Mammalian Diarrhea Treatment

[Reefgazer]

So I brought my cat to the vet today for diarrhea. They gave him a little packet of dried bacteria fir us to put on his food to repopulate his gut bacteria. That got me to wondering if there is such a thing for humans who have diarrhea problems such as C-Diff after antibiotic treatment. Does anyone know is there such a thing at the current time? I thought that a fecal transplant was the standard of treatment for humans, but I was wondering if there was such a thing there's a little package of dried bacteria for humans.

[Carrie12345]

My dog's packet was basically probiotics, just like human OTC probiotics.

[Carrie12345]

Here are the ingredients in the one we were given:

 

Animal digest, Enterococcus faecium, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), brewers dried yeast, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, beta-Carotene, salt, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite. A-2516

 

Wiki: Enterococcus faecium is a Gram-positive, alpha-hemolytic or nonhemolytic bacterium in the genus Enterococcus.^[1] It can be commensal (innocuous, coexisting organism) in the human intestine, but it may also be pathogenic, causing diseases such as neonatal meningitis or endocarditis.

Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium is often referred to as VRE.^[2]

Some strains of E. faecium are used as probiotics in both animals^[3] and humans.^[4]

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, humans can have fecal transplants (in capsule form) to treat c-diff.

 

 

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[Reefgazer]

I knew about the capsule transplants, but I wonder why they don't just have little packets of this stuff to sprinkle on food?  And if they do, why is C-Diff not routinely treated this way.  I know an elderly woman who died from complication of C-Diff, and it seems this would be a simple treatment.

Yes, humans can have fecal transplants (in capsule form) to treat c-diff.


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[Carrie12345]

I knew about the capsule transplants, but I wonder why they don't just have little packets of this stuff to sprinkle on food?  And if they do, why is C-Diff not routinely treated this way.  I know an elderly woman who died from complication of C-Diff, and it seems this would be a simple treatment.

 

My guess is simply because that's a bit like using a butterfly bandage when 20 stitches are needed.  C-Diff can't be treated the same as a little diarrhea.  Or, rather, it can't be expected to respond the same as run of the mill diarrhea.  

[Harriet Vane]

Fecal macrobiota transplant does have some important questions, one of which is the concern about passing on more serious health conditions through the transplant. As my doctor explained it: "We want to make sure you don't 'catch' cancer or diabetes from the donor." That's why the FMT procedure is considered experimental, and that's why it is only used as a last resort.

[StephanieZ]

Yup, those are just probiotics. Good stuff!

[StephanieZ]

ps. I believe that in Europe and other parts of the world, people are routinely given probiotics, specifically S. boulardii, when treated with antibiotics. I was shocked to learn this . . . and adjusted my family's ABX protocols accordingly. We self-prescribe probiotics routinely when we use ABX or if we have a GI bug/disturbance.