Mrsa Staph Infections

[Tammy]

Hello! I'm just curious if anyone here has dealt with skin infections also. My 20 month old daughter may have MRSA staph infection (waiting for results from the lab) and it sounds really contagious. Her pediatrician said that we need to bleach her clothes and bathtub, towels, etc. and keep her open sores covered until they are healed. Our pediatrician also said that MRSA is increasing and has become community wide, rather than just something contracted in a hospital setting, which would be the case with our daughter as she is home with me, not in daycare, and the only place we take her with to is our church! So now, my question is, since her dr. also told us to keep clear of the chronically ill, those with compromised immune systems, and the elderly, how am I going to react to this if I get it. I'm plenty worried about my daughter, but I'm also somewhat worried about myself, and my elderly parents and disabled brother as we had seen them this past week not knowing she had something like this. Man, it sure would be nice if we'd have known this was going around, so we could have addressed it when her first spot appeared two weeks ago. We figured it was just a few infected/plugged pores.

Thanks for any input or knowledge with MRSA

Tammy

[MightyMouse]

There's really nothing you can do other than use really good universal precautions--use gloves when handling the bandaging, etc. And, when ANY of us are in the community, make the assumption that there are bacteria and viruses where ever you go. Wash your hands often, and well, don't touch your eyes, apply make up, touch your mouth, nose, or your own open wounds, scratches, etc. without washing your hands first.

MRSA has been a big issue in hospitals for quite some time now--and is basically a result of over-use of antibiotics over the past few decades. The bacteria adjust to the antibiotics faster than we can bring new ones to market to kill those bacteria.

Be sure you actually have a bacterial infection before taking antibiotics--and do so in conjunction with your doctor...and DO NOT self medicate with "left overs" ; do NOT stop taking the antibiotic until it's done--doing so only adds to the problem of drug resistant strains. First when you expose bacteria to a lower level of an antibiotic (using left overs or using for shorter time than needed), the bacteria that survive it may no longer be killed by it in the future and/or by 2) exposing bacteria to the same antibiotics multiple times, there may be a naturally occuring few little bacteria that don't die anymore from that drug, and then they just keep growing and growing...

end of rant. Wash those hands!

[Sunfish]

My understanding is that this "bug" is MUCH different to have IN the body than it is to have "only" on the skin. Most of my knowledge/understanding about it is due to having a central line & knowing that it's one of the worst infections to have in your blood stream. But obviously this is MUCH different than having it on the skin. Other than doing what the doctors have suggested there probably isn't much you can do. This is the case not only for MRSA/ Staph Infections but for various "bugs" in general. The skin is meant to protect us so it can put up with a lot more than the inside of the body can. I had a localized staph infection (in my subclavian vein, related to a central line) in August and was pretty sick for a few days (in the hospital) but that was obviously IN my body.

In general people with any chronic condition tend to get "knocked down" more than others from infections. For autonomic dysfuctions most people do not "catch" things more readily but get "hit harder" if they do get systemically; it's not that the infection is technically worse but just that the person's body is more affected by the infection.

Here are some links to MRSA:

http://www.amm.co.uk/files/factsabout/fa_mrsa.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca.html

hope this helps & hope things clear up for your daughter soon (and without you catching anything first),

melissa

[bren62]

Usually MRSA is an infection found mostly in the hospitals. Most people who are infected with MRSA have comprimised immune systems and have used multiple antibiotics in their lifetime. Poeple with MRSA sometimes have to be treated with strong antibiotics, sometimes IV antibiotics.

Good hand washing is the best defence in protecting yourself and others. You can buy disposable gloves at most stores if you feel better using them. Anything soiled with drainage from the sores should be disposed of immediately in trash bags. If your daughter is taking any antibiotics now or in the future, make sure you follow the directions on the bottle and have her take all the pills. Many people with good intentions have not taken the full dose of their antibiotics, saving them for another time. Because of this so many of these diseases have built up immunity to antibiotics.

I hope this answers some of your questions. I hope the doctor is wrong and it's not MRSA.

[Tammy]

Thanks for all the helpful advice and the links were also very helpful. Definitely put my mind at ease

Tammy

[BEE]

I hate to sa it but they are finding MSRA in our school buildings here in Ohio..Mostly football players are passing it around..open wounds etc. Big thing as someone mentioned is using the universal precautions.

I hope that your daughter does not indeed have it at any rate. So it will ease your mind and worries.

Take care..Bee

[kmpower]

Hi all,

My 92 year old father-in-law got a bad bronchitis last year and the convalescent hospital cultured MRSA. They were so concerned that they isolated him and took the usual precautions for an institution. He recovered when we did the one thing we always do no matter what happens to him -- demand adequate rehydration. A couple days of IV saline and oral Smart Water and his own immune system did its job. So monitor your fluids as always.

Meanwhile, I did find a very, very interesting bit of research on a promising nontoxic therapy for MRSA -- wallaby milk. For those of you who live with wallabies, there is hope. I hear they make great pets, too.

Check it out:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2190319,00.html

OLL

[masumeh]

When I worked my clinicals as a nursing student, my primary patient was isolated for MRSA (convenient for him, since he seemed to prefer having his own room--there's always a silver lining . I had POTS then, and that was my last semester in traditional college due to my POTS symptoms. I worked with him for a month, and I did not contract MRSA from him. When my instructor asked me if I have any small kids at home, I told her about my highly immunocompromised nephew, who lived with us, a micro-premi still hooked up to oxegen tanks, etc. She didn't worry about it. The problem is that it's resistent to medication (thus the name, meth resistent staph aurius). But, it's not necessarily dangerous to the carrier. My patient was in the LTC facility for Parkinson's, his MRSA was inactive.

How's your daughter doing now?