Print this page
Email a friend
Was this information helpful? Average rating: 4.6/5 (23 votes)
What do you think? Click the stars to vote!
If you have more to say, post a comment below!
One of the big challenges for hospitals is to keep patients from picking up a nasty infection while they are being treated for something else. One of the most worrisome is Clostridium difficile, or C diff for short. This bug causes severe diarrhea that may become life threatening.
Antibiotic therapy is not always successful. That's why a new approach to treating C diff is generating a great deal of interest. Researchers report that monoclonal antibodies to the toxins produced by these bacteria can be effective in preventing recurrences. Reducing the spread of C diff in hospitals with good infection control practices and utilizing new immunotherapy may help doctors defeat a dangerous bug.
Was this information helpful? Average rating: 4.6/5 (23 votes)
What do you think? Click the stars to vote!
If you have more to say, post a comment below!
I'll never forget being in the hospital for a mild Pneumonia and ending up almost dead from C.diff.
They say it was the IV Cleomycin that killed off the Flora in my GI tract but I believe it was a case of careless sanitary procedure at the hospital. Whatever.
Anyway after 10 very painful days of bloody diarrhea, anorexia and bloating, they tell me my Colon has become paralyzed and "we just don't know" what will happen. Well it just happened that a week more of Flagyl brought it under control and I didn't lose my colon although it was very close.
When I was finally discharged I was checked outpatient and was still positive for the Bacteria. They say I'm a lifetime carrier of the disease.
I wish people would wash their hands.
If you are going to direct me to an article make certain that the article provides more than a news headline. For C Diff I want much more information. Something I can take to a doctor and have him or her listen. I don't want a positive head nod and then a goodbye. If you have the information provide something substantive -- or at the very least a link to something more informative.
My mother had hip revision surgery last year. While in rehab, she was given an antibiotic for a low-grade fever supposedly caused by a urine infection. Four days later she contracted C.diff and she never recovered from it. Sadly it destroyed her mind and her body and she died 3 months later.
Gary S.
These links should be helpful: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100121/difficile_011021/20100121?hub=Health or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_diff
Steve P describes the most common people who suffer from C. difficile: 1) hospitalized patients 2) those with recent antibiotic use.
Acid lowering medications like Prilosec and Ranitidine are a risk.
C difficile is NOT killed by alcohol hand sanitizers; you have to use soap and water to remove it.
To decrease the chance of getting diarrhea from C. difficile you can eat yogurt when you are prescribed antibiotics.
We are all covered in bacteria, C. difficile is naturally in some of us (maybe in Steve P before he was hospitalized). Many of us also have MRSA in our nostrils.
Gary, I agree with you, often there is the same headline repeated when I click on the
subject line but no real info to use. i.e.The Mediterranean Diet. We all have heard
about it, but all I know is that they eat a lot of olive oil, pasta and veggies. Nice to get a link with more details. The same goes for radio
interviews, to get the details we have to order a CD which helps pay for the radio time.
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: THESE HEALTH NEWS PIECES ARE MEANT TO ALERT READERS TO NEW RESEARCH IN THE MEDICAL LITERATURE. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, WE OFFER A LINK TO THE ARTICLE, THOUGH SOMETIMES ONLY THE ABSTRACT IS ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT A SUBSCRIPTION TO THE JOURNAL.
EBM, HERE IS A LINK FOR MORE INFO ON THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET:
http://www.oldwayspt.org/mediterraneandiet
IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE RADIO SHOW, SIGN UP FOR THE PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD IT. IT IS FREE FOR THE FIRST SIX WEEKS.
Two years ago I came down with bacterial pneumonia. I was put on strong antibiotics which upset my stomach and after the second day I came down with diarrhea. So bad, the urge to go was constant. I called the dr. and he prescribed meds which I was going to pick up when I thought why not try liquid accidopholus which I had in my fridge. Whithin one hour my symptoms got better. I took it every hour for the rest of the day. And afterwards until I felt better. What a lifesaver!