Re: Intestinal Infection Widespread Throughout U.S. Hospitals

November 14, 2008

This is a horrendous bowel infection! My mother had it a couple years

ago - and almost died a couple of times because of complications. She

was in and out of the hospital and rehab several times with it in the

course of a year or so. Most patients catch it if they are already in

the hospital or nursing home, but my mother was not in either when she

got it, so we have no idea how she got it. It just started one day

with violent diarrhea, and she went downhill from there.

The only thing that kills the bacteria is clorox - not even washing

your hands with soap and water kills it. Don't put your fingers in

your mouth and don't touch your face.

Terrible disease!

Carol

>

> A serious and life-threatening bacterium known as Clostridium difficile

> has become far more common in U.S. hospitals than previously thought.

>

November 14, 2008

The reason it spreads is because it has

strong spore-bearing properties. A spore can live through much tougher

conditions than a bacterium can. The spore that lives will restart the colony.

That’s why surgical instruments are not just scrubbed clean; they have to

be put through an autoclave (heat and pressure) session as well. They haven’t

figured out yet how to kill this particular opportunist. It is in the soil and

on surfaces everywhere and has become resistant in some strains, probably how

your mom picked it up. Scary disease.

Janet

From: health [mailto:health ] On Behalf Of Carol

Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008

6:59 PM

health

Subject: Re:

Intestinal Infection Widespread Throughout U.S. Hospitals

This is a horrendous bowel infection! My mother had it

a couple years

ago - and almost died a couple of times because of complications. She

was in and out of the hospital and rehab several times with it in the

course of a year or so. Most patients catch it if they are already in

the hospital or nursing home, but my mother was not in either when she

got it, so we have no idea how she got it. It just started one day

with violent diarrhea, and she went downhill from there.

The only thing that kills the bacteria is clorox - not even washing

your hands with soap and water kills it. Don't put your fingers in

your mouth and don't touch your face.

Terrible disease!

Carol

>

> A serious and life-threatening bacterium known as Clostridium difficile

> has become far more common in U.S. hospitals than previously

thought.

>

November 14, 2008

I do not wish to alarm you but Clostridium difficile (C. diff) has

been around for years and is just now coming to light in the news. It

has been most prevalent in the past in nursing homes. C. diff is an

opportunist spore that occurs when the normal intestinal flora has

been killed by antibiotics. These spores can live up to 70 days in

the environment and can be spread on the hands of healthcare workers

or on environmental surfaces such as toilets, bedpans etc. Although

most transmission is in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab, it has been

known to be spread in community as well. How to protect yourself?

Cover toilet seats, wash your hands and be aware of what you touch in

the bathroom of public places. As an RN we are taught to turn on the

water, wash hands, use the paper towel to dry the hands and then use

that paper towel to turn off the water and open the door. The

greatest single thing you can do to stop the spread of any bacteria

is to wash your hands.

Sharon

>

> A serious and life-threatening bacterium known as Clostridium

difficile

> has become far more common in U.S. hospitals than previously thought.

> Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) causes diarrhea as well as more

> serious intestinal conditions and is now affecting as many as 13 out

of

> every 1,000 hospital patients within the United States. Read more at

> http://healtnhappyness.blogspot.com/

> <http://healtnhappyness.blogspot.com/>

>

November 14, 2008

My son showed c. difficile and clostridia, his testing at Great Plains. I've

got to test again, year later. Anxious to see what's going on.

He wasn't sick btw at the time. I wonder if there are carriers?

He also has never had strep. My nt food allergy guy has tested positive a

couple times, once when only like 6 months. Was told that wasn't really

possible in a breast feed baby, but that's what the test said. Later my PPD-NOS

son tested positive at the same time, maybe ages 1 1/2 and 3 1/2, years ago,

when the youngest was sick. My older PPD-NOS test positive and he wasn't sick

and that has been his only positive strep test. So both boys were treated.

We've not seen strep since but hope to do a viral protocol one of these days on

both. On the to do list!

Tammy

Re: Intestinal Infection Widespread Throughout U.S.

Hospitals