So much drama in my life lately. My mom has been in the hospital for multiple reasons for the past week and half. I found out today that they tested her stool and found infectious colitis. I looked it up on the internet and I think (based on what I read) that she may have c-diff. I just had my operation 4 weeks ago today. The doctors today told us that she is contagious. My concern is how this "infectious colitis" can effect me being that I just had surgery. So, since I nolonger have a colon, am I still at risk for being contagious to her? I am debating whether I need to be alarmed and notify my doctor for any tests? It has clearly been one thing after another with my mom. They did not say that she had c-diff but that was only my conclusion after reading about infectious colitis on the internet. Please advise if you can.....

The only drug that worked for me when I had Cdiff,..was Vancomycin ,..its very hard to kill without it.

But can you get c-diff if you have an ilestomy or does it only "live" in the colon and no where else in the digestive tract?

c. diff can also occur in the small intestine. This is very rare however- but it is out there. I suffered from chronic c. diff, and I also used vancomycin; unfortunately I got VRE, so I couldn't use it anymore. Metronidazole is also a common treatment. Only downside is that it tastes like aluminum.

A couple of questions then:
- Do you think that it would be smart to contact my doctor to let him know that I have been around someone that has it?
- What are the symptoms of it in your small intestine?

It's probably a good idea to mention it to your doctor; it couldn't hurt. I'm not sure of the symptoms if it's in the small intestine. Your doctor, or Jan is probably the best bet for those. Wish I could be of more help. Just remember though, it's extremely rare

If you do not have symptoms, I would not worry much about it. Just keep it in mind if you should develop symptoms. The symptoms would be diarrhea and possibly bleeding. On endoscopy, there would be mucosal damage similar to ulcerative colitis. Toxin tests would be positive (in most cases).

C. difficile is not transmitted by airborne droplets, but by the fecal-oral route. This just means that just being in the same room with her will not cause you to become infected. However, if you were handling soiled linens or other items in her room and did not wash your hands thoroughly before eating or rubbing your eyes, for example, then you could possibly become infected.

C. difficile is common and many people have it in their systems. However, there are a few pathogenic strains that produce toxins. Those are the ones we worry about. The reason it becomes a problem after antibiotic use is because your normal nonpathogenic bacteria is in low numbers and not able to keep it under control.

Jan

I am sure that we are all fine (all the people that have been visiting her) but it does get your brain thinking. What really triggered my concern (because I had read that you could get it through saliva) was that when she had the ventalator, she would accumulate excessive saliva in her mouth so she would spit some clumps out periodically that we would wipe up with a tissue so we did make fairly significant contact with that aspect. I know that I washed my hands but I know that it was not immediate. Like everyone, I just don't want to get sick.....these past couple of years just with colitis has made me really desire a break from being sick.

Based on what Jan said - I would think it would be good preventative to stay on a heavy dose of probiotics!

I just got a call from my sister who met with my mom's doctor and confirmed that it is c-diff. According to the doctor, you can only get c-diff from someone through their stool. I would agree, I will take probiotics. I have never taken them before....even with colitis. I will stop by the drug store today, though, and pick some up. Thanks