Hi
I have young niece who is visiting us and has just arrived at our house a few days ago. Five weeks ago, she was hospitalized and isolated at the hospital for her fist infection with cdiff. Today I've cleaned the bathroom with bleach and bought a lot of yogurts for her. She said to me not to worry because she's "ok" now and the doctor had taken 3 fecal samples a couple weeks ago and the tests are all negative. But she didn't tell me in detail what tests involved.
From the info I read on this website and internet, I understand that the person who has cdiff is always contagious because they always produce millions of spores per day. So why did my niece say "the tests are negative" , what kinds of tests that could possible involved ?
My niece was very sick 5 wks ago, but now she with her friends outhere to party and drinking. I have little children in the house and I'm very worried . Please help .
Thank you.
My niece has Cdiff 5 weeks ago - Is she contagious ?
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goldenswan
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Nancy1
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This is not a medical site and we aren't docs here, so I really don't know the answers to your questions. The best way to get good answers would be to talk to your niece's doc or to your doc. Here are my best guesses:
The tests your niece got were probably for toxins A and B. There are false negative test results for cdiff, but if she is no longer having symptoms, the test results being negative are probably correct.
People who have had cdiff in the past may always have spores in their systems. However, this does not mean that we continue to be contagious. Very few of us, even during cdiff, have passed it on to any family members. My main concern would be if anyone in your family is on antibiotics, which would mean that person could be more susceptible to cdiff. Proper hygiene, meaning lots of hand-washing, for her and for all of your family, is your best defense. See the FAQ section under Hygiene for more info.
The tests your niece got were probably for toxins A and B. There are false negative test results for cdiff, but if she is no longer having symptoms, the test results being negative are probably correct.
People who have had cdiff in the past may always have spores in their systems. However, this does not mean that we continue to be contagious. Very few of us, even during cdiff, have passed it on to any family members. My main concern would be if anyone in your family is on antibiotics, which would mean that person could be more susceptible to cdiff. Proper hygiene, meaning lots of hand-washing, for her and for all of your family, is your best defense. See the FAQ section under Hygiene for more info.
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fire7163
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Goldenswan
The tests would be stool samples which can be inaccurate for a number of reasons. That being said, I've battled C-diff off and on for a couple of years. I'm a career Firefighter/Medic and share close living quarters with the crew for 24 hrs at a time. We all seem to share colds and the flu, but no one else has gotten C-Diff, nor has my family. We follow regular good hygiene in the bathroom and lots of handwashing. That's worked for us, but remember each case of C-diff is different. The always contagious statement is a little hard for me to swallow for a couple of reasons, First of all most of us get well without the rest of our family contracting it, secondly the spores are part of nature all around us. It's when it gets into the digestive tract and the normal flora which naturally combats it is compromised by antibiotic use, that it becomes an issue. When the natural flora gets it under control, then the spores and are passed out as normal waste. I'm sure that there will be other replies that will disagree with my opinions. All I can do is share my personal experience.
Your niece may be one of the lucky ones who get well the first time. If she relaspes, trust me there will be no hiding it. Hopefully your niece is one of the lucky bunch.
Fire
The tests would be stool samples which can be inaccurate for a number of reasons. That being said, I've battled C-diff off and on for a couple of years. I'm a career Firefighter/Medic and share close living quarters with the crew for 24 hrs at a time. We all seem to share colds and the flu, but no one else has gotten C-Diff, nor has my family. We follow regular good hygiene in the bathroom and lots of handwashing. That's worked for us, but remember each case of C-diff is different. The always contagious statement is a little hard for me to swallow for a couple of reasons, First of all most of us get well without the rest of our family contracting it, secondly the spores are part of nature all around us. It's when it gets into the digestive tract and the normal flora which naturally combats it is compromised by antibiotic use, that it becomes an issue. When the natural flora gets it under control, then the spores and are passed out as normal waste. I'm sure that there will be other replies that will disagree with my opinions. All I can do is share my personal experience.
Your niece may be one of the lucky ones who get well the first time. If she relaspes, trust me there will be no hiding it. Hopefully your niece is one of the lucky bunch.
Fire
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