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My mother, 80 years old, is in a rehab center after contracting clostridium difficile, one of the "superbugs" that are becoming very common. This bacteria is resistant to most antibiotics, and it's often caused by antibiotics...her Doctor told me that he believed it was caused by antibiotics...anyway, she's on an antibiotic called vancomycin( one of the few that work against c diff) but as a result, she doesn't have the beneficial bacteria in her system to ward off future occurrences. Has anyone here had experience with this?
I've been reading about beta glucans, a nutritional supplement that supposedly helps the immune system and promotes healthy bacteria. It also supposedly has no side effects.
If anyone has any knowlege, do you think beta glucans will help?
Is there anything else she can take to help her immune system?
Thanks!
My mother, 80 years old, is in a rehab center after contracting clostridium difficile, one of the "superbugs" that are becoming very common. This bacteria is resistant to most antibiotics, and it's often caused by antibiotics...her Doctor told me that he believed it was caused by antibiotics...anyway, she's on an antibiotic called vancomycin( one of the few that work against c diff) but as a result, she doesn't have the beneficial bacteria in her system to ward off future occurrences. Has anyone here had experience with this?
I've been reading about beta glucans, a nutritional supplement that supposedly helps the immune system and promotes healthy bacteria. It also supposedly has no side effects.
If anyone has any knowlege, do you think beta glucans will help?
Is there anything else she can take to help her immune system?
Thanks!
C diff isn't new and isn't a "superbug" although there are more virulent strains being seen....its been around forever and lives in peoples intestines and is found everywhere in the environment.
The problem starts when you have an overgrowth of C diff usually due to loss of normal gut flora from antibiotics. Clindamycin is a common culprit but any antibiotic can lead to the problem.
C diff releases a toxin that causes severe diarrhea. Oral Vancomycin is one treatment, Flagyl is another. Once the C diff is knocked back by the Vanco her normal gut flora should repopulate so its not usually a problem for "future occurrences.
This can be a very a nasty illness particularly for older patients and should not be taken lightly however as morbidity and mortality is high.
From what I've read c diff re occurs in about 20% of all cases, and this one landed my mom in the hospital, and she has a compromised immune system anyway ( had chemo within the last 6 months). So I want to do whatever I can to help prevent a reocuurence. It's evidently run rampant at hospitals and nursing homes.
C diff is a bacteria that can produce spores that are very resistant to most (not all) disinfectants and these spores have been known to live for up to 6 months in the environment. It's really important to follow contact precautions and environmental and disinfections practices to keep it contained.
As a nurse in the hospital setting; I was continually reminding others when bathing and changing patients not to put linen on the floor but rather directly into a linen hamper and to use universal precautions all of the time.
I believe that if a nursing home or hospital is short-staffed or lax on universal precautions, then they *may* have a problem with infectious diseases "running rampant" in them.
And EVERYONE who touches your mother should be washing his or her hands. EVERY time. And they should also be wiping off the stethoscope diaphragm with alcohol wipes. There was a paper many years ago documenting (I don't remember what journal) that C difficile could be harbored in the false fingernails favored by nurses and spread that way from patient to patient.
Can cdiff cause a sinus infection? My father had cdiff and I was on high dose steriods. He was in ICU amd even though I had a gown on ad a mask people were hugging me etc.. not following protocol. My brother was also touching him and chewing his nails. I got sick soon afterwards. Is it possible I got cdiff in my sinus?
Can cdiff cause a sinus infection? My father had cdiff and I was on high dose steriods. He was in ICU amd even though I had a gown on ad a mask people were hugging me etc.. not following protocol. My brother was also touching him and chewing his nails. I got sick soon afterwards. Is it possible I got cdiff in my sinus?
No.
I suggest you read up on what C diff is and is not.
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