Toddler with Cdiff for over a month

[huffy24]

My 21 month old daughter, Abigail, was on Amoxycilin and another antibiotic almost back to back because of an ear infection followed by a double ear infection. This was back in January (08), she had tubes put in her ears Feb 12th. Then a week later she started with terrible cramping, gas and foul smelling, frequent bowel movements. The doctor's office was reluctant to do stool samples b/c they don't consider diarrhea to be of concern until it has lasted more than a week. But, since we were leaving for vacation in a few days they agreed to test them. It came back that she had c-diff.
They put her on metronidazole four times a day for ten days. She seemed to be doing great on the medication and we thought we were out of the woods. They called to see how she was feeling, but didn't request any further stool samples. So about a week later it all came back with a vengeance. They did samples, and still c-diff. So we did another 10 days of metronidazole. This time they did samples at the end of the medication and she still wasn't better so they moved to Vancomycin for 7 days. We are on day 3 1/2 and already her appetite is back and the cramping is gone, but I am afraid it will all come back once the medication stops.
The doctor's office told me not to think about this not working, but that if it didn't work they would refer us to a doctor specializing in infectious disease and that she would probably need IV treatment. That is scary, for me, but especially for a toddler. I guess my question/concern is, what are the chances that she won't get better on the Vanco? My brother has Colitis and from what I've read, if this goes on for too long it can cause Colitis. Is that correct? I just want her suffering to be over. How safe/unsafe is it for such a young child to be on so many medications (antibiotics) in such a short period of time. She will have had 27 days of medication in about 35 days.

Sorry this is so wordy, this is all new to us and obviously all I think about lately.

Thanks for any advice/support.

Jen and Abby

[Nancy1]

Jen and Abby,
Welcome to the group that no one wants to join. Be sure to read All Users Read This First, Dr. Borody's article, Dr. McDonald's article (in the FAQ section under Articles by Experts), and all areas in FAQ that interest you.

It is bad enough to have cdiff as an adult. I cannot imagine how awful it must be to watch your beloved child suffer with this beast. There are many posters on here who have children with cdiff, so I hope they will post.

I think that if Abby needs so many antibiotics, she needs them, even though I understand that it is a lot of meds. I don't know what her chances are of beating cdiff with vanco this time, but I have heard that children usually recover faster than adults. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[nsewell]

Try not to worry. KIds seem to get over it easier than adults. I actually have two friends that have had kids with it. They are all fine now. Are you giving her any yogurt or gogurt? My daughter actually was just on Penn., then Zpack and Amoxicillin all back to back for strep. They took her tonsills out 2 weeks ago so I hope shes done with the meds. Anyway I make her drink a danimal everyday. Wish theyd tell us that when they give out the meds!

[barberry]

Is there any chance that she is being reinfected? Have you given every possible place a really good clean, my mum was in hospital, tested clear and then became reinfected from another patient who got cdiff {and who may have caught it from my mum as all the isolation rooms shared a toilet and commode wasn't often available quickly].

Have a good clean with a bleach based cleaner just in case. All the washing through the machine with a biological powder.

[huffy24]

All - Thank you so much for the replies, it is nice to communticate with those who have some experience with c diff....

nsewell - I give Abby Udo's children's probiotics in her drinks 3 x's a day and try to encourage her to have yogurt, bananas & live active cottage cheese, but she is a toddler and if she doesn't want it, she doesn't want it.
I too wish the doctor's had suggested we push probiotics/yogurt when she was on the antibiotics, especially since she was on two back to back.

Roy - Yes, I am afraid that my daughter's pedicatrician hasn't had much experience with c diff. From what I have read most doctor's give a longer course of Vanco than 7 days and that is why I am afraid she will relaspse. If she doesn't get better I will definetly consider a GI doctor before IV meds, Thank you!

barberry - Abby isn't potty trained yet, so I have been wearing gloves for diaper changes and I clean the changing table with clorox wipes. Maybe they aren't effective against c diff?? I never really thought about that. I know her day-care uses gloves for changes and they bleach the changing pad after each change. Would bleach be a better choice at home? I wash my hands so much they are getting raw.

One other question - When my daughter took the metronidazole she took it with no problem and would even ask for more. I am assuming the pharmacist put flavoring in it. But, with the Vanco she cries and fights everytime and we have to pin her down to get it in her. I'm guessing it is b/c it tastes awful. I haven't tasted it since I am 6 months pregnant. Can they not add anything to Vanco? Just curious.

[huffy24]

The daycare did put it into some juice for her and said that she drank it, but when I got home the juice cup was still 1/4 full and I had to force her to finish it assuming there was still medicine in there. Even though it is a struggle I like to give it to her directly so that I know she is getting the entire dose. Her appetite has come back a bit, but it is still hard to get her to eat or drink sometimes.....those darn toddlers can be so difficult! =)

[Bobbie]

huffy,
My 4 yr. old son developed C. diff. after treatment for an ear infection/bronchitis. This was back in l979 -- little known about C. diff. He was one of the first (& the youngest) people ever given Vanco. orally (Was strictly an IV drug originally.) He had two relapses & then recovered. He had C. diff. again 6 yrs. later.

I had C. diff. twice many yrs. later -- maybe a genetic component? I couldn't tolerate Flagyl but was on Vanco. for a long time.

I'd take your child to a good ped. GI. As for flavoring the Vanco., I would check with a pharmacist to make sure anything added is "OK."See FAQ-Children (inc. infants) with C. diffile & FAQ-Children & Medication.
IV Vanco. usually isn't effective against C. diff. (usually used for resistant staph infections). I am not a doc., however, so check this out with one.

I am sure he will be OK. Almost everyone eventually recovers, but some struggle more than others. Children often do better than adults. Some child have responded well to Culturelle (probiotic). It can be opened & the contents (powder) mixed with a liquid. Do space probiotics as far from Vanco. (or Flagyl) as possible. See FAQ-Probiotics & Treatments. Same with yogurt - space it well away from meds.

Do be careful about your child taking antibiotics in the future. Some people can take them again some can't. Just be sure if they are given, they are needed & as narrow spectrum as possible to be effective. See FAQ-Antibiotics.

Is the daycare aware of the C. diff.? If not, I'd inform the owner/nurse. Special care should be taken after changing diapers. Good handwashing is the best protection.

Good luck to you.

[crissiej]

You can get acidophilis from a health food store and sprinkle it over her food or put it in her milk. We do that for our daughter whenever she goes on antibiotics.

[huffy24]

Bobbie - Thanks for the input. Her day-care does know about the C-diff, we had the doctor send a note since she was suffering from diarrhea in the beginning. They wear gloves and use a bleach solution to clean after any diaper change so hopefully it will not spread.
Ideally I would love to stay home with her while she goes through this, but bills need to be paid and I couldn't possible take a month or more off of work, especially with a maternity leave coming up in the next few months.....
I wasn't aware that the probiotics needed to be spaced apart from the medication, the doctor's office never recommended anything other than to push lots of yogurt, bannanas and liquids. Like I said before, I'm not sure how much experience they have had with this. I will be sure to do some reading in the FAQ section you suggested.
I think from now on Antibiotics will be a last resort for us instead of the quick fix they have been using them as. Hopefully with the tubes in we won't be dealing with any more ear infections. That is the only thing she ever rec'd antibiotics for.

Now of course I am worried b/c she almost seems to be constipated now and I've heard that can allow the C diff to flourish. Her Vanco course is done on Saturday and they want samples on Monday. I will update with the results.....but even if it comes back negative for C diff, I don't think I will be convinced that it is over.

Jen

[Nancy1]

Jen,
You are right not to trust her stool test results if they want you to take samples 2 days after she finishes vanco. We recommend that you wait 10 - 14 days after stopping vanco (or Flagyl) before having the test done, so that you have less chance of a false negative result.

Also, I'm not sure that constipation is a bad sign. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Abby has beaten it this time.

[huffy24]

Maybe we will hold off on the samples. They can't force us to bring them in that soon. I figure if it is gone, it's gone so it wouldn't matter when they got the samples, but if it isn't gone I don't want false hope.

My husband and I would probably like her to be on the Vanco for a longer period of time, but when are you over stepping your boundaries with the doctor? It is frustrating because the doctor's office hasn't wanted to see her at all and I haven't spoken directly to a doctor about this yet. Everything is relayed through their advice nurse staff.

So I think if we haven't seen the last of this lovely little 'bug' we will be going to a Ped GI.

[Bobbie]

huffy 24,
Ear tubes were a Godsend for my son. They lasted over a year & cut down on the # of antibiotics. After he had C. diff., the only antibiotic he took for years was Pen VK -- now rarely used. (This was at his ped. GI's suggestion. It, too, can cause C. diff. but not as often as Amoxcillin & other "stronger" or broader spectrum antibiotics.) He had C. diff. again 6 yrs. later after 3 rounds of ERYC (erthomycin -- wrong spelling -- too tired to look up) for a stubborn infection. He is now 34 & rarely goes to docs. even when horribly ill -- & smokes heavily. What's a mother to do?

Hope your daughter is truly better. Sometimes after a bout of diarrhea, a bout of contipation is normal. This happened with my son. Hope this is true in your case.

Good luck.

[huffy24]

Well, today is Thursday 4/10 and so far Abby has not complained of her tummy hurting. She has not been eating well, but has been hit with a terrible cold, so hopefully that is what is causing the lack of appetite.
I am still holding off on doing the stool samples. The doctor's office wanted them on the 7th, we are going to wait until at least the 14th to collect any. Crossing my fingers that she has beaten this, but not getting my hopes up too high yet. Will update again next week.

[huffy24]

Okay, took the samples in last night and got the results back already.
She is still positive, but the doctor's office said that since she no longer has diarrhea they aren't going to do anymore treatment. They said we just need to give her body time to build up her good bacteria, but that if she would start to develop diarrhea again we should call them ASAP.

Does that sound right? You stop treatment even though you are still testing positive? I don't know if I should take their wait and see approach or call a GI doctor..... She still doesn't have her usual appetite back and now has a sore throat which I am praying doesn't turn out to be strep.

Thanks for any advice..

Jen

[nsewell]

They usually dont like to treat if your not having the symtpoms, mainly diareah. Some people test positive for awhile after the treatment with no symptoms. Wait it out but if it starts again get on the meds right away.