C Diff is short for Clostridium Dificile. It’s a common bacteria that can be deadly. It is most common in healthcare settings. It invades your colon and produces toxic waste that is irritating to your intestinal walls. This causes diarrhea, pain, and in extreme cases, even death. It is very difficult to get rid of as MOST antibiotics do not work against it. The two antibiotics that work for a lot of people are metronidazole and vancomycin.

C Diff is an opportunistic infection. Normally, the flora of good bacteria in your intestines compete for resources and don’t allow the proliferation of C Diff. So, a healthy person outside of a healthcare setting can be exposed and possibly not get full blown “C Diff”. However, MOST common antibiotics kill off normal good bacteria in your colon leaving on the most resilient bad C Diff bacteria to have the whole thing to themselves. Then, you have a serious problem.

Increasingly, people who are not in healthcare settings are getting C Diff. So, it is not a requirement that you be on antibiotics in order to contract C Diff. But, in general, avoid taking antibiotics for common colds that aren’t affected by antibiotics anyway!