CDIFF care in home vs hospital

[ajml13]

Hi all,
I'm really curious about how some medical professionals can see Cdiff as a serious danger and others do not. For example, when I was first diagnosed with Cdiff my GP prescribed Vanco, sent me home, told me to wash my hands alot, and gently informed me about it being contagious. She was very relaxed about the whole thing.
Then, my husband went to the ER one night after he had had M & D for 8 days and told them it might be Cdiff (because I had had it a few weeks prior) and they treated him like he had the plague. gowns, goggles, gloves, a portable commode for him to use, told him not to touch anything, the whole 9.
And then I see posts here that say spouses and family members don't catch it even during very bad relapses of sufferers, but my husband did catch it - possibly from me, possibly not...makes me wonder - were we not clean or careful enough?
Anyways, question being: anyone know how/why some healthcare professionals are so relaxed about spreading Cdiff and some go to the extreme precaution?

[beth22]

Many babies are carriers of c difficile, so if your husband was changing diapers, he could have caught it that way. It is hard to say. My husband never got it and most of the time other family members don't, but we have had some who did. There is no point in trying to figure it out. When we use public restrooms, we are most likely exposed there too.

[NanciT]

The ER generally see's more CDIFF that a typical GP. They are required to use Precautions with anything that might be contagious in the ER especially since Covid I think most are much more careful. Most hospitals have infectious control departments with specific staff that monitor.
Hospitals here in the US are required to keep tract of cases of CDIFF, MRSA, and other contagious infections. If they have too many, they can lose funding through medicare etc.
The hospital I taught nursing in is a big one here in CA, they actually had a board on each Unit and nurses station including the number of current cases in that unit.
I am sure this is different for hospitals all over the US and beyond overseas but generally cases are kept tract of in hospitals.

NanciT

[jackie24]

I have wondered this same thing! I have an infectious disease doctor appointment on January 14th and I am scared to death to go to it for fear I will relapse or be reinfected! I am on a Vanco taper and although I don't have D now my stomach still makes ungodly noises and I feel bad all the time. The hospitals in my area don't really act to concerned about the spread of anything whether its Covid or Cdiff so I totally understand where you are coming from. Does anybody know what precautions the ID doctors takes to prevent reinfection of their patients?

[beth22]

I never worried about getting a relapse of c diff from seeing the ID because it is fecal to oral contact. But, you can make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after your visit and change clothes if you like. I would be much more worried about getting Covid than c diff at this point.

[D1dad]

This post rings true. I drove myself to the Er early morning and explained my symptoms and what I thought I had. I was hooked up to an iv and treated by a nurse and doc wearing a simple mask. Then the nurse came in wearing PPe and the doc wasn’t masked while explaining the treatment plan if I did have cdiff. I’m in healthcare settings for my job and prior to covid was never masked and didn’t have cdiff until an antibiotic exposed it. It’s not airborne and just not that easy to catch. I’m a nail biter and figured I inadvertently ate someone’s crap at some point, and cdiff lived there until augmentin helped it thrive. When I had to go back to the doc for a refill to finish off my infection, the doc treated me like I had a sprained ankle.