Most of this blog is from a post I had written elsewhere.  Many people have asked me about MRSA and I thought I would not only tell you what I know, and have learned, but also of my personal experience.  Some of this maybe too graphic for some people. 

     MRSA is Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It is also known as the Superbug. It is a type of staph infection that is now resistant to most of the antibiotics we currently have available. It is ofter mistaken for a Brown Recluse bite. It is everywhere. Some people have MRSA living in their noses and will never have a problem with it in their whole life. Then there are those of us with compromised immune systems, from Lupus in my case, that get MRSA and it could kill us. It starts off looking like a pimple or a boil, and it eats away the tissue, and releases toxins into the body. The first time I got it It started in my earlobe, it spread all the way down my neck and across my face. They were very scared that it would eat into my brain, or the toxins would kill me. It ate a 4 inch hole that started in my earlobe and went down my neck in the soft tissue, that had to be cleaned out several times a day.  The tunnel in the soft tissue had to be "packed" with sterile antibiotic strips, I had to learn pack the wound 2 - 3 times a day and drain any of the pus.  It didn't really hurt, it was just gross. They told me they may need to cut open my face to drain it. I was started on Vacomyacin (one of the strongest antibiotics we have) it can only be given by IV or a PIC line, I got a PIC line, it goes into your right arm and through the vessels to the opening of your heart. This is so the medicine is put directly into your heart and can be dispersed quickly into the blood stream and throughtout the body. Most people once the MRSA is gone due to antibiotics, or surgery, or just by draining (draining works for people with good immune systems) don’t get a recurrence, but occasionally it hides in the body, like in my case, and keeps coming back. I have had it like 15 or 16 times in the last 2 years. At one point I had it in 23 different locations on my body. At first we found that a pill antibiotic called Clindimyosin worked to get rid of it, it worked for 8 months, then the MRSA got smart and that drug no longer worked either. I’m very allergic to Bactrum, but have to take it with very powerful antihystamines, because it’s the only thing that works without a PIC line. There has been 2 cases so far of VRSA, that is when MRSA no longer responds to Vancomyacin, VRSA is fatal, we have no antibiotics to treat VRSA. Everytime I use Vancomyocin for the MRSA it gives it the chance to find a way to get around it. When that happens I will die. No new drugs are expected to be ready for human trials for MRSA in the next 25 years. My doctor (an Infectious Disease Specialist) has recommended I take bleach baths twice a month to prevent the MRSA.  Yes I mean Clorox.  He told me to use 1 cup of bleach for every 100 gallons of water.  If I fill my bathtub up to the very top it's not quite 100 gallons, so for a whole bathtub it is about 3/4 cup of bleach.  I agree bleach is very drastic. I don’t drink it and I don’t enjoy bathing in bleach despite the fact it is very dilluted. As I said this was recommended by my Infectious Disease Doctor. I have 3 kids, I will do whatever I have to to survive. I typically take my bleach bath the night before I go to work, because I wouldn’t want to give it to anyone else. As I said it’s everywhere, the doctor feels I probably got it from working in the Children’s Hospital, but you can get it from a shopping cart handle, door handle, or any public place. Last year more people died from MRSA in the US then from AIDs. 19,000 people died of MRSA in the US.  Kids can get it at school especially if they are in sports from sports equipment or a locker room.

     The best prevention is frequent handwashing.  If your child plays sports find out what the organization is doing to clean the equipment, make sure you are satisfied with the answers you are given.  Have your child shower after practices.  Don't touch your nose, mouth, eyes, or a cut after touching something the public touches, such as a shopping cart.  Cover all open sores, and keep them clean.  If you have a boil, or Spider bite (unless you actually saw the spider bite you) see your doctor.  And remember the reason MRSA exsists at all is because we have overused anti-biotics.  If you have an infection, have your doctor swab it to be sure that you are getting the right treatment.  A few years ago when a child has an ear ache they immediately gave antibiotics, now we know that most earinfections are viruses, and anti biotics won't work, it just has to run it's course.  Everytime we use antibiotics we are creating "smart bugs".

     The MRSA has left scars, most of them are black at first and then get lighter.  I had MRSA in my abdomin the hole it created was 3 1/2 inches deep, and about as big around as a pencil it took almost 3 months to heal after the antibiotics killed the infection.  In my knee, believe it or not my PCP doctor originally thought it was a spider bite despite the fact I had already had MRSA several times before.  I believed him at first, several days later when it was 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch deep I went back and he swabbed it and it was MRSA.  By then I had about 9 new spots around the original wound.

     I check all the time online for new articles on MRSA and new treatment options.  There are several ideas that are in the mix for treating MRSA, including alligator blood, alligators don't get infections despite dirty water, and loss of limbs, but all the ideas that are being looked into right now are about 10 years away from a drug, and then it can take 15 years for testing the drug before it would be available for human use.

     The first time I had MRSA I was sent to the ER to be admitted to the hospital, I didn't know I had MRSA or even what MRSA was.  I was sent to the ER with nothing but a paper towel over my earlobe.  There's no telling what I touched, the person that checked me in looked at it and sent me back to the waiting room for another 4 hours!  When I was actually admitted I was in isolation, everyone was supposed to wear a gown and gloves, some did some didn't.  The person who brought me my food didn't.  And one of the house keepers at one point reached into my trashcan and removed the contents and put it in another bag.  This is terrifying to me. There were dressings in that trash, she had gloves on, but how many other rooms did she touch with those gloves?  It is scary, when I have an infection I don't leave the house unless it's to the doctor, and then I'm very careful to not touch anything.  I have to disinfect every surface I touch, when I have it, so that my family will be safe.     Because we did not know what it was or much about it, the first time I got it my husband got it under his arm (armpit) about the size of a marble, my youngest daughter got a small boil on her tush, my 10 year old got it on her chin, and in her nose, all of my family members were treated with Bactrum and made a full recovery, and it has not recurred in them.

     If anyone suspects that you have it it is imperative that you cover it at all times.  I have found that the Blister Band-aides are best for covering the abcess, they are expensive, but they seal it completely, and are waterproof, no pores for the infection to get through.  I always carry extra ones, so if the doctor looks at it, I can immediately cover it again.  I wipe the outside of the band-aid with alcohal just to be sure there is no infection on or around the band-aide.

     I'm sorry if this is graphic, but I think a lot of people would like to know, and maybe it will help save someone.  If anyone has any questions please let me know, I'll be happy to answer all I can.

• MRSA
• infection
• Superbug
• Antibiotics
• VRSA