arks
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2002
- Messages
- 1,936
Thought I would share my experience with you guys. Maybe what I'm going thru can be a lesson for everyone.
For those who don't know what MRSA is, it's a type of staph bacteria that's very resistant to antibiodics. Medical professionals are calling MRSA a "superbug" and it's becoming more prevelant in the general population. Once you've had it, your body become a "host" for life and it can recurr at any time. It shows up on the skin as a sore or boil that infects rapidly. Mine was on my upper thigh and within 2 days went from a tiny pimple to an infection roughly the size of a softball! Of course, all this happened on a weekend and I felt so bad that I took myself to an urgent care facility on a Sunday (3 weeks ago). They told me if I had waited until my family doctor could see me THE NEXT DAY, I probably would've ended up in the hospital. I had a fever of 101.
Anyway, they lanced it and sent a culture for diagnosis. In the meantime they put me on a strong antibiodic that -so far- has been working against MRSA. For the next 3 or 4 days I felt like I had been in a bar fight and lost. I had a large bandage over the site that needed constant changing because the wound was draining. MRSA spreads easily and I was warned to discard the bandage and not let anyone near it. I also had to wash and dry my clothing and towels separately from the family to help prevent contamination. My doctor needed to see me every 3 days because this infection can grow so fast. Fortunately I responded well and started feeling better. Unfortunately, over the last 2 or 3 days I've been experiencing cold-like symptoms in my throat, so went (once again) to my doctor, who diagnosed a case of "thrush", which (as I understand it) is a condition where a certain fungus grows in the throat due to- get this- the LACK of "good" antibodies that occur naturally in the mouth- all because I'm taking the antibiodics. Wonderful.
How did I get MRSA? Good question. All staph infections can be caused by many factors, but the very week I got it I had stayed out of town in a hotel for my job. The doctors wouldn't point directly to the hotel as the cause, but they said it was a "definite possibility". We're not talking a flea-bag hotel, either; it was one of the better national chains. And NO- I won't disclose the name due to potential liability.
Here's the bottom line- prevention of MRSA is pretty simple. WASH your hands frequently, as the virus can live on surfaces for quite some time. Also, I've learned to be VERY VERY careful when at hotels- from now on I'll take my own towels, a big can of Lysol, and long PJ's to sleep in. All this sounds funny but believe me, this is definitely a case of "an ounce of prevention" can save a WHOLE lot of problems.
I really hope you can take this post seriously because MRSA has turned my life upside down.
Rob
For those who don't know what MRSA is, it's a type of staph bacteria that's very resistant to antibiodics. Medical professionals are calling MRSA a "superbug" and it's becoming more prevelant in the general population. Once you've had it, your body become a "host" for life and it can recurr at any time. It shows up on the skin as a sore or boil that infects rapidly. Mine was on my upper thigh and within 2 days went from a tiny pimple to an infection roughly the size of a softball! Of course, all this happened on a weekend and I felt so bad that I took myself to an urgent care facility on a Sunday (3 weeks ago). They told me if I had waited until my family doctor could see me THE NEXT DAY, I probably would've ended up in the hospital. I had a fever of 101.
Anyway, they lanced it and sent a culture for diagnosis. In the meantime they put me on a strong antibiodic that -so far- has been working against MRSA. For the next 3 or 4 days I felt like I had been in a bar fight and lost. I had a large bandage over the site that needed constant changing because the wound was draining. MRSA spreads easily and I was warned to discard the bandage and not let anyone near it. I also had to wash and dry my clothing and towels separately from the family to help prevent contamination. My doctor needed to see me every 3 days because this infection can grow so fast. Fortunately I responded well and started feeling better. Unfortunately, over the last 2 or 3 days I've been experiencing cold-like symptoms in my throat, so went (once again) to my doctor, who diagnosed a case of "thrush", which (as I understand it) is a condition where a certain fungus grows in the throat due to- get this- the LACK of "good" antibodies that occur naturally in the mouth- all because I'm taking the antibiodics. Wonderful.
How did I get MRSA? Good question. All staph infections can be caused by many factors, but the very week I got it I had stayed out of town in a hotel for my job. The doctors wouldn't point directly to the hotel as the cause, but they said it was a "definite possibility". We're not talking a flea-bag hotel, either; it was one of the better national chains. And NO- I won't disclose the name due to potential liability.
Here's the bottom line- prevention of MRSA is pretty simple. WASH your hands frequently, as the virus can live on surfaces for quite some time. Also, I've learned to be VERY VERY careful when at hotels- from now on I'll take my own towels, a big can of Lysol, and long PJ's to sleep in. All this sounds funny but believe me, this is definitely a case of "an ounce of prevention" can save a WHOLE lot of problems.
I really hope you can take this post seriously because MRSA has turned my life upside down.
Rob
