My 85 year old mother suffered from colotis from September of 10 until she fell and broke her hip in January.  She came through the hip surgery well.  She was put into a rehab hospital where she contracted c diff and eventually passed away on Feb 18th of this year.  While visiting her, I never saw anyone giving her the option of washing her hands before meals.  I didnt know what c diff was until she passed.  Whats up with this c diff?
Hi! Good evening. I am Chat Doctor answering your query. Clostridium difficile is a potentially dangerous organism which might affect the intestinal mucosa giving rise to diarrhea ending in septicemia if not taken care of. All the risk factors were there with your mother (old age with lowered immunity, immobility, and possible usage of broad spectrum antibiotics post surgery for the hip resulting in the death of other normally occurring bacteria in the intestines which prevent the growth of cl diff) and so the growth of the clostridium difficile was without any resistance, and it could not be controlled WTH the medications. I hope I have answered your query. In case of any doubt, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks for using the Chat Doctor forum for the query on health. Good luck.