Re: superbugs--read, don't panic!

[Guest guest]

Rose,

I had to just give you a little story about MRSA. I worked for a

plastic surgeon for a short period of time (hated it). He had done a

breast reconstruction on a patient who ended up with a MRSA infection in

the reconstructed breast. One day, I put the patient in the room and

she was very upset. The doctor had been treated her wound and debrided

it without gloves. What could I say? She ended up leaving and going to

another doctor because she felt he was not taking precautions for

himself. Guess what? He ended up with pneumonia with MRSA in the

sputum cultures. Make you think huh? We were all very lucky not to

have ended up with MRSA. Guess what - this guy is a brilliant surgeon

and he is on a 4 year charity mission. Go figure.

Terri G.

>

> , staph aureus is a common skin bacteria. It is usually easily

> treated. But make sure that you take all your antibiotics,

> correctly. Some years ago we started seeing a resistant strain,

> called MRSA, pronounced mursa (Methicillin-resistant staph aureus),

> in hospital & nursing home patients. In the past few years it has

> become fairly wide-spread in the community, called CA-MRSA (community-

> acquired). This has happened because of overuse of antibiotics & by

> patients not taking all the meds. So enough bacteria are killed to

> feel better, but the survivors develop resistance. Some of these

> bugs are getting resistant to the strongest antibiotics. The drug

> companies kind of got behind in the game because the general view was

> that we had the bugs licked; let's spend that research money on ED

> and psychotropic drugs. Now they are playing catch up.

>

> We have gone through a big commotion with this in my family. My

> daughter Ginny has had pneumonia with MRSA cultured in the sputum.

> Two of my grandkids (Sam's little brother & sister) have had

> recurrent boils & abscesses that their doctor just kept treating with

> antibiotics & not doing a culture. I told my daughter to insist on a

> culture the next time. Meanwhile, their babysitter's grown daughter

> & her baby developed abscesses! The daughter had to have hers

> surgically drained, and still no cultures! By this time I was

> practically jumping up & down. I told Theresa (Sam's mom)that an

> infectious disease doc needed to get involved & if one of the kids

> got another boil, I was going to the doctor with them. (11)

> got a horrible one right on the panty line on the back of her thigh.

> Just overnight it spread & was causing excruciating pain. Theresa

> had her see a different pediatrician that time, told the whole story,

> and that doctor cultured it, gave detailed instructions on hand

> washing, wound care, laundry, etc. The first time anyone but me had

> gotten concerned! Within a couple of days, the baby got another one,

> her pediatrician wasn't going to do anything, so her mom called

> Theresa's doctor, who told her to take the baby straight to Riley,

> the big children's hospital in Indianapolis. Guess what! She was

> seen by an infectious disease specialist! This doctor called the

> baby's pedi & told him what antibiotic to use, to always culture it,

> the same general instructions about preventing spread, etc. He said

> there was no way to know who the original carrier in the group was.

> They did discuss having everyone exposed use an antibiotic cream in

> the nose, but you have to do it 3x day for at least 30 days, and

> there is the concern that it will just make more drug-resistant

> bacteria. So the main thing is handwashing, not reusing towels (we

> have switched to paper towels)& culturing unusual or recurrent

> lesions.

>

> This MRSA is being seen more in athletes, due to skin breaks, close

> contact & hygiene issues. So educate your kids. It's not panic

> time, just use common sense. Rosita

>

[Guest guest]

Terri, I think that doctor's what my sister-in-law used to call "book smart, but everyday dumb."

Ramblin' Rose

Moderator

Reply-To: Neurosarcoidosis To: Neurosarcoidosis Subject: Re: superbugs--read, don't panic!Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 13:59:05 -0000Rose,I had to just give you a little story about MRSA. I worked for aplastic surgeon for a short period of time (hated it). He had done abreast reconstruction on a patient who ended up with a MRSA infection inthe reconstructed breast. One day, I put the patient in the room andshe was very upset. The doctor had been treated her wound and debridedit without gloves. What could I say? She ended up leaving and going toanother doctor because she felt he was not taking precautions forhimself. Guess what? He ended up with pneumonia with MRSA in thesputum cultures. Make you think huh? We were all very lucky not tohave ended up with MRSA. Guess what - this guy is a brilliant surgeonand he is on a 4 year charity mission. Go figure.Terri G.>> , staph aureus is a common skin bacteria. It is usually easily> treated. But make sure that you take all your antibiotics,> correctly. Some years ago we started seeing a resistant strain,> called MRSA, pronounced mursa (Methicillin-resistant staph aureus),> in hospital & nursing home patients. In the past few years it has> become fairly wide-spread in the community, called CA-MRSA (community-> acquired). This has happened because of overuse of antibiotics & by> patients not taking all the meds. So enough bacteria are killed to> feel better, but the survivors develop resistance. Some of these> bugs are getting resistant to the strongest antibiotics. The drug> companies kind of got behind in the game because the general view was> that we had the bugs licked; let's spend that research money on ED> and psychotropic drugs. Now they are playing catch up.>> We have gone through a big commotion with this in my family. My> daughter Ginny has had pneumonia with MRSA cultured in the sputum.> Two of my grandkids (Sam's little brother & sister) have had> recurrent boils & abscesses that their doctor just kept treating with> antibiotics & not doing a culture. I told my daughter to insist on a> culture the next time. Meanwhile, their babysitter's grown daughter> & her baby developed abscesses! The daughter had to have hers> surgically drained, and still no cultures! By this time I was> practically jumping up & down. I told Theresa (Sam's mom)that an> infectious disease doc needed to get involved & if one of the kids> got another boil, I was going to the doctor with them. (11)> got a horrible one right on the panty line on the back of her thigh.> Just overnight it spread & was causing excruciating pain. Theresa> had her see a different pediatrician that time, told the whole story,> and that doctor cultured it, gave detailed instructions on hand> washing, wound care, laundry, etc. The first time anyone but me had> gotten concerned! Within a couple of days, the baby got another one,> her pediatrician wasn't going to do anything, so her mom called> Theresa's doctor, who told her to take the baby straight to Riley,> the big children's hospital in Indianapolis. Guess what! She was> seen by an infectious disease specialist! This doctor called the> baby's pedi & told him what antibiotic to use, to always culture it,> the same general instructions about preventing spread, etc. He said> there was no way to know who the original carrier in the group was.> They did discuss having everyone exposed use an antibiotic cream in> the nose, but you have to do it 3x day for at least 30 days, and> there is the concern that it will just make more drug-resistant> bacteria. So the main thing is handwashing, not reusing towels (we> have switched to paper towels) & culturing unusual or recurrent> lesions.>> This MRSA is being seen more in athletes, due to skin breaks, close> contact & hygiene issues. So educate your kids. It's not panic> time, just use common sense. Rosita>~~~~ *** ~~~ *** ~~~ *** ~~~~The Neurosarcoidosis CommunityNS CHAT:- Has been cancelled for now.Message Archives:-http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Neurosarcoidosis/messagesMembers Database:-Listings of locations, phone numbers, and instant messengers.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Neurosarcoidosis/database