There is a big difference in being ''infected'' and being ''colonised'' with MRSA. Infected patients usually means it is internal, such as in trauma wounds, leg ulcers or occasionally surgical/orthopaedic wounds. Colonised is when it is on the exterior of the body, usually in the warm moist areas like the nose, axila, groin etc and in most cases is harmless to the person who is colonised.

Staph A. like most viruses, ie E. Coli are 'natural' and are around us and with us in our everday lives and most people will never come to any harm or even be aware that they are there.

I work as a nurse on a Trauma & Orthopaedic ward and so I work with patients that are infected or are colonised with MRSA. We routinely as part of the initial patient assessment process take nasal and groin swabs to be screened for MRSA. The results are available normally within 3 days. This has been routine for a number of years now, though I do remember when it wasnt.

I personally would say (though i do not have figures to prove this) that approximately 20-35% of the UK patient population are colonised with MRSA prior to admission to hospital. If results show that they are colonised, they are isolated and a 5 day 'de-colonisation' program is started. On day 5 a reswab is done and a further 3 days are needed for the results to see if they are clear. Normally this is enough to de-colonise them but on occasion a 2nd treatment is neccessary.

I hope that explains things a little more.

I watched my sister go thru hell trying to get over MRSA. It started out a pimple on her chin, within 2 days--omg, her chin was the size of a baseball. I had never seen anything like it. I took her to the hospital and they put her on an IV.
To make it short, she was sent home on IV and it took 3 months to finally clear.
Home Health had to come in everyday. It scared me because it was on her face. She cried because she was so embarassed by the size of this horrible open wound. It was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen.

The drs. thought they may have to do surgery because she wasn't responding to antibiotics. It was a scary time. But I think drs. are trying to cover up the real threat that this poses. Because our area had an outbreak in the schools and people was getting worried.

OMG that had to be very difficult for both of you. Both of your stories give great insite to this nasty infection.

It makes me wonder though. My childrens Dr. told us about MRSA and how it was no big deal. He explained how many people bring thier kids in thinking it is a spider bite, and find out it's MRSA. He also mentioned how easy it is to treat, as long as they are given the right antibiotic. That makes me wonder if these are the same thing. Perhaps MRSA is turning into a more badass bug than we thought.

It is wonderfull that they both were able to recover.

Hello, sometimes I get far enough away I think this is all in my head until I come back to this site.

My significant other was in an accident about a month ago. Although he is now healing from the accident, he did contract MRSA while in the hospital. We are in Lincoln, NE. The more I read about MRSA, the more concerned I become. When I saw this posting, I became even more concerned.

I'm researching everything I can find online regarding the condition. I'm unsure as to if he is being properly treated for the infection and I do believe I've got a few questions for the doctor on Monday.

Crazy thing is, I stumbled upon ats a while back while I was 'searching for answers'. I'm still searching for more information.

Anyhow, thought I'd add my current situation to this subject. Mrsdudura, any insight you or any of the other members have would be helpful. Everyone have a good evening if possible.

One more thing, my daughter is complaining that the inside of her nose was bothering her tonight. Making me wonder if she's a carrier... I'll take her Monday morning too although now I'm getting even more leary of what's to come.

The schools here would close down for a day, and they would go through cleaning the walls and anything else kiddos touch. My guess is that if it can be transfered by touching the fluid or the sore, then if the person were to touch the sore then something else, someone could get it from the something else they touched. At least that is how the other bugs work. Im not a professional, Im just going off what all I have read.

I remember reading how public playground equipment was the culprit for some children who got sick in Texas. Perhaps CA-MRSA and hospital aquired MRSA are two different things?

Hello, I posted yesterday and thought I'd update you on things today. My 3 children are now presenting with small circular red patches on their legs.

I put a movie in for them so I could try to process what my mind is thinking right now. I'm wondering, if I'm watching the beginnings of a plague that is about to ravish this earth. Crazy but that's what's racing in my head at the moment.

I did a thorough cleansing of my home last night and glad I did because I found a few spots I wouldn't have otherwise thought of.

I myself feel horrible today... palpitations, dizzy and very, very weak. I'm guessing the stress is getting to me (my body always seems to act out to my environment).

I'm not sure which is the big dog in all of this. Can't exactly figure out which way I should go from here with my children and my guy... seems the doctors don't see cause for concern at the moment.

I'd be interested in how anyone else living with MRSA is handling things. I find the most helpful hints come from those who are actually dealing with the problem.

I have a very close friend who has been suffering through this for a few months now. She's having a real hard time and the Docs are throwing everything they have at it, nothing seems to be working though... Losing weight and feeling badly too, very scarry...

Just wanted to ask for prayers and good thoughts from everyone...

[edit on 21-8-2008 by XTexan]

I came across this site/forum looking for info regarding
someone I know ( not real well ) that has
a staph infection, who has been dealing w/ the med. establishment
I think w/ very limited success
everyone who has or knows someone who has MRSA
owes it to themselves to research "MMS"

I had what appeared to be incurable chronic sinusitis
over a 4 month miserable timespan
where it did not get healed from 2 rounds of anti-biotics
& 2 rounds of steroids
Next to come was surgery by a ear nose & throat Dr.
I tried MMS, had immediate relief & was healed in 2 weeks
I went to the ent pre-surgery appt. anyway & they would not hear me out of my success/ continually cutting me off w/ statements to steal my success w/ their prescribed drugs that I quit taking !
Then when I went thru the checkout they charged me $15.01 !
( my co-pay is $15.00 )
I'm sorry ..I'm mad as heck.. & even more distrusting of our modern medicine
I get hit by a car,.. by all means get me a good orthopedic surgeon
But I wonder about these other guys
I ran across this forum while surfin around
In no way am I connected w/ the sale of the stuff.
MMS is very cheap , can't see anybody getting rich off it
The author , jim humble even tells you how to make it yourself
but buying it for $20.00 it could easily last 3 or 4 years or more
I did a lot of internet research, I was fearfull
so glad I did it.
I hope it will help many of you

ktmark,

Thanks for that bit of helpfull info. First let me say that you should go to the Dr. if you think you or a loved one has any infection MRSA or not. After looking into what you said, I did find where Chlorine dioxide is being used to treat MRSA. Definatly something to ask your Dr. about if you are sick.



We had a scare a few weeks ago. My niece who happens to only be 1 1/2 years old, had a hang nail on her toe. My sister clipped it off, no biggie right? The next day, when my sister picked her up from day care, the ladies said they thought she was not feeling well. No fever, but she was just not herself. By ten that night, she had a fever of 104.3, had vomited and was on her way to the ER. The Dr. said her toe had become infected, but her white blood count was ok. Still to make sure he sent them to the childrens hospital in our area via amublance. By the time they reached that hospital, her toe was black, her heart rate was up, and she was totaly lythargic. They poked her and prodded her with needles and IV's and she didnt even wimper. Long story short, lots of antibiotics, and three long days later she went home. It was a staff infection.

WOW! Sorry to hear but glad that your niece is home... MRSA is a scary, scary disease. My guy seemed to have recovered but has another spot that looks infected again - and he just had surgery so I've been a bit concerned by the thought of MRSA showing up elsewhere in his body. Luckily doc ordered another script for an antibiotic... life sentence so it seems for some.

A friend of mine picked up MRSA at St Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Infected her sinus cavity and as it was left untreated it actually ate away some of the orbital bone on under her left eye...not to mention as her family are not terribly concerned with hand washing , it was passed easily to her husband and one of her five kids. (it should be noted as well that person with a lowered immune system are particularly suseptible). Her husband developed a nasal staph infection, and her youngest of 2 developed a bizarre glandular infection that required a 2 week stay in hospital.

Vancouver BC has had numerous cases of MRSA and it would seem that St Paul's Hospital has been hit the hardest of all the area hospitals.

Wash hands people it DOES HELP!

Excellent topic here. As a "medical professional" I want to stress that medicine is an art, not a science. This makes it exceptionally difficult to compare one person to another. Things that might work with one person are completely useless when tried on another. This can make diagnosis and treatment difficult at times.

That being said... I am certainly all for any type of natural treatments, if they help and if I am aware that my patients are taking supplements prior to any treatments. MRSA is simply Staph A that is resistant to certain types of antibiotics. This makes it particulary troublesome in cases where individuals are immunocompromised. Surprisingly, Sulfa (Bactrim DS) and cephalasporins (Keflex) still work on many skin infections.

There have been some antibiotics that have been developed in the last few years that are particuarly targeted towards MRSA. Tygicil and Zyvox are two of them that come to mind.

A previous poster got it right. Soap and water and good handwashing are the best defense against the "superbug"

Be healthy....
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Mod Edit: for search purposes cephalosporins; Tygacil

[edit on 1/10/2009 by Badge01]