The right diagnosis, done at the right time, could save your life.

Thanks to the uptake of the internet all over the world, information is literally at your fingertips whenever and wherever you need it. Since knowledge is power, the power is finally in the hands of anyone who has access to the internet. There aren’t enough words to adequately describe all the advantages that come with empowering people. But like everything in life, there are some downsides and in the medical profession, the downside is patients self-diagnosing (which is more often that not wrong) and consequently self-medicating. The dangers of this can be lethal.

Let’s say you have been on medication, antibiotics to be specific, and shortly thereafter you notice that you have severe diarrhea and you are running a high fever, you are also experiencing stomach pains, nausea and a loss of appetite. You chalk it up to being side effects of the medication and you buy some over the counter medication to treat the symports which offers some temporary relief but soon the symptoms are all back. What you are unaware of is that you could be suffering from C. diff colitis. 

C. diff colitis (also known as Clostridioides difficile or C. difficile) is a germ (bacterium) that causes severe diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon). C. diff can affect anyone regardless of age or health status. Most cases of C. diff colitis in San Antonio occur after the patient has been on antibiotics or not long after they have finished taking antibiotics. C. diff has to be diagnosed by a healthcare professional such as a gastroenterology doctor because some tests have to be conducted on the patient to correctly diagnose C. diff and therefore offer the right treatment.

Another important reason why consulting a gastroenterology doctor would be the best decision to make is because certain medical conditions or procedures may make you more susceptible to a C. diff infection including gastrointestinal procedures. This is therefore the kind of medical situation whereby diagnosis, care and management from a specialist would be the best course of action. Complications arising from C. Diff can quickly progress to death if not treated promptly.

So where should you get seek help especially if you are in the San Antonio area or larger Texas? Specialist clinics like Gastro Star do have the best gastroenterologist in Texas. A quick search of San Antonio gastroenterology doctors will also lead you to excellent specialists and the Gastro Star clinic will be one of those that come up from your search.

Getting the right diagnosis as soon as possible is extremely critical; once you have found a gastroenterologist you can be confident about, be sure to book an appointment immediately.