Hi Lissa,

Whenever anyone has symptoms that could be serious issues, it's always best to see your family doctor. While online sites are wonderful for getting the information you need to ask all the right questions, they can not take the place of your doctor's solid medical advice and care. When a child is having severe symptoms like pain and diarrhea, it's most important to have her looked at by a physician to determine if anything serious is happening.

In the meantime, here is some information you might find helpful. Dr Todd Eisner answers a question posed by a member here that explains a bit about Clostridium Difficile Toxin. You can read his answer here.  (at the bottom of the page) with regard to folks who have Irritible Bowel Syndrome but you might find something helpful here as well. While I don't think that C-Diff is limited to the elderly, it is generally found after a patient has taken antibiotics. "It is very common in hospitalized and nursing home patients with diarrhea." According to Dr Eisner.

There is also a good article by Scoutnews that says that hunger is what causes this particular bacteria to cause problems. You can read the entire article here. Here is an excerpt: " 'The genes responsible for toxin production only seem to be expressed during periods of nutrient deprivation. This is consistent with the view that most disease-causing bacteria express their pathogenicity when they are hungry,' Abraham Sonenshein, a professor at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tuft University and at Tufts University School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement."

Finally, here is some information regarding the stool tests used to determine if the toxins from C-Diff exist.

I hope this helps. Please stay in touch and let us know how you and your granddaughter are doing!

Vicki M