had this probably for months which went undiagnosed and was sharing a bathroom.
I would still take your little one in to Peds if he has D and get him checked. Checking things out is always the best way to go especially with kids because they can become dehydrated quickly. Until he is checked out, I would take every precaution.

Watch your symptoms closely, it does not sound like you have been on a full course of treatment. Often they will switch to Vanco if you could not tolerate the Flagyl and did not complete it. But if you have NO D and feel better it may not be necessary.

Get your little guy checked out

NanciT

[jesspal]

Thank you for your help. I am being seen by a GI right now and he is the one who made me retest before switching me to Vanco. Hoping I will get results back on Monday.

I bathed them in separate tubs today and am planning on taking him to his Dr on Monday. Thank God he is eating and acting completely normal.

This has truly been a nightmare for me. I feel like a bad mom because I am too sick to play with them and take them fun places like I did when I was healthy.

[maxny1]

Wishing you the best, that sounds really rough. I was away from my daughter at my sickest, but when I returned, I took the precautions advised- separate bathrooms if possible, proper handwashing, bleach solution to clean bathrooms. I washed my hands so much they got terribly dry and hurt, but I was scared. I also took my 3 months Vanco regime meticulously, and lots of high end broad spectrum probiotics. Also have had my daughter on Jarrow Baby probiotic powder since she was weaned, even before I got sick, so I kept that up for good measure, mixed in with her soy milk, applesauce, etc.

Anyway, it does seem to be rare to infect healthy family members, but it is possible.

Still, as you may have read, C difficile is just one of thousands of harmless gut flora for most people who become asymptomatic 'carriers,' and indeed a majority of infants are carriers for some reason, along with ~5% of adults. It is only a minority of us for whom C diff runs rampant and becomes an infection.

So, what I did to stay sane, was do what I reasonably could to follow the advised hygiene practices, and not stress about the minute possibility that I might still get an otherwise healthy family member sick. Doesn't help much to stress about things we can't control.

Also, don't hesitate to ask family or friends for help with the kids, if at all possible. I know I simply couldn't have been a caregiver at my worst, tho I had a moderate to severe case.

[Pinecone]

I had symptomatic c diff for 2 months before diagnosis. I am a generally hygienic person, but I was definitely inadequately hygienic for c diff. I shared a bathroom, cooked food for others, and even shared a bed before I knew what I had. None of my family of four got c diff.

Now, it's entirely possible I was just lucky, and I'd definitely still advise vigilance and caution with your children. I'd be heartbroken to see a little one have this awful sickness. But, at least for me, even in unfavorable conditions I did not pass my infection on. I wish you the best of luck, and will keep your family in my prayers :)

[Lisa33]

Although possible, it is very unlikely. My daughter was 3 when I had c-diff, and did not get infected. Both her and my husband had to take antibiotics while I was in early recovery and neither got c-diff. The odds are definitely in your favor that you did not transmit the illness.

My heart goes out to you because one of the hardest parts of dealing with c-diff was trying to be a mother at the same time. I only had one child, so I cannot imagine the stress with 3. Just don't beat yourself up and focus on getting better. We are not any good to our children if we are not well. The children will be fine. Also, take advantage of any help you can get if possible. I sure did whenever it was available.

I hope your 3 year old is just fine, and hope you heal from this illness soon. Hang in there.
Lisa

[jesspal]

Thank you all so much for the friendly help. He has not had any D since and I am monitoring him very closely. It has been a challenge to say the lease to care for my family during this time. I've been hanging in by a thread.

[overit]

I had cdif for almost a month before I was diagnosed and in that time I traveled and shared a hotel room with my husband and 5 year old. Neither of them were infected. I hope your son stays healthy!

[jesspal]

His stools are normal today again so I'm taking a short sigh of relief. I also just got the news that my retest came back negative!!! I'm so happy. Yet I still feel sick. My primary suspects an underlying health issue somhad extensive blood work done today and will have a CT done this week also. I just want to be normal.

I am taking florastor twice a day and have also begun to eat probiotic pickles and sauerkraut daily. I found the pickles at Whole Foods- brand is hat creek in the refrigerated section.

[overit]

It took months for me to feel well after I tested negative. Hang in there!

[amyc]

Wow, I am pretty surprised that 7 days of flagyl was enough treatment to cure C diff after going undiagnosed for 2 months. If your symptoms don't improve in a few days or a week I would ask your primary care doc for another C diff test and cultures just to be sure you don't have some kind of infection. If all those tests come back negative then you are probably dealing with the aftermath of having gone so long undiagnosed, and your healing will take a while.

[jesspal]

Amy I thought the exact same thing. Very confusing. If the blood and mucus return then I will head back for another test. Here's to waiting and hoping!