A 35-year-old member asked:
How long is one considered contagious with c diff?
2 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in
Dr. Jason Hemminganswered
Gastroenterology 18 years experience
48hr : After resolvement of diarrhea or other symptoms.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Martin Raffanswered
Infectious Disease 57 years experience
Depends: If you are intimate with the individual who has had c. Difficile colitis they may still be a stool carrier and have the potential to give it to you. If this is casual contact, transmission is not likely once the diarrhea has stopped. But continue washing hands and taking routine sanitary precautions.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
Trumbull, CT
A female asked:
How long am I contagious after starting vancomycin for c diff?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Lori Langeanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Depends: Depends on if your symptoms totally resolve on the vancomycin. Generally 10 to 14 days. However some people are carriers and have no symptoms.
Get a stool check when you feel better to answer this question totally.
478 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
How long is c diff contagious?
1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Daniel Zandmananswered
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 15 years experience
Good question: Hard to say. We don't routinely test patients with c diff to confirm eradication after treatment, because they can still be asymptomatic carriers (test positive but feeling well). So are they contagious? Probably not. The vast majority of people exposed to someone with prior c diff don't get sick. But exposure to active c diff could lead to colonization, or even infection if on antibiotics.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
OH
A 65-year-old female asked:
How long is C.Diff contagious? In a household not nursing home or hospital?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Ali Saberianswered
Internal Medicine 21 years experience
Depends: after initial diagnoses, if repeat stool test 5-7 days later is negative then u are nor contagious, but cdiff has spores, and if those spores stay in the colon, especially diverticula, then you can shed spores; u may not have the colitis while the spores are dormant. Hand washing with soap and water is key.
4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
How long does c-diff last?
1 doctor answer • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Daniel Zandmananswered
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 15 years experience
Depends: In most cases, c diff is treated with 2 weeks of antibiotics. This is effective around 85% of the time, but 15% can "relapse" after their antibiotics. This requires more antibiotics. After that, an even higher % will have a 2nd relapse. Treatment is with even more antibiotics. And so on. Some patients have had relapsing diff for years! we can often cure them with a stool transplant.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Chicago, IL
A female asked:
Is c. diff contagious through airborne?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Stephen Scholandanswered
Infectious Disease 24 years experience
Definitely not: C. diff is a disease transmitted by the 'fecal-oral' route, which sounds disgusting because it is. Spores from another patient can contaminate the environment that someone might have visited earlier (like a shared bathroom in a 2 bed room in a hospital). Once those are ingested, under certain conditions (antibiotic use mostly), the spores can germinate and cause infection. C. diff can be bad news.
862 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Sep 23, 2019
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