Hello everyone. My 23 month old daughter has been struggling with staph infection since October. Has anyone had experience with this with their kiddos? We first took her to the doc in Oct for what we thought was a spider bite (spot on inner thigh, bright red, knotted, quarter size around). We were given antibiotics. Exactly a month later, 3 more spots appeared, all in her diaper area (buttocks). We saw the doctor and this is when they informed us it was staph infection. We were given a stronger antibiotic, and a cream to swab my daugthers nostrils with, and then told to bath her in a special soap that surgeons use to scrub in with (called hebiclense). We got rid of the spots and I thought we were done until the spot on her inner thigh appeared mid Jan. We did the same routine, stronger medicine, cream for nostrils, and bath in hebiclense. The spot cleared up and now my daughter has TWO more spots. I'm getting so frustrated. They really bother her, she claws at them and is constantly messing with her "boo boo's". Has anyone ever dealth with this. I've heard that once you get staph it can be hard to eradicate but seriously, 4 different episodes? Just wondering if anyone has any advice for this. We've got an appt with the doc this afternoon but would like to hear from other moms. I appreciate any input on this issue. Thank you!
Wow, I've gotten some really great feedback. Thanks so much for the stories and advice. We went to a new doctor yesterday b/c I just felt that we weren't getting anywhere with our other doc. New doc took a culture from one of the spots which the old doc never did. New doc also didn't like the antibiotic that my daughter has been on saying that it's not an antibiotic usually used to treat staph. So, new doc gave me lots of great info, new prescription, and told us to keep swabbing the nostrils and bathing in hebiclens. She also said no bath toys that harbor any water, use a new towel after every bath, clean the bathtub after each bath, and wash all towels, rags, underwear in hot water and dry with hot heat which we already do. So, she also mentioned feeding my daughter lots of yogurt that has been made with live cultures to help replace the bad bacteria in her body with good bacteria. So, we'll see where we get with this. The old doc never gave us much info so I was just so confused as to what was causing this and what I could do to prevent it from returning. New doc gave TONS of info and was great to talk to. I also visited the two websites that were suggested here and found lots of great info there as well so thank you for all the suggestions. I'm definitely going to focus more on her immune system b/c I hate that she's been so medicated the last few months. Thanks again to you all.
I've heard of a study suggesting swimmers don't get repeat staph infections. You could put a small amount of bleach in her bath water. (as long as she doesn't drink it). I heard a formula for it was 20 gallons water to one cup of bleach. You could do a smaller amount.just a suggestion
Dear J., Insist that the doctor do a culture on the sores. It could be MRSA. That is the kind that keep coming back and can come up in other areas too. I had an operation almost 2 years ago and got staph from it. I have had a horrible ordeal ever since. Breakouts that put me in the hospital 3 times after the surgery for surgical draining and IV antibiotics. I have talked to many people about this because I did not have a clue as to what it was. It can be very bad if it is MRSA. I was at Texas Orthopedic Hospital in Houston with my daugher, she was having knee surgery. I struck up conversation with a mother who was there with her 11 year old son. He had got staph from a bicycle accident with just a scrape on his knee. It caused him to be in a coma for 13 weeks and they were at that time doing surgery on his leg bones because the MRSA had attacked his growth plates in his hips and legs and caused the bone to die. It can spread easily to others in the family because the virus lives on everything. It is normal , but if it invades the body it can cause severe problems and Sadly it can cause death. I have a dear friend that lost his sister to it after an 8 year struggle with it. So PLEASE insist that it be diagnosed at to the type and if it should be MRSA , get your daughter to a Infectious Disease Specialist. I did not write this to scare you, I wrote this to hopefully get your daugter the help she needs and deserves. I had to FIRE one doctor before I found one that cared about me. Sometimes you just have to say Enough is Enough. I want answers. In the mean time, when she has an outbreak, and probably even wouldn't be a bad idea to always use disposable gloves to protect her and yourself when applying medication or changing diapers. My husband developed MRSA after taking care of me. We go through agony at times. And the cost is astronomical. Good Luck and please take care of that baby and enjoy her.
Hi J.! We went through this with my three year-old, and I am so sorry! I know how upsetting and scary it is. I blamed my self (I'm not the world's neatest housekeeper - who is with kids?) but my house is a clean safe place. Suddenly it felt like every corner was harboring some creepy disease. All of the suggestions you received were good ones, but I'd like to add a couple of things just for you to think about.
My daughter ended up seeing an infectious diseases specialist at Birmingham Children's Hospital (wonderful!) and one of the things he said that was a contradiction to what we'd already been told was NOT to treat skin infections with internal antibiotics unless they become extremely deep and serious. He said the antibiotics should be reserved for deep infections and internal spread of the infections, as the skin lesions usually resolve on their own with the right care.
I know! Sounds crazy, but he told us to do everything you are doing and to treat the spots with an antibiotic ointment (Bactroban is preferred) and cover them only if they are weeping (to stop the spread). He said not to keep her out of school and put long pants on her only if we felt we needed to keep the spots clean (or if she messed with the spots or felt self-conscious).
Not using the internal antibiotics for the infections prevents overuse, so that when your child really needs it, the antibiotics still work for her. He also said newer studies have shown that the nose ointment is not very effective, so if your daughter fights that part, I would consider talking to your DR about that. He gave us lots of info (he knew the newest information on treating it) and really set my mind at ease. He also advised that we keep my daughter's eczema in check as much as possible, b/c eczema kids appear to be more prone to the infection. Lots of moisture, cooler baths, all the things you use to help the skin stay moist and healthy.
I'm sure you've gotten great advice, but the #1 thing I'd advise is to try and see a pediatric specialist in infectious disease. It was well worth the time and money (an overnight trip for us) to talk to someone who specializes in the problem and was wonderful with my child!
Good luck and hang in there!
J.,
I agree 100% with ML. Read her post again.
A good website for natural remedies and info is Dr. Mercola's site. www.mercola.com
Here are a few extra tips.
1. Focus on her immune system.
2. She needs to eat right for her nutritional type (see mercola's site)
3. Drink the purest water.
4. She needs to take probiotics to rebuild the good bacteria in her tummy that has been destroyed by the antibiotics.
5. Pray, pray, pray (this is the most important step).
Please let us know what works for her.
Hi J.,
We, too, have suffered Staph infections with my little guy who is now 6--he was 4 at the time of his infection. We were habitual with the hibiclens and not reusing towels to dry off and basically wiped down everyting with clorox and lysol along with putting the stuff in his nose. we havent had the same recurring episodes you guys are experiencing--maybe if you can keep them covered while your baby is awake to see if she can keep from scratching or touching, because by doing that she continues to re-infect herself. This is very common and so present in the community. Stay diligent with the hibiclens even if it is a couple times of day. good luck!!
Years ago I actually had a staph infection on my neck that kept coming back. After 2 rounds of antibiotics with my doctor I went to a dermatologist who gave me an older antibiotic that they don't really use anymore and it cleared it up. I can't remember what it was but I think you need to find a dermatologist someone older.
Also I do a lot with natural health and I had a girl who had abscesses on her breast and we used Lavender oil and Tea Tree oil in a compress and the next day the redness and pain were gone (that was a thur night we started) and by Monday you couldnt even tell she had, had an open abcess or another one starting.
Have a great day
HI J. Just read your question wanted to give you our experience with this type of staph. My son was 2 when it started he would get Boils is what we called them sound like the same spots your daughter is getting used all the samed meds. nose,bath, antibiotic everything they would go away only to come back. Finally the doctors figured out it was caused from Stagnat Water (They say stagnat water carries staph). Like for instance creeks, lakes, ponds, fish ponds, cow/horse tanks water like that. We live in the country so i started watching my son very close when we finally got him cleared. One day he stuck his finger in my gma's fish pond in her back yard the next morning i kidd you not we were at the doctor taking all the meds over again. Was cleared that time for a year and a half when my father in law took him fishing for the day. we were out of town and he thought nothing of it stuck his feet in the water and next morning we were back to square one. Not positive if this is the same staph your little one has but i just wanted to share our experience and i am truly a believer now that he was getting it from water he touched. We keep him away from anything to that nature to this day and he is 8. He has been clear for a year and a half now. Thank Goodness.
My son would get one to two ever 6 weeks from the time he was 8 till he was 12. Now just once or twice a year.
H.
a bf of mine has a teenager that would get them on her legs there boils. there coming back everyone thinks ther spiders bites. we had 2 people at work and one's wife,my husbands grandkids and his exwife and my bf's daughter 3 different towns all had boils. my bf's daughter got them over and over and over agian she had up to 10 on her legs. its been 3 years and bf said they havent seen one in the last year,year and half. the doc told them that its in there body from now on and sometimes it has to come out. my bf thinks she finally grew out of it they moved out of there house into a new one she doesnt know if thats it or not. were not sure. but good luck i know there bad!
Try Bio K for babies. www.biok.com It is a probiotic liquid yogurt type concentrate, and can be effective for some methicillin resistant staph aureous infections, which it sounds like this case is. Their website has case studies on it. Your child definitely needs a good probiotic to build up the good bacteria to fight the bad. I have a friend whose baby took Bio K for an MRSA acquired infection, along with the antibiotics prescribed, after fighting with it for a long time, and it has not returned since taking the Bio-K.
Sincerely,
B. S. RN CCM
clean and clip fingernails oftenthey carry staff
Hi J.,
My husband is just finishing a course of Bactrim for the same thing. His is healing nicely. Does your daughter attend daycare? The doctor told us that this bug thrives in group oriented places-day care, locker room, gym, class room-anywhere there are a lot of people together. All of my children (4) have dealt with this at one time or another. It can be very contagious. My youngest daughter worked as the water girl for the football team and the doctor told us that the locker room is probably where it came from. But before the actual sore opened, my daughters happened to share the same razor, so they both ended up with it. My youngest daughter has had it several times and at one point (not while she had it) we were at the point of going to an oncologist to have a bone marrow biopsy because her white blood cell count was dropping dramatically every time she'd get sick instead of the opposite. Amazingly, the day she went for the biopsy, her white blood cell count was normal and has been ever since. You're going to have to clean, clean, clean everything that she comes in contact with-at home and anywhere else. Also, do you have pets that go in and out of the house? www.mayoclinic.com usually has really good medical articles if you're interested. Good luck with this. I know it's extremely frustrating.
R.
Hi J.!
I know exactly what you're going through. My niece started getting them first when she was 3 and then my kids who are 3 and 1 now started getting them. When they're that young it is common for them to get them around their bottoms and between their legs. My son turned 1 in June of last year and we spent 4 days in the hospital with him the next month because his turned out to be MRSA. They did have to lance his and put him on IV antibiotics, but it doesn't always get that bad! My daughter started getting them when she was about 1 1/2. They didn't get as bad as my son's, but they would always come back in the same place...in and around the diaper area. Our pediatrician told us that it would get better once she was potty trained and it did. We haven't had any on her since and she was completely potty trained within 3 months of turning 2. We've done the bactrim, and the swabbing of the nostrils, but they never gave us the special bath. We started giving them baths with just a squirt or two of antibacterial hand soap in it. I've heard Dial is the best, but I used the generic clear antibacterial hand soap from Wal Mart and it has worked great. We have had several episodes with them. My husband and I have never had them, but my brother, mom, uncle, and cousins all have. It's not uncommon for anyone to get them, but it is a lot more prevalent in small children because they touch everything and don't wash their hands a lot. I hope this helps. I'm sure you guys will be over it soon, but the recurring episodes may not stop for a while. I wish you the best!
I had a staph infection when I was a kid and ended up in the hospital for a few days on IV antibiotics. I got mine from a cat bite so I don't know if that was the reason or if it was just because of the staph infection itself. Hope you can get it cleared up! Good luck!
Lots of good advice. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is keeping her nails trimmed short & really stressing the hand sanitation.
My dau at the same age had issues with that & she would itch them or pick them & spread it around. I got her using hand sanitizer constantly & it helped along with bactrim.
you can use a spice (turmeric) for staph ,it helps reduce it ###-###-####
Staph can be very hard to get rid of. I've had a bunch of friends whose kids have gotten it. One of my coworkers son's got it and his was so bad that the antibiotics weren't really working and the doctor had to lance it and then give him antibiotics. After that it cleared up. Also, a friend I had ended up being hospitalized with MRSA and the doctors told her that the infection colonizes so that you may clear up this episode, but it can always come back, sometimes worse than before. Hopefully the doctor will be able to give you some better answers. Good luck!
