3 Month old with C Diff, any advice?

[kitten18]

This is my great-niece, my niece's daughter.  

Baby was in the hospital February 9th for a respiratory illness (I'm not sure if she was on antibiotics, she was in the hospital for just one night).  She has had diarrhea for the last 2 weeks.  She test positive for C Diff last Friday but the Dr. thought that was a false positive and had her come back Tuesday for another test, again, positive.  So now she is on an antibiotic for it.  Nobody else in the family (DN, her husband, or two boys 8 and 6 have C Diff that they know of), baby does go to daycare.  The Dr. says the hospital stay was too long ago for her to have gotten it there. Does that sound right?

 

I don't really know anything about C Diff, just the little bit I have read here.

 

What do we need to know? Questions to ask? Etc.? 

 

Thanks

[Insertcreativenamehere]

My son acquired c diff in the hospital as a toddler.

 

I'd highly recommend lots of probiotics -- kefir, yogurt, as well as good supplements. 

 

My son was on Flagyl to treat it. It's nasty stuff, but did help in our case. 

[Spryte]

I think she could have gotten it at the hospital, although [shudder] I supposed it could have come from daycare.  Or, honestly, just having been on abx, she might have been a carrier for some spores, and the abx may have knocked her gut flora out of balance enough to let the C Diff grow - but I think that's unlikely in a 3 month old..  It sounds like her doctor isn't terribly familiar with treating C Diff, if he (she?) thought it was a false positive.  I'm surprised they weren't immediately treating.  I would, gently, suggest a pediatric GI doctor asap.  I would want a specialist opinion on C Diff in a 3 month old.  Don't underestimate the seriousness of this.

 

For me, I cannot tolerate flagyl, so we use vancomycin.  I have (had?) recurring C Diff and I've spent years battling it, and frankly - I have feared for my life more than once.  Thus the suggestion to see a specialist.  What finally helped me was a protocol by a specialist elsewhere, that my doc followed - I can't recall the specialist's name, sorry - but it was a 6 month treatment.  I had to do it twice.  There is a new antibiotic for C Diff, and there are also fecal transplant options.  If I relapse again, my choice will be fecal transplant.  But I don't know about how those work or if they are approved for infants.

 

Use caution with changing diapers.  This is the time to become a bit OCD about cleaning, especially after diapers.  Bleach kills C Diff.  Keep diaper changing to one area, to keep it easier to clean.  And, wow, could this rip through a daycare if the workers are not careful.  I hope they've been warned.  

 

Is baby staying hydrated?  

 

Yes, absolute yes to probiotics, s. boulardii (florastor), yogurt, kefir.  But I don't know how to get those into a 3 month old...  I also eat lots of garlic, and use oil of oregano and some other things that are meant to help.  But again, I would not recommend them for an infant.

 

I'm so sorry.  :(  This was a huge fear for me, as we had an infant in the house (DD) while I battled C Diff for the third time.  

 

 

[kitten18]

Thank you both, I will pass this along to my sister/niece. We're 1500 miles away so all i can really offer from here is information.

 

Spryte, I've read some of your other posts about c diff and know you've had a really hard time. Part of the reason I wanted to make sure they get on top of this.

 

I think baby is staying hydrated, she said other than the diarrhea, she's acting normal.

 

Thanks again, I will be sure to update.

[Spryte]

Keep us posted?

 

Hopefully it's a quick and easy recovery!

[Pippen]

As Spryte mentioned above, the hospital stay wasn't too long ago for to have picked it up there, but it can't be assumed. Many infants have measurable levels of c. diff, but don't have symptoms. For that reason it's important that the doctor doesn't assume that it's the c. diff causing the diarrhea.

 

If she's in daycare, parents should ask if caregivers are wearing gloves for diapering babies, plus washing with soap and water, or just using hand sanitizer (which isn't effective against c diff).

 

There's a lot of good information about the medical side in this article:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/36655

[Spryte]

You know, I can't stop thinking about this.  

 

I would strongly suggest that everyone in the family take Florastor.  Or some other brand of S. Boulardii.  (Florastor has been tested though, so I tend to gravitate to that brand.)  S. Boulardii is a beneficial yeast, not to be confused with candida.  It is not in your usual probiotics, and isn't in yogurt, kefir, etc.  But it can help prevent C Diff.  It's important to take it whenever one is on antibiotics (oh, and for the baby - taking it when on antibiotics will be crucial, for always).  But, here, it could help prevent other family members from a C Diff infection.  

 

It's expensive, but worth every penny.  CVS or Walgreens will have it, but shop around on the internet for a better deal.  Costco just had a special on it, mine arrived today, but I'm not sure if they still offer the same deal.  I still take it almost daily, and absolutely whenever on antibiotics.

 

I think there is a powder version for kids, to sprinkle on food, if they can't take capsules.  

 

 

[wapiti]

I was also going to recommend S. boulardii, but with a caveat. Some people do not react well.  From what I have read, it probably works better than antibiotics. However, it may have risks for a small subset of individuals with immune issues. Jarrow makes powder packets that easily mix with water but I honestly don't know what I would do if it were my young baby, considering my ds and what I have been learning recently about baby immune systems. Research :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would really really go to a pediatric gastro-enterologist.  C-diff is nothing to fool around with esp. in an infant and it doesn't sound like the pediatrician knows enough about it all (because of the whole false positive thing).  

[umsami]

I would consult with a pediatric gastroenterologist and ask about fecal transplant.  

[matrips]

From experience with my dad, it was typically three weeks after the hospital/antibiotics that he started with diarrhea, signs of cdiff. Sounds right in the range for your niece. Three weeks after feb 9th is March 2. Two weeks of diarrhea is March 16. Today is March 18th.

[TracyP]

My youngest had C Diff when she was 6 mos. I don't know where she picked it up; my only guess is at her brother's speech appointment. The waiting room was connected to the nursing home. It seems unlikely, but I can think of no other possibility.

 

I am also surprised that the doc waited. The doctor who diagnosed my dd called me at 10 pm to tell me that antibiotics needed to be started ASAP. Thankfully the antibiotic took care of it and it didn't spread to anybody else in the family.

 

Definitely suggest Florastor to the family. We all went on it for awhile. I would open a capsule and the baby would suck the powder right off my finger - I don't think she had started solids yet. I mixed it in food with the older kids.

 

Ugh. My heart goes out to this family. Everything turned out fine, but C diff was such a scary thing to deal with. Sending well wishes their way. :grouphug:

 

 

 

 

[Harriet Vane]

The dr sounds like a real idiot. Get a GI specialist, stat.