Any Experience with MRSA, (Staph Infection)... or Known as the "Super Bug"

I had what the doctors first thought was MRSA and was hospitalized in October and December. One doctor later came back and said it was Beta Strep? Just had another "spot" develop but am taking the antibotics so hope it will be gone soon.

Dr. Phil recently did an entire episode on MRSA. It was very informative and I believe his website still has information up about it.

M.

K.,
I'm so sorry hear your family has been affected by this! I had never heard about this until I watched a Dr.Phil program on it about a week ago.
I suggest you check out drphil.com and try to get a copy of that program. It was very informative!
A.

Staff is VERY contagious. You should wash everything your
family has touched. Sheets, towels,clothes,socks. If you threw the socks in a hamper , that needs to be washed too.
Spray the insides of your shoes. Wash your tubs ,sinks toilets with bleach. Just wash everything. You should not be battleing this for a year so I would check all things "touched". Put your husband fee ( kids too, and you ) in a bleach solution. JUst fill a bucket and i say 1/2 cup of bleach.
I know its yucky, but you can get it !!!!!
N.

I work at a medical clinic and we see a lot of MRSA.
You may want to see a infectious disease specialist.
Some people carry MRSA in their nose . The ID specialist may culture the nose to see if you are carriers and suggest potential eradication with nasal creams and bodywashes. Cover all MRSA active wounds. Do not share towels. Do good handwashing. Try to not touch your nose.
Hope thisis helpful.
The LA County Public Health has information on MRSA on their website.
L

yes i have. i had it & took antibiotics 2 or 3 months. mine was in my bresats, both of them, after having a breast lift. i got the flu with chest cold & the bacteria settled in my stitches & infected & thats what it turned in to. (i was healed & stitches ready to be removed when i got sick! darn!) i am o.k. now but they were sore & very red. at 1st my doc thought it was cellulitus but i told him my son, who is 30 had a staph infection in his finger so he treated me for that. he told me it is going around right now. especially in schools. my son is o.k. now too. he also told me to apply a hot compress & it really helped when i did. hope you all beat this soon! it is very stubborn!

Hi K., my youngest daughter, 22 and her little boy, now 17 months, have gotten MRSA thru her boyfriend. He has had it for about 3-4 yrs., and has frequent outbreaks. Mom & her son, not as frequent. I do know that when the two of them have had it, they have had to go to the dr. and actually had to have the sore drained several times before healing. We have tried to research this on line and asking ?s of the dr., but answers have kind of vague with emphasis on the fact that it is so contagious. The boyfriend, who we love and is fantastic with my daughter & her son, while living at home with his family, was able to keep his parents and brother from getting MRSA from him. Drs. have told my older daughter to make sure she disinfects any toys that may have come in contact with Carson, (grandson) since they might have been contaminated by his saliva. While I think this may be a bit extreme, not much is known about MRSA yet. Good Housekeeping had an article about it where a football player picked up the infection in the locker room at his school. So far, no one else in our family has gotten it. Not sure if this helped, but at least you are not the only one. if you ever have questions, feel free to email me, ____@____.com. i may not have the answers, but if you just need to talk, that's ok too. Hang in there & good luck, C. G

If you've had bouts w/this for over a year, I'd be concerned that your doctor is not treating this aggressively enough. This is extremely contagious and as someone else said, you could be carriers, transmitting this to others. Talk to your doctor about this, but you probably need a nasal swab. My dad had this, and is now a carrier. He has to go on IV antibiotics every time he has surgery as a preventative measure. When it flares up, we all wear masks and gloves when we visit him.

I have been dealing with mild staff infections since I as in middle school. They come and go and aren't usually to severe. Iusually just treat them with a warm compress.
My daughter on the other hand got one when she was 1 yr old nd it got so bad she had to be put on medictaion. It may be best to see a dermitologist to see if there is something your husband or daughter should be taking to help clear it up for good.

I unfortunately have had experience with this awful infection. I am so sorry to hear you have to go through it, especially your little one. My brother came home from college very sick with what he thought was the flu and then happened to mention after a few days that he had this "boil" on his leg. I then also got it. My brother was able to get over it after about a year with tetracycline (sp?). One would go away then sometimes a few weeks or months later another spot would pop up. For me on the other hand it was much worse. It took a total of 3 years and many medications to finally get rid of it. I was even put on Retinal A which did help the "boils" not get so large though I still have many scars from the whole experience. My advice is to be very diligent with medication making sure to take it as directed and don't be afraid to ask for something else if it continues to come back. Everyone should have their own towels and they should only be used once, then washed in hot water and bleach if they are white. Clean and disinfect areas that are often touched, such as bath tubs, counters, etc. Make sure everyone washes their hands often especially if they touch an infected area and last but not least drink lots of water. It helps your kidneys with all the meds. which are usually pretty strong with this infection. Good luck and I hope it all goes away soon.

Hi K.,

Just wanted to let you know that my 2 children, ex husband and I have all had numerous bouts with staph infections of different varieties. We were living on the Big Island of Hawaii and it seems one of us was always at the doctors on a weekly basis. The worst was when I had to get the 'boil' lanced on my face which is scarred. Yikes! I should have gone to the doctor immediately which is my advice to you when suspecting anything of this nature.

Happily though after one last bout in Kauai, we have not had any recurrences of any kind for the last 3 years. I believe our immune systems were strengthened and all is well. So hopefully for your family you will get past this superbug.

Kind regards,
C. L

Yes, my daughter had MRSA three years ago & she almost died. I thought it was a boil, What I will recommend to you make sure to tell the doctor to remove it. My daughter have to go to ICU bcos of MRSA went thru the surgery, it is very painful & my daughter went thru alot. What I gave to my daughter in order for the flesh to go back faster is protein drink from Herbal life 3x a day. The doctor was very surprise of the outcome. I also know alot of people who had MRSA & it's not good. MRSA is fatal please make sure to take care of it ASAP. If you want you can eml me directly at ____@____.com & I can give you my phone # or eml me your number so I can talk to you.

Our family has met the superbug. My husband and I met it a month after our triplets were born last year. My son met the bug four months later, one of our daughters met the bug last Friday via surgery. We keep hibicleanse on hand as well as another product to keep moisture to a minimum. The bug used to be in the hospital community but has made it into the general population as has become almost a health epidemic. It strikes quickly and is resistant to the run of the mill antibiotics. Time is of the essence if you get this because it can be deadly if misdiagnosed with small children. We were very lucky that my daughter was scheduled for surgery immediately. The surgeon said that he has been loose in Las Vegas.Best of luck to you.

Hi K.,

I feel your pain!!!. My son had bouts with boils for over a year! We have been through many different types of antibiotics, unfortunately to no avail. I would HIGHLY recommend that you seek out an infectionist specialist, especially for your little one. The specialist will determine which antibiotic should work (and not be resistant to the super bug).

Make sure to wash your laundry separately, and use a little of Clorox, whenever possible. MRSA is EXTREMELY contagious!!!

I am Russian, and whenever people had bouts with boils, they did what I discovered to be a controversial procedure. I could not find a physician in LA that could perform this procedure. More importantly, in Europe, the root of the problems with boils is known to be the blood, but here in America it is considered to be a skin issue.

To help the boil to erupt, I have used a lot of natural remedies, which have helped a lot with pain – as you know the process is quite painful. Additionally, YOU absolutely need to make sure that ALL of you use separate soap, and it has to be antibacterial (like Dial). Feel free to contact me directly via my e-mail at ____@____.com if I could help to answer any questions.

Good Luck and Patience to You,
N.

There are only 2 antibiotics that work for MRSA. Your doctor should have advised you to wash or bathe yourselves with a strong bar soap such as Lever 2000 or I believe the other is Dial. I'm sure by now you know it is highly contagious and you should avoid contact with others as long as it's present. Your doctor can also do a culture by swabbing the nose to see if it's present before there is an actual outbreak which may be the reason your family keeps passing it back and forth. If you'd like email me back with the the names of the antibiotics you've been given or if you'd like a referral to a doctor that has treated MRSA with great success.

What does your husband do? Does he still have it? There was an out break of staph in LA through out the Police Department & hospital . This was a few years ago, my husband brought it home, luckily I did not get it nor did my children. You really need to get it under control and get your immuninty up. Anyhow, I would wash EVERYThing you all touch, bed sheets until it is gone. If you and your child have it and are going out, you are spreading it everywhere you go. I don't know what your doctors are telling you, our experience was very serious. Throw out all his shoes, socks that had contact with it.

Hi K. you are not alone my husband all most died from the MRSA Bug.He was in the hospital for 5 days.He was so sick they let me speend the night with him 24-7.he got a spider bit on his man hood and some how came down with it there.I have never seen such a thing.It was bad.They had to cut him open and when he came home he had a opening like 6in long and 5 in wide I had to pack and change every few hours for about 8weeks.yes We know MRSA. M.

Hi K.,

Nina is right. A friend of ours had it too. Her husband had it on his elbow. She had to constantly wash their sheets and blankets (everyday) on their bed and her husband lightly wrapped the wound in gauze every night and wore a long sleeve shirt. That also got washed every day in HOT water. You have to keep everything really clean in order to try to keep it from spreading. She said it was so much work and such a pain but she never had such a clean house! It is important too for your husband to keep a light wrap over the area (if he still has it). Same would go for anyone else who has it. It should be light enough to allow the area to breathe. Good luck.

L. H.

Costa Mesa

Yes, my husband contracted MRSA when making a visit to the hospital for another reason. He got a boil on his head and then another and finally there were 7 boils on his head/neck area. This was about 1.5 ago and at the time we went to the dr and they put him on heavy antibiotics as well as cremes to draw out the puss (sorry it's gross, I know) It is very contagious, but after sharing with a friend, she told us about Tea Tree Oil, not your ordinary store brand, but Melaleuca Arnifolia Oil from Melaleuca, TheWellnessCo. We were already customers and never even thought about checking into it. Every so often he has an outbreak, but we dab a bit of oil and within 24-48 hrs it is completely healed. They also carry a completely organic, botanical disinfectant that works and kills staph and many other viruses. I DO NOT recommend the bleach - did you know it's a registered pesticide? That can really harm your skin and if absorbed and breathed in can be very damaging - especially to your little one. Melaleuca has safe products and they have worked for me!

p.s. My son nor I have contracted MRSA from my husband and while I am careful, we lead a very normal life with lots of hugs and kisses.

C.~
http://ToxicFreeFamily.net

K., I also suffered with the staph bug MRSA. First on my foot, 4 antibiotics later it went away, I thought!. Then a few mo later on my face. I got treatment immediatly however it still spread and I ended up on IV antibiotics for 2 wks. The best advice I got was from the pediatrician I work for . He told me to wash with Hibiclens for 2 wks when I showered. Now every time I get a scratch tht looks like its getting infected I wash for a few days with hibiclens (its a pink liquid we use in the hospitals quite a bit). Also I do nose swabs with bactaban oint. That kills the bug which is where it grows. Good Luck, talk to your Dr. to see what he thinks. C.

Hi K.,
My 19 year old daughter caught this horrible bug from a friend and has had two recurring bouts with it. Unfortunately, it is something that is in your system, on your skin and is highly contagious. WASH everything in really hot water and bleach if possible. Disinfect everything, doorknobs, toilet seat, toilet handle, faucet handles etc. Keep washing and be mindful of how easily this spreads. It may come back again, but get the prescribed antibiotics ASAP there are two I believe that you need to take at the same time.

Best wishes!
T.

It takes time, diligence and the right medication to rid your family of MRSA. Our family, including our dog, ran through a vicious course of this infection for close to a year and a half. I found a GREAT doctor who prescribed Mupirocin ointment. You apply this topically to the infection, wash hands often and thoroughly of all members of the household and - now here's the key - you apply a thin application of the Mupirocin into the nose of every family member....that's where the infection lives and grows!! That was the only course of treatment that finally worked. GOOD LUCK! I feel for your frustration.

Aloha K., Living in Hawaii staph thrives everywhere. Both my daughters had it at the same time one year. Here it gets into the system and every little cut or bug bite (in our case) got severly infected. We were highly encouraged to do antibiotics. Unfortuatly one daughter had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics so we had to discontinue and make a new plan... what worked for us was to get the body "alkaline". When the body is acidic the staph can thrive in the system. We had to change our diet- which we did as a family to support one another. Basically, you can only eat foods that will support the body to be alkaline- then the staph just cant grow in the system.
An alkaline diet looks like grains such as quinoia and brown rice, veggies and or salad...lots of greens... zero sweets at all-even the smallest amount will feed the bacteria- no dairy...no wheat--- even juice is too sweet. Cirtus fruits only.... you have to be careful of condiments that have sweets or wheat such as soy sauce and dressings...
They cleared up in about three days- but we were really strict and cont. on this diet for a while to make sure it was fully gone and stayed away...
You can probaly do a little research to find out about more foods you can eat and foods to avoid- alcohol is a big no no...alkaline diet is becoming more and more popular as it provides many heath benefits ...more than just fighting staph
it's not easy to make these changes but even beyond the staph it is a healthier way to go- alot of other problems cleared up as a result- yeast infections, exzema, any kind of ichy skin stuff...
It is typical to spread between family members- my daughters bathed together and one gave it to the other
good luck

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Hi, my name is A., I'm 34 and I live in San Diego, CA. I'm a pre-school aide for a local YMCA. My roommate just had a bout of the mrsa infection, and it knocked her out for a few weeks. In her case, she thinks she picked it up from pilates mats, or handling money. But, since it's just out there in the world, the way she actually got it is hard to pin down. She had to wash all of her sheets, clothes and had to disinfect everything that she touched before she knew she had the infection(i.e. the kitchen counter, etc.) For a while she had these raised spots on her body that looked like bad bug bites. But they itched like crazy,she said. We couldn't have skin to skin contact(not even hand shaking). And she washed her hands constantly, which is a given. She took her anti-biotic medicine for the perscribed time, and the spots went away. She says that her appetite still isn't what it used to be, but she doesn't mind that, but, it's different for children, of course. I hope this helps a bit.

My husband spent Dec 22-24 in the hospital starting with ER at 1:30 am. He then had intravenous antibiotics for 6 weeks, and is just finishing oral tetracycline for 6 more weeks. The MRSA was inside his shoulder joint. Ouch! there were pretty severe fatigue side effects of the vancomycin (intravenous antibiotic), but he's seeming to be working his way back to 'normal' slowly now.

Neither my daughter nor I have had any problems yet (knock wood and knock wood). In what ways was it manifested in you and your daughter?
A.

Woah! Some of you ladies are giving very extreme and incorrect advice.

It's true that MRSA is a highly contagious organism, but a recent study conducted at 3 major hospitals in Chicago through the Northwestern University Medical School (go Cats!) showed very clearly that MRSA spreads mostly through skin-to-skin contact and from contact with sheets, shoes, clothing, carpets, bedding, etc. that have come into contact with the infected wound. This means that the best way to prevent the spread of a staph infection is for uninffected people to avoid direct contact with another person's infected wound. If you DO come in contact with the wound, wash your contact area very well with soap and warm water. Soap is one of the most effective bacteriocides: it lyses (breaks open) the bacterial membrane and kills the organisms. In general, good overall hygiene is very effective in stopping the spread of MRSA and and other bacterial or viral pathogens.

Now, it's true that clindimycin and vancomycin are effective against MRSA, but there are also many other drugs that can be used, such as tetracycline and other cyclines and mycins. Vancomycin is a drug of last resort.

It is important to recognize the distinction between hospital acquired MRSA and community aquired MRSA. Hospital acquired infections are more likely to be from strains that have developed resistance to multiple types of antibiotics, not just the beta-lactams (for the most part, beta-lactams are drugs that end in cillin, such as ampicillin, penicillin, and amoxycillin, and drugs that start with cef, such as cefaclor). This is why hospital aquired infections can be so difficult to treat and are often refered to as a "super bug."

It is rare for community acquired MRSA to be resistant to anything other than the beta-lactams, and drugs such as tetracycline and clindimycin are very effective for combatting it. CA-MRSA is NOT a super bug!

One thing to NOT do is soak your hubby's feet, or any other part of his body in bleach! This will only give him a nasty alkaline burn, giving the bacteria greater opportunity to spread through the damaged skin. However, do insist that he keep the wound covered until the infection has completely cleared up and that he change his own dressings so that no one else comes in contact with the wound. Make sure he and the rest of the family practice good hygiene habits, especially hand washing. Wash anything that comes in contact with the wound in hot water with soap.

With a bit of vigilance, you should be able to rid your family of this organism.

Around June 25th this year I was in St. Rose Hospital in Henderson, NV for a boil in a very sensitive place. I am very familiar with MRSA having had it before years ago. I know very well the pain these boils cause. And when the pain told me it was MARSA, I went to the Emergency room at St. Rose for help.
I SPECIFICALLY told the ER Doctor of concern that it was MARSA and told him that was why I was there. To rule out that possibility. Having had it once before, MARSA scares the hell out of me and thats what I told him.
He examined my wound and said no it was not MARSA. He said it was a common anal disorder and prescribed Amoxicillin <which MARSA is resistant to> and sent me home.
Two days after that I flew back to Southern California where I live. Five days later I was so ill I went to the ER at a near by hospital. By the time I got there I was so ill I was nearly unconscious. Diagnosis? MARSA And the boil on my buttocks was so bad I could not sit up for a week. I was so ill from it that they kept me in the Hospital for 6 days. The bill was nearly 32 thousand dollars and I don't even have a job now to pay it.
ANY LAWYERS OUT THERE LISTENING?
____@____.com