What is C. diff testing?C. diff testing checks for signs of a C. diff infection, a serious, sometimes life-threatening disease of the digestive tract. C. diff, also known as C. difficile, stands for Clostridium difficile. It is a type of bacteria found in your digestive tract.There are many types of bacteria that live in your digestive system. Most are "healthy" or "good" bacteria, but some are harmful or "bad." The good bacteria help with digestion and control the growth of bad bacteria. Sometimes, the balance of good and bad bacteria gets upset. This is most often caused by some types of antibiotics, which can kill both good and bad bacteria.C. diff is not normally harmful. But when the bacteria in the digestive system get out of balance, C. diff bacteria can grow out of control. When C. diff gets overgrown, it makes toxins that are released into the digestive tract. This condition is known a C. diff infection. A C. diff infection causes symptoms that range from mild diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the large intestine. It is especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems.C. diff infections are most often caused by the use of certain antibiotics. But C. diff can also be contagious. C. diff bacteria are passed into stool. The bacteria can spread from person to person when a someone with an infection doesn't thoroughly wash their hands after a bowel movement. They may then spread the bacteria to food and other surfaces they touch. If you come in contact with a contaminated surface and then touch your mouth, you may get the infection.Other names: C. difficile, Clostridium difficile, Glutamate dehydrogenase test GDH Clostridioides difficile, C. difficile toxin test
