Took care of pt who tested positve for c-diff

Published

hey

I am a new nurse. just 3 days ago I took care of stroke pt for 2 days(Wed/Thurs of this week). for the entire 2 days he had watery stools. the med student/resident ordered a rectal tube on the 2nd day I had him and ordered stool samples for c-diff ,among other things. I inserted the rectal tube(my first one), collected the stool sample from the tube. Albeit to say, my gloved finger was soaked with watery stools.Yes, I did wear about 3 gloves to do the deed and washed my hands really well afterwards.! Went back to work today, and the pt is on contact isolation for having tested positive for c-diff. I had never taken care of a pt with c-diff before that.

OK. I am worried, since I was sooo up close the infected stools. He was not on contact isolation when I had him and I did wear gloves all the time, standard precautions, but no gown or mask.

What should I be looking out for, guys? If I did contact the c-diff how long does it take before I have symptoms? I googled s/s of c-diff. I donot have abdminal cramps, bloody diarrhea, etc. Anything I should be doing now or looking out for? I know the pt had watery diarrhea, is it always watery stools?

any info pls would be appreciated.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Urgent Care, Step-Down, and ER.

Wow, how new are you? 3 pair of gloves and you are still woried? Welcome to the world of bedside nursing. Your best moments are still to come. Good job on the precautionary steps tho.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac.

Ehh, I've had actual Cdiff stool on my hands and I still don't worry.

You just wash your hands! No biggie.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

You didn't put your fingers in your mouth before you degloved and washed them...or did you? (jk)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My youngest had c-diff and I changed her diapers without gloves for about a week before we knew. I never got it. Good handwashing by itself is fine, and if you had three pairs of gloves on, I think you're panicking for nothing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
you didn't put your fingers in your mouth before you degloved and washed them...or did you? (jk)

i........................................

am going...............................................

to puke........................................

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical care.

Please dont feel as though we/I are/am poking fun at you.

Personally, it's novel to hear a new nurse's perspective on things I've taken for granted after my own 11 yr stretch in healthcare.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis, Nephrology & Cosmetic Surgery.

You can carry c-diff in your bowel and causes no symptoms until such time you are given antibiotcs and then the bug gets control and then symptoms appear. One thing my consultants recommend for our patients is to drink the pro biotic drinks with the live cultures in to strengthen your healthy bowel flora. You could try taking one of these drinks daily if you are worried.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg.

As others have posted, it's not that big of a deal as long as you wear gloves(and follow your facilities isolation precautions once the patient is officially in isolation) and ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wash your hands after coming in contact with &/or being exposed to the patient, the stool, &/or anything the patient has touched(mainly because of the c-diff spores). Also, DO NOT use the alcohol foam dispensers in place of regular soap & water for washing your hands. Reason being they are not strong enough to kill the c-diff spores(according to my hospital's infection control dept drills into our heads). Lastly, even though it sounds stupid and should be common sense, politely remind patients &/or their family/visitors to practice proper hand hygiene, especially prior to leaving the patient's room.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 11 years oncology, 8 years ICU.

for many years when I started nursing we didn't wear gloves if it wasn't obviously bloody...that was universal precautions. In this day and age we wear gloves to just give back rubs, pull a pt. up in bed or anything...I would say with your 3 pairs of gloves you should be fine (unless you stuck your finger in your eyes, nose or mouth at some point).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

You should be perfectly fine, unless like everyone else said, that you stuck your dirty gloves in your mouth. C-diff is honestly one of the least of my worries... I can't tell you how many patients that I have had that ended up in isolation for MRSA, VRE, etc. Just follow standard precautions and wear gloves and wash your hands good. We actually had a recent bacterial meningitis exposure at my facility and lots of people are now on prophylactic treatment.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in TNCC CEN CPEN CCRN.

I;ll join the 'wash your hands' chorus.

And remember; c-diff is unaffected by hand sanitizers or the alcohol hand rubs that are often used in lieu of handwashing.

Don't stress. :-)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion