C Diff Smell & Color – Discover 6 Key Facts About It Today

What does c diff smell like?

Nurses often compare the c diff odour to ‘sweet, sickly baby poo’,  ‘mouldy bread’, and dead and decaying animal smells. More mainstream medical journals compare the c diff smell to horse manure.

What does c diff diarrhoea look like?

The c diff stool appearance when you have c diff diarrhoea is usually watery. It has a mucus-like consistency (like nasal discharge when you have a terrible cold) with shreds of solid matter in the flow. Other conditions can cause this, so be aware that only a c diff test can confirm that you are excreting c diff toxin.

What causes the smell?

There is little information on this. The process of excreting waste routinely produces odorous methane in everyday life. Clostridioides difficile allows other intestinal elements to enter the excreta, which may be a source of the additional stench. Because of the difficulty in keeping spotless hygiene during these frequent diarrhoea attacks, sufferers may also be carrying around a small, fine film of excreta on parts of their body, which will contribute to a sense of being aware of a smell.

Other C Difficile Questions

c diff smell

Is smell enough for a firm diagnosis?

Yes and no. It is an excellent clue, but it is not conclusive. Other conditions can cause foul-smelling stools. A test is also necessary to help establish what strain you have and help in the decisions about the best treatment process.

Does c diff always cause foul-smelling diarrhoea?

There is some anecdotal evidence that suggests that people do have severe c diff without the smell. We seek more medical insight from the journals and will post more on this.

Can medical staff smell c diff?’

For a long time, this was an anecdotal item of wisdom. A recent study in Dayton, Ohio, found that healthcare workers were right in their smell diagnosis 79% of the time. Eventually, mechanical sensors might alert medical staff to the key chemical triggers of the smell and allow faster and better treatment. Recent news reports suggest that this technology is being tested.

What about c diff smell dogs

Is there proof that they can be trained on the infection? A Dutch hospital trained a dog to smell c diff. The two-year-old beagle was more sensitive to the smell than humans and found 265 out of 270 non-c diff sufferers and 25 out of 30 people with active infections.

Last Updated on October 31, 2022

18 thoughts on “C Diff Smell & Color – Discover 6 Key Facts About It Today”

    • Not in my experience…I’m currently being treated for my third bout of C-diff and can assure you that IMMEDIATE access to treatment is necessary. If it’s C-diff, it will NOT go away on its own.

      Reply
  1. I had c.diff a couple times and I fought ulcerative colitis. Antibiotics took care of it but was constipated for years. Ultimately had my coon removed. Now on an ostomy bag. Sometimes I can get a smell like vomit from it. Not sure if I still get c.diff or even if I an since it grows in the large intestine known as the colon and my entire colon plus part of small intestine has been removed. My wife in hospital right now with c.diff.. Looking for information about it to see if I can even get c.diff anymore.

    Reply
  2. My husband was diagnosed with C-Diff 5 months ago, was treated in hospital and sent home to continue treatment. He comes home and I still smell the odor when he goes to bathroom. How long does this odor last?

    Reply
  3. Hi everyone,
    My name is Gregory. I’m about to turn 51 the fifth on November. I’ve been diagnosed as being lactose intolerant/ IBS/D they really do not know.. if I eat any type of dairy like cheese, milk sour cream etc, etc, it’s waterfall city for me. At times at night I wake up and I’ve had an accident, I need to know if I am alone on this part or not,
    Thank you

    Reply
  4. I had diarrhea for a few weeks and I finally went to be tested and it was Positive for C-Diff. I think it wasnt too bad so I hop on a anti Biotic and I am starting to feel better . I know I got it from another person who has had it for a very long time and is passing blood. I pray this goes away . I am trying to change my diet and stay away from junk food . I am a very clean person but I think I got this from going to this lady’s apt. I hope everyone gets well. I have to be so careful for I take care of my Mom /she has cancer –Thank God we live in different apts. Donna

    Reply
  5. My boyfriend has been in and out of ER all year… He tested positive and we both got the exact same symptoms at the same time. He’s taken the antibiotics and is okay. I don’t have health insurance so I have not done anything.

    Anyway… In regards to the smell, what I noticed is the weeks I stick to WFPB whole foods plant based diet, it doesn’t smell like anything. One week I bought eggs and ate 1-2 per day… It smelled awful.

    Looks wise… It’s so weird. I go to even just pee, these horrific noises come out, and then it looks like bubbly white semen. This happens like 10-15x per day.

    I’m 34 otherwise healthy female; have been battling this for 2 months now idk what to do. My kidneys are really starting to hurt.

    Reply
  6. My mother died from C.diff despite three courses of Metronidazole which was the standard treatment in 2011. She succumbed in less than 2 weeks but suffered a great deal with severe weakness as a result of her uncontrollable and almost constant yellow and foul smelling diarrhea. It excoriated her skin very badly and the odor was beyond description (not like any of the descriptives in the prior comments) and just sickening. It is a horrible disease for the patient and horrible to deal with from a caregiver’s perspective. After she died I researched and found claims that the OTC probiotic Cuturelle could help resolve the infection but it was too late to help my mother. I’m going to keep Dr McCann’s protocol on file.

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  7. This is an interesting thread. I had a course of antibiotics that took my gut over the edge and resulted in c diff. I suspected it and had two of the markers — liquid/mucus stool and stringy material — but the one thing that put it into the VERY POSITIVE category was the smell. I compared it to dog crap. Interestingly, the smell began to dissipate about 24 hours before the diarrhea lessened. It took a while to get much better but that smell thing was a clear indication where I’m concerned. FYI — Grew up on a horse farm and like the smell of horse manure. My stools didn’t smell anything like horse manure. They were more like dog crap.

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  8. My mother almost died from c-diff. The tests came back positive but the hospital doctor did not believe the results because of her symptoms. I believe it must have been the absence of a c-diff smell because everything else was clearly present. The smell is a good tool but not foolproof. Trust the tests!

    Reply
  9. Michael L McCann MD my father was on his 3rd failed vancomycin treatment when we tried your method. Still waiting for latest stool sample results but dad, who is 88 years old, has regained strength and a solid stool. We are so thankful to you for the information you provided. Thank you!

    Reply
  10. I would like to offer the following therapy for C diff, especially chronic recurrent C diff, as an alternative to fecal transplants. Two different Probiotics containing two similar strains of Lactobacillus and one of Bifidobacteria, Healthy Trinity; (Natren; Thousand Oaks CA) and Florajen-3 (AP Baraboo,WI) I have used successfully for many years. The regimen is simple; One day (rarely 2 days) of standard dose of either Metronidazole or Vancomycin on a clear liquid diet, then discontinue antimicrobial; day 2 and after until diarrhea abates; 4 capsules HT (or F-3) QID after meals, gradually reducing dosage by one a day and maintain on 2 Caps BID until stools free of C diff. So far I have not seen this regimen fail. Failures are due to giving too little of the Probiotic initially, giving it on an empty stomach without neutralizing the stomach HCl, and not continuing until C diff is eradicated. The current trend toward fecal transplants seems unwarranted until simpler and less troublesome oral methods such as this one have been tried. Michael L McCann MD FAAP

    Reply
      • Hi Angela, have you gotten help? I think I have CDiff and I’m not happy! I have an ileostomy, my dr put me on Xifaxan, this antibiotic can coz cdiff, don’t know why he would put me on it! I’m waiting for my other dr to in where I can have my stool tested. Hope your ok!
        Mary

        Reply
    • Hi Dr. My name is Mary and in 2017 had an Ileostomy. Anyway, I have a Dr who put me on an antibiotic names Xifaxan. When I had an appointment recently, he wanted to put me on it a 2nd time. He said he saw via the ctscan where I had a small amount of bacteria in my small intestine I believe. I think he said sm. Anyway, I told him how I felt about the meds and I read where it can cause c-diff and not what I want at all! He said use for 2 weeks then stop. Well, guess what, I’m sure I have it! The odor I have is like the smell of death! My output is liquidity and not the same as before this horrible smell. Anyway, I appreciate this information so much, thank you! I wish I could call you just to feel better but I understand. You may not even see this as the thread is from 2014. No matter, thank you!
      Mary

      Reply

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