Antibiotic/Clostridium Difficile Update

There has been quite a bit in the news lately about "superbugs" - those bacterial bugs that are becoming more and more antibiotic resistant. The reason this is happening is because of our overuse and misuse of antibiotics. According to an article I read, the CDC-foundation says too many people are taking antibiotics for the wrong reasons. Antibiotic should only be used when fighting an illness caused by a bacteria, like a strep throat infection or pneumonia. An antibiotic will not cure a viral infection and so should not be used to treat the common cold, the flu, or runny noses.

Over the past 18 years I've been treated with quite a few intravenous antibiotics for everything from meningitis to pneumonia. My concern as a person who has IBD is to protect myself from getting sick or from getting clostridium difficile (C-Diff). I don't know about the rest of you, but since IBD became a part of my life I'm now the type of person where if there are 100 people in a room and someone throws in a virus bug I'll be the one person to end up sick from it. And more often than not what would be a simple cold for most people ends up being a major something for me. Without being a hypochondriac I am very vigilant about staying away from people who are sick. In fact, when I was hospitalized for pneumonia about 18 months ago after a vacation in the South Pacific the infectious disease doctor recommended I wear a surgical mask when flying. I've not gone that far yet, but who knows what we'll all have to do if these superbugs continue to proliferating.