cdiffdiscuss.org

Hi all,

Is it true that cdiff spores remain in the body forever - for life once a person has been infected with cdiff- no matter if his tests results are negative...
I know it would be difficult to answer such a question, but still - I will appreciate if you share the information regarding this topic that you have from different sources...please

Thank you!

Warm regards and take care!
Steffi

Some people, like me, are carriers. If I take antibiotics, chances are that the spores that lie dormant in my body will regenerate. But, this does not mean that you will get c difficile. Many people have c diff spores inside of them, but unless conditions are right - antibiotic use, immuno-compromised, etc., they don't ever develop c difficile. That is what I have been told by doctors.

Agree with Beth and will add that C.diff is a normal gut bacteria that many people carry.
Its NOT a disease.
The disease is c.diff colitis and that's caused by an overgrowth of c.diff.
Even then it's only a disease if your body reacts to it, that's called" host response" and if theres no host response theres no disease regardless of what a test says.
Hence Drs must look at symptoms first and suspect c.diff is causing them and only then test to see if their initial hunch is correct.

Thank you Roy, Beth22 !

Great Info! Does that mean, if you are a carrier you are always producing contagious spores? Forgive me this is all new to me and I’m still trying to understand it all!

A lot of bacteria in stool is "contagious" if it is ingested, but normally people don't do that. We all carry a variety of bacteria and many people probably carry c diff and don't even know it because it does not give them symptoms. No one in my house ever got c diff from me and I had many relapses and am told I am a carrier.