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C Diff in a 14 year old

My son has been diagnosed with C diff, following a hospitalization. They will start him on antibiotics within a couple of hours (i hope, we are in the hospital again). How long will he have to be on medication before he is normal again? I mean cured completely from this illness?
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Avatar universal
I  know you posted a year ago but how are things for you now? I am also a nurse and contacted this as well. I took all the proper precautions - gown, gloves, and washed my hands every time I came out of that room. My GI doctor said that I might have an underlying GI disorder (ulcerative colitis or crohn's) that put me at a higher risk of contacting it. I am young and healthy for the most part so I was shocked when I contacted this. I honestly think it is wrong of a hospital to not have a separate wash station in or right outside the patient's room. With it so far away I noticed a lot of people would wear the PPE but would use the foam afterward instead of washing their hands. I am so over having this. I haven't been able to work or go to my kid's sporting events. It is so incredibly painful. The cramping feels worse than contractions at times. I have to really watch what I eat because I get an upset stomach very easily now resulting in multiple BM's. I have cut out all pop, coffee, and most dairy. This seems to have helped. I have been on oral Vanco for 9 days now and it has helped but my stools still aren't back to normal. They aren't completely loose any more but very soft like you stated. I also have multiple a day and I still don't feel like I kicked this thing yet. One thing I do know is I am having my GI doctor state I cannot take care of c.diff patients any more. We have a 30% chance if getting it again and I will not take that risk and put my family or myself in jeopardy. I hope you have kicked this! If you see this comment, please let me know.
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Avatar universal
I work in a hospital and look after patients with cdiff  I'm 48 and have been nursing them for 22 years always washed my hands used an apron etc never thought I'd ever be at risk because I followed all the procedures
had a two week course of co amoxiclav given to me for a kidney infection by gp it wasn't till I finished the course when I started with awful cramps and diarrah fearing the worst I took a stool sample in it tested positive spoke to the infection
Control nurse she said it had happened to lots of staff who had been prescribed antibiotics .then picked up c diff at work.
If this is the case then why is there no warning for staff that they are them selfs at risk of getting c diff if they are on antibiotics it's just crazy I'm just getting over a further relapse
Of c diff Evan though I've tested negative my stools are far from normal I'm going 5 times a day and my stools are very soft I used to go once a day will I ever feel normal again any one else feel like this
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Avatar universal
Gmister, I'd like to urge you to make sure you consult with an infectious disease person along with whatever docs you're currently dealing with. The unfortunate thing with C. diff is most docs automatically put patients on Flagyl for 10 days and expect the flagyl to work. Unfortuantely, C. diff is getting harder and harder to knock out, and the long-term effects of this problem can be very deleterious to a person's body. In many cases flagyl just isn't knocking the infection out as it used to since there are several strains of C. diff. PLEASE ask a LOT of questions of your doc.

In addition, read through the information presented at www.cdiffsupport.org. The site has a bunch of good information on treatment, etc.
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