C difficile

[Vera]

Vera left her home for a nursing home EMI unit in November last year.
In march she was admitted to hospital for two weeks for a UTI. In April she was admitted for 4 weeks for a UTI. Then she was admitted to a Nursing home where they actually nurse.
She had contracted MRSA in the hospital but was successfully treated for it.
June she was admitted again for one week due to a UTI.
When she returned back to the home they found she had contracted C difficile and was given a course of Flagyl for 7 days............not long enough in my opinion but as the symptoms disappeared so did the medication.
That was 3 weeks ago so she has spent two weeks with no medication.
Now it's back with avengance and Vera has lost 7lbs in the last month and weighs just 38kg.
In fact the nursing home say she was 41kg in July but they don't note the date she was weighed, just the month, how absurd is that??
She is isolated in her room, bedridden and can't recognise anyone because visitors are masked and gowned.
I'm just venting because I think it's disgusting the way the old and infirm are treated in Britains filthy hospitals..

 

[Helena]

I agree about the C Difficile but Dementia patients have "vulnerable brains" and this makes the immune system weak thus an infection that healthy people can avoid /get over or are carriers of can be very severe in the elderly /infirm/dementia patients

C Difficile is actually the new Pneumonia
Pneumonia was always called Dementia Patients friend because it ended their suffering now C Diff has taken its place

For my Mother C Diff was a blessing in disguise because to see her highly confused state much longer would have been horrendous

 

[Skye]

I have to agree, that is disgusting.

If Vera is in an EMI unit, why was she admitted to hospital for UTIs?

My John also has recurrent infections since his first UTI a year ago, and one of the reasons they persuaded me to have him admitted to a home was that when infections recurred, as they would, he's be treated there, and not have to go back to hospital.

Since then he's rarely been free of infection, including MRSA, but has always been treated in his own room.

I'm not surprised you're angry, nursing homes are supposed to NURSE!

I'm so sorry she has been treated this way, and sorry you have to watch her suffering.

Love,

 

[Vera]

I have to agree, that is disgusting.

If Vera is in an EMI unit, why was she admitted to hospital for UTIs?
Love,

The EMI unit said they had the 24/7 staff and security but were not set up to nurse, so everyone had to be able bodied. For nursing they needed to be moved to a different NH for the bedridden. She wasn't bedridden at that time but was frequently falling due to the UTI's. She was moved to the NH for the bedridden after multiple UTi's. They tested her for MRSA and C difficile. I believe the only reason they got a Dr. to come bye today was because we insisted. She was restarted on the Flagyl again but I think much too late. I think they were just going to let nature take it course, which is a difficult decision when it your relative and not their decision to make!
Anyway life doesn't have to be made worse by contracting superbugs.

Now since Jan 2008 anyone over 65 who contracts diarhhea in hospital has to be tested for C difficile because health risk managers used to cover up the numbers, disguising them as Noroflu. High numbers in Cdiff meant sackings but not so for Noroflu.
Also 13% of patients contract Cdiff after a one week stay in hospital compared to 50% for 4 weeks. Shameful!

 

[lesmisralbles]

I'm just venting because I think it's disgusting the way the old and infirm are treated in Britains filthy hospitals..

Hear, hear
Barb & Ron XX

 

[Skye]

These hospital bugs are dreadful, but almost everyone nowadays seems to be a carrier of MRSA, John caught it in his unit, and that too keeps recurring.

Your EMI unit must be different from John's, very few are able-bodied in his, most have to be moved by stand aid or sling.

So what happens to people in the unit who lose mobility, but still show aggression, as has happened to a few in John's unit. The nursing section wouldn't take them because of the aggression, so presumably they'd have to go elsewhere?

C. Diff's a huge problem, especially in the elderly.

Incidentally, I also had to get stroppy with our GP, who wasn't going to treat John any more after he gou MRSA. I think that's shameful too. Why should people be written off?

 

[Vera]

These hospital bugs are dreadful, but almost everyone nowadays seems to be a carrier of MRSA, John caught it in his unit, and that too keeps recurring.

Your EMI unit must be different from John's, very few are able-bodied in his, most have to be moved by stand aid or sling.

So what happens to people in the unit who lose mobility, but still show aggression, as has happened to a few in John's unit. The nursing section wouldn't take them because of the aggression, so presumably they'd have to go elsewhere?

C. Diff's a huge problem, especially in the elderly.

Incidentally, I also had to get stroppy with our GP, who wasn't going to treat John any more after he gou MRSA. I think that's shameful too. Why should people be written off?

I never saw anyone get really aggressive, just two of the ladies trying to fight with their walkers. The staff distracted them and broke them up.

 

[citybythesea]

Mom went thru several fights with uti's in her last months. I admit to being one of those busy body kids who have to have copies of everrything. Mom had vrsa at one point and c deficile ongoing at the same time. I ended up with a fight with an weekend on call dr. because I insisisted on a higher dose antibiotic than just taking her to the emergency room for a quick 3 hour intravenous treatment. The trip for mom would have caused more problems. Once I actually got to speak to HER she started to understand better what was going on. The medication mom was given was a 14 day treatment of a pill (a HUGE pill...that was crushed) over here the course of medication that she was given was zyvox (linezolid-not sure if this is right spelling) That medicine was used as a last resort because people are so quick to be prescribed medicines and the body beomes resistant.

At the same time you have to remember that the bodies own defense system is not working right with dimentia involved. I would also like to stress that once a person becomes prone to be in diapers or has a catheter introduced into the urethra the longer the catheter is involved the less the chance of getting rid of the uti. (The tube is now acting as the host to get all kinds of nasty up in there, especially since feces have a tendency to bunch up on it and no matter how well you clean there is still the possibility of contamination and taking the catheter out every time that this happens is not an option.)

Sorry for the vivid description, not trying to offend. I hope that you aare able to find some ground in her treatment that will make you happy and her comfortable.


HUGSD

NAncy