Recurring Staph Infection

I second Emily's advice about the bleach bath. When my daughter's pediatrician recommended this I cringed. At follow up she chewed me out because I only did it a handful of times. She said to keep doing it-it's completly safe.
I also found that keeping it dry helped. My daughter had hers in the summer and I found it to be worse with sweat.

Contact your County Health Department.
They have "Well Child" clinics and charge on a sliding scale.

When I was going through my divorce, that's where I took my kids for their check ups and immunizations. They were awesome.

That said, don't mess with self-treating staph infection.
I got staph a couple of times and I needed more than one course of antibiotics each time. Some strains are resistant to certain antibiotics so your daughter might need a combination and to take ALL the meds, around the clock, as prescribed. I had to set my alarm to make sure that I had my meds in the night at the exact intervals prescribed.

I never suffered with staph recurring for over a year.
This tells me that your daughter needs more aggressive treatment in order to get rid of it all together. It's not good for her little system to be trying to battle this infection.

Call the Health Department. They will tell you where you can take your daughter for treatment. If you income qualify, it might even be free.

Don't wait. Call them tomorrow.

Best wishes.

I'd take her to the doctor. The problem is that the antibiotic and cream may have killed off most of the infection, and what's left is more resistant and harder to treat. It needs to be cleared up completely or it can just get worse. Your daughter probably needs a different med.

In our area, people without insurance can seek treatment at "volunteers in medicine". There are also clinics in our community that will treat on a sliding scale according to income. Another alternative is to find a family doctor who will give you a discount if you pay in cash or have no insurance.

Emily A is right on in her advice, we've had MRSA in our home, too.

Also, look into low-cost clinics, Medi-cal or state insurance for children whose families have no coverage or a doctor with a relatively low office visit fee. She hasn't been treated properly as of yet since it didn't help, so do get her to a doctor. The cost of a doctor visit and antibiotics (oral and topical is my guess) should be far less than $600-$800.

God bless!

Is there a plan in your state for children's insurance coverage?

J.,

I am so sorry! Can you apply for state aid? You may be able to qualify or at least pay a share of cost etc. But there are more options....keep looking! Hang in there! I wish I had more advice.

Vitamins? Diet change?

I suggest that you make an appointment with your county health clinic. They charge on a sliding fee schedule. How many times did you take her to the doctor. I suggest that there are more aggressive ways to treat this, perhaps with different topical and oral antibiotics, but if you didn't continue to take her back or talk with the clinic they didn't have the opportunity to be more aggressive. Start again with a public clinic.

You could ask for advice from a Vitamin and Mineral store. There are probably naturopathic treatments that they could tell you about. It sounds like it might help to improve her immunity. I don't know but I'd ask about probiotics.

Hi J.,

I know the frustration you are feeling. It has to be treated from the inside. Email me and I will point you in the right direction. Her immune system needs to rebuild itself so her body can fight off the infection. Hang in there.
N. Marie
____@____.com

have you tried tea tree oil, you can find it at heath food stores, like Whole Foods Put a small amount on a q tip, it is anti-fungal and anti-
bacterial, it works well on pimples too. It may tingle a bit so give her an ice pack to put on after, but it should work good luck

The redness/cracking/sores people get at the corners of their mouths is called angular chelitis that can, if bacteria or viruses or funguses get into the cracked skin, turn into a staph infection. Many times, it is an indication of nutritional deficiencies or that you have an allergy or a sensitivity to food, a drink, maybe a scent (from washing clothes).

When I got angular chelitis at the corners of my mouth, it took me a few months to realize that I had grown sensitive to green tea. I had to quit drinking it for months. I can now drink it every once in a while without getting angular chelitis.

My daughter has an issue with getting angular chelitis in the winter time. In fact, she has it right now. I am assuming it is a nutritional deficiency with her, because taking either zinc or folate acid usually makes it go away.

Some people have a bad case of Riboflavin/B2 deficiency, especially in the winter. Putting her on a good quality Vitamin B Complex should help clear it up.

The most common type of bacteria that causes angular cheilitis is staphylococci. When it is caused by a fungus, the usually culprit is candidiasis.

I would look into giving her additional supplements if the medicine the doctor gave you isn't helping to clear up the infection. Helping her body heal from the inside out is probably what is needed at this point.

A 100% whole food supplement like MegaFoods Balanced B Complex would be a good choice, although I'm not sure how well a 3-year-old child would be able to swallow the pills.