C. Diff Found to Last Longer and Affect Even the Non-elderly

1. Diff stands for Clostridium Difficile. It’s a bacterial infection of the colon that can cause life-threatening conditions if not treated. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates about 14,000 people die each year from this infection. It’s typically treated with antibiotics, but since antibiotics destroy both bad and beneficial bacteria, it opens the door for a re-infection because the “good” bacteria isn’t present to fight it.

Previously though to affect mostly the elderly (defined as 65 or older), recent studies have found C. diff has a high chance of reoccurrence for the non-elderly, too. The CDC reports that 1 in 5 who have had C. diff will get it again, regardless of age. A study conducted in December of 2017 by PlosOne estimated that those who previously had a C. diff infection were eight times more likely to experience gastrointestinal issues than those who never had C. diff. There is still so much to learn about how and why it occurs in order to facilitate new treatments.

Symptoms

• Diarrhea 10-15 times daily
• Abdominal cramping
• Rapid heart rate
• Fever
• Nausea
• Bloody stool

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