Mrsa

[Shelly in IL]

My dad (84) is in a nursing home. He has just contracted mrsa. Anyone know anything about this? I'm wondering about his survival chances :( they are treating him with bactrim and he has a baseball sized abscess on his back as well as an infected elbow.

[Twigs]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  

[Flowing Brook]

I am hesitating to post my brother died at thirty two of mrsa. He was in a vegetative state for two years prior to this. His condition is what made it worse for him.  They said if he could have kept moving it would have improved his chances.  I am sorry about your father. I am not sharing to say I think your father will die just because my brother did.  I am just sharing because I know how hard it is to get this diagnosis.  To let you know I sympathize with you. 

[City Mouse]

I knew a child who has it. She as a long term medical condition that required many hospitalization a and surgeries. Last I heard (several years later), she was doing fine.

I guess she is a carrier or something. It was more of a concern for the people who worked with her than for her.

[Jennifer in MI]

My son had it last year. It was caught very early and he needed very strong antibiotics. He was fine! I pray your dad's case is as easily solved.

[Pretty in Pink]

One of my boys had it when he was a toddler. We caught it very early and it was treated with antibiotics. He is fine now. I don't have any experience with MRSA in elderly adults. I will pray for your dad though.

[VeritasMama]

I have a friend who had this infection that required IV drugs, she recovered. My sister also had a nasty infection that lasted for months, but she also was able to eventually recover.

 

Prayers for you and your Dad!

[kahlanne]

My friends child has had it a couple of times. He has a weakened immune system. He has had to take strong antibiotics and take extra precautions to not spread it to family members. He was able to get over it without any long term effects.

Sending prayer your way.

[Shelly in IL]

Thank you for all your responses.  Hopefully dad will be able to kick this.  

[kbutton]

We live in a MRSA hotspot. My husband sees it multiple times per day, and I had it as an outer ear infection. It is definitely treatable, but people with lower immune systems have a harder time. If you can do anything to boost his immune system, that always is a good idea. Would he be a good candidate for probiotics (they can be mixed with stuff if eating is an issue)? 

 

Environmentally, you can do a lot. He should be receiving bleach water baths, or there is a type of cleanser you can use on skin called Hibiclens. You can find it at Walgreens around here. They use it as a surgical scrub (highly recommended that you use it before going in for surgery), and it's safe for skin but not the wound. It's particularly effective because the germ-killing feature is "persistant" for a number of hours after you use it, meaning it continues to kill germs for a while on the skin. I think they make wipes for cleaning that contain the same active ingredients (chlorhexadine)--my neighbor had to clean with wipes that contained this when she had a family member receiving chemo. There is a lot they can do in the environment to help with it, and many healthcare providers fail to educate on that (my hubby works in healthcare, and sees many repeat patients who haven't been given good instructions for cleaning, prevention, etc.). In an institutional setting, you may need to advocate/ask about cleaning, bathing, etc. It's extremely important not to reuse clothing, sheets, towels, etc. until they have been thoroughly washed. So, if he washes his face, that washcloth needs to go right into the laundry, not used again for face washing later. Basic handwashing needs to be consistent. MRSA can live on both hard and soft surfaces for a long time if not properly cleaned.

 

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MRSA_brochure_FINAL_167898_7.pdf  This brochure has some very basic information about prevention.

 

 

[Acadie]

My dad had it at age 80 and was extremely ill, but after serious antibiotics recovered completely.  We did everything we could to prevent colonization (both linen/housecleaning and personal hygiene, including antibiotic cream in his nose, where many people carry MRSA) and he was retested and does not appear to be a carrier.

 

Definitely keep close tabs on him and check in with his doctors daily.  If he is responding well to the antibiotic, that's fantastic, but keep checking in.  My dad's first antibiotic appeared to be working then wasn't, so he needed to switch.  His infection also didn't turn around until a surgeon was called in to drain it--the regular docs had tried but it wasn't enough.  My dad's MRSA wasn't diagnosed as quickly as it should have been, and he was so sick he was having cognitive issues (which are not typical for him, although the docs did not realize that at first) and I really do think family checking in improved the care he got immensely.  Two of my sisters were nearby and visited the hospital but I have a health care background and my phone calls with the docs made a difference too.  

 

Amy

 

[Acadie]

ps--with an abscess that size he may need a surgeon, not just whatever doc does rounds at the nursing home, to put in a drain that will stay in for a few days as the infection heals.  Sending prayers for your dad and your family!

[blondeviolin]

My very healthy husband just spent five days in the hospital from a MRSA-infected bug bite. It took 10 weeks of packing with Algidex after he was released for the extensive tunneling to close.

 

Knowing it is MRSA is a great step in the right direction.

[lea1]

dh (who is a dr.) cut his knee and ended up getting MRSA in it. After trying several strong antibiotics, he ended up having to spend three days in the hospital for iv antibiotics. He had to follow that up with daily iv antibiotics at home for one month. After that, he was fine.

 

I hope your dad recovers quickly.

[prairiewindmomma]

We've had it twice in our household (initial pickup was from a scraped foot at the public pool). We have also lost a family member (elderly) to it.

 

My advice:

Sanitize the room.

Sanitize all linens.

Everyone in contact with him and he himself should wash with hibiclens.

Bactrim ointment in the nose and under the fingernails.

Wound care specialist for the boil.

Probiotics along with and for a month after the abx.

 

On a related note, 2 of my kids have had mrsa, but I learned a lot when my immunocompromised daughter got an internal infection from her port placement surgery. She had to spend a week in hospital on iv antibiotics. Wound care is a specialty in healthcare and medicinal honey and silver impregnated materials like silverlon can do a lot topically while abx are working systemically. Also, heavy duty abx really wipe out the body's healthy gut flora. Those who are immunocompromised really can get into trouble if bad bacteria flare up in the gut. Time probiotics to occur between abx doses and continue them afterwards.

[InterestingCase]

One of my siblings just had the tip of a toe removed due to MRSA infection in the bone (osteomyelitis). Are the care and cleaning instructions any different? My mother is cleaning the house for when he comes home from the hospital and is wondering if there is anything additional she should do.