Bacterial Colon Infection

What Is A Colon Infection?

The term "colon infection" is an umbrella term that can cover a number of different colon problems.

The most common usage by medical professionals, however, is a bacterial colon infection connected to the bacterium Clostridium difficile, which is also known as C. difficile or simply "C. diff."

A bacterial colon infection caused by C. diff usually occurs in older adults during a hospital stay, or while they're residing in a long term care facility. It also often occurs after the patient takes an antibiotic medications.

Taking an antibiotic not only kills harmful bacteria you may have in your system, it kills helpful bacteria - the "good" bacteria that facilitates digestion and other bodily functions. Without enough of these "good" types of bacteria, C. diff runs rampant in your digestive tract. Once C. difficile bacteria get established, they produce toxic substances that attack the cells and the lining of the intestines and the colon, causing inflammation.

If a bacterial colon infection caused by C. difficile is mild, it may get better when you stop taking the antibiotic. However, if your symptoms are more severe, you may need another type of antibiotic to kill C. diff.

The antibiotics that most often lead to C. difficile infections of the colon include fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, clindamycin and penicillins.

Clostridium difficile bacteria are all around us. They can be found in water dirt, and plants. They can be floating in the air, or embedded in the feces of humans and animals. Like the germs that cause gastroenteritis or stomach flu, they tend to spread in places where sanitation is lax.

One of the best ways to avoid contact with C. diff is to keep all surfaces and countertops clean, and to wash your hands regularly. This is because C diff bacteria produce spores that can spread throughout a room and live for weeks or even months. If you touch a surface where C. diff bacteria has settled, then touch your mouth, you could start the chain of events that results in a troublesome colon infection.

Some people who have C. difficile never become ill, but they can still spread the germs. In recent years, more and more cases of colon infections caused by C. diff have diagnosed. A new strain of Clostridium difficile bacterium has developed, and it is more aggressive than previous types. It is resistant to medications that worked before, and has resulted in several outbreaks in the last decade.

Colon infection symptoms Symptoms of a C diff colon infection sometimes don't manifest for weeks or even months afterward after Clostridium difficile bacteria get into your system. Symptoms of a moderate colon infection include

• Mild abdomen pain and tenderness, or stomach cramps.
• Watery diarrhea that continues for more than two days.

A severe colon infection will trigger colon inflammation (known as colitis). You might also experience patches of raw tissue that can bleed or produce pus or blood in the stool. Other signs of a severe infection might be

• Abdominal cramping and pain, which may be severe.
• Fever and nausea.
• Loss of appetite and sudden weight loss.
• Nearly continuous watery diarrhea that requires a bathroom visit 10-15 times a day.
• Symptoms of dehydration.

If you have these colon infection symptoms and they go on for three days or more, it's time to see a doctor.

Treatment Once a diagnosis of a C. difficile infection in the colon has been made, your doctor will usually take you off the antibiotic that led to the infection. This will probably reduce the severity of the symptoms, but it won't necessarily be the end of treatment.

Ironically, it may make sense to start taking a different type of antibiotic. There are a number of medications your doctor can recommend that will arrest the development of C. diff bacteria while allowing healthy bacteria to return.

The most commonly used antibiotics for a colon infection are metronidazole and vancomycin. Be aware that these medications sometimes have side effects like nausea, and they may leave a bitter taste in your mouth. It's especially important to avoid alcohol if you've taken metronidazole.

There are a number of probiotics which help restore the intestinal tract. Saccharomyces boulardii, which is a type of yeast, has worked for many patients when used in conjunction with medications.

Surgery is not usually necessary, but it is appropriate in severe cases of colon infection.

Treatment is not always successful, and the infection may reoccur. This happens because the C. difficile bacteria was never completely removed from the digestive tract, or because the patient has been exposed to a new strain. 

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