CDIFF - no hospital visits, where did it come from?

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MyKidHasCDiff
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CDIFF - no hospital visits, where did it come from?

Postby MyKidHasCDiff » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:06 pm

Hello.

I am very perplexed about a few things.

My husband and I cannot understand how my 5 year old daughter wound up with Cdiff. I know its common in children under 2, but shes 5. She was on a round of antibiotics a few months ago for a chest infection. She had a chest xray, blood work, and a follow up visit after the antibiotic. The pediatrician said these words exactly "whatever the infection was that showed up in the blood work is gone now, because shes all clear (in her chest after listening)". That did not sit well with my husband.

( I should tell you, my daughter has never had to stay at a hospital other than the 2x she had to visit the emergency room for an hour or so over the last year. )

Since then, she had started complaining her belly hurt, on and off. Last monday, Sept 17 is when I noticed mucous in her stool while helping her clean herself. She usually is very independent when it comes to her "bathroom necessities", but when she has discomfort, I always like to check her stool. Its a wierd thing, I know, but whatever. The following Friday - the 22nd is when I saw the first bit of blood. She was at the doctor that morning. The stool sample was dropped off Monday morning to the lab.

Initially the pediatrician was testing for Ecoli, Salmonella, and Shigella. It was only when I called the doctor monday and asked him to contact the lab and add the CDIFF test to the mix. He questioned me and I told him that a neighbor of ours has a 5 year old who was diagnosed last year.

She was diagnosed on thurs. (today) morning wih having CDiff. The results for Rota virus and all the rest were obviously negative.

Heres the confusion... Does it stay in your system forever? Does the Spore lay dormant? Will we need to watch her diet from now on? Are her friends at risk? Her 4 year old brother, what about him? Too many questions.

I will be making an appointment with the Head of Pediatric Gastroenterology - Robert Wood Johnson, New Brunswick NJ tomorrow.
I cannot wait, hopefully I will get some answers. Until then, thank you all for listening and allowing me to express my story.

Christina
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Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:13 pm

Postby Christina » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:47 am

It could have been the antibiotic that triggered the C-diff infection. It doesn't always become active immediately after antibiotics. It can take awhile for it to actually rear it's head. I started getting sick the end of May with just off and on nausea. It took until the very end of June for me to actually get the full blown diarrhea and symptoms. You can also just get it by picking up a spore in the environment which could be as easy as touching an infected door knob.That being said I wouldn't worry too much about passing it on as long as everyone is extremely diligent about hand washing and proper hygiene. Use bleach in the bathroom as it is the only thing that will kill the spores on surfaces.
Also, C-diff does lie dormant in your system since there is no way to actually eradicate it. Your daughter will need to be careful of taking antibiotics in the future and only take them when absolutely necessary and with lots of probiotics. Although those may not protect her it is good to try anyway.

Good luck with the new Dr. and I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.


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