I've got a kid with bad excema who is totally colonized with MRSA, and now my baby has it too. No matter how much bleaching, disinfecting, and cleaning I do, it won't go away. We've been on all the antibiotics, but it didn't seem to clear it.

Right now we have no active infections, and we haven't had any in months, so I thought it would be safe to visit my parents. Big mistake. Both of my parents came down with horrible infections and are now being seen by a physician.

Anyone else have any advice for surviving with this? We're seeing an infectious disease doctor but so far we've exhausted the treatments.

 

PC, back in the old days when MRSA emerged, we in the hospitals used chlorhexidine based bathing soaps. Since we are not winning the MRSA battle in hospitals we are going back to using those kinds of washes. I'm certain that if you call around you should be able to find something along those lines.

Chlorhexidine is very hard on the skin and will also kill good bacteria, check with your doctor about whether or not it should be used on children.

Healthy people can be colonized with MRSA for years with out any problems.....but if you have an open wound or a weakened immune system it can set roots and get out of control...sounds like you've been there!

Usually Vancomycin is the gold standard treatment for MRSA...but that's a very strong antibiotic and has it's own little super-bug call VRE (vancomycin resistant enterococci) due to overuse and not being used properly. VRE is a nasty little bug that causes rotten diarrhea. (Ick!)

I feel for you and know how frustrated you are! Unfortunately MRSA can live for a long time on surfaces (Months I believe)

I hope you find a solution that works and you and your family become MRSA free real soon!

I Googled MRSA and was able to pull up theis web site from the CDC.  It looks like it has lots of info on control and treatment.  Maybe you can find some answers here:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhap/ar_mrsa.html

well we have pillow cases....I wash them occasionally but not every single day. I was spraying the light switches and doorknobs with Lysol disinfectant...I try to do the toys but DANG. We've got so many little pieces floating around here all day, changing hands and getting sucked on...I'm ready to throw out every toy in the house but I can't realistically do that.

leave the bleach wet. Haven't thought to do that.

My other problem...his excema is bad so I have to have vaseline on his legs all the time. This eventually soaks into everything - his bedding, pants, etc. Once the vaseline is in the fabric, I can't get it out. Even if I wash it with bleach, it's still there. Could this be harboring bacteria? I was thinking about throwing away his duvet cover on the bed, and I already threw away some sweat pants of his last night.

anyway thanks Sassy for the info. The doctor seems to want to just do rounds of antibiotics over and over again. She said Clyndamicin is the strongest, and it had a terrible TERRIBLE taste, etc. It was probably the same as Vancomycin, but I'm going to ask to make sure.

PC, I think they sell pillow protectors that go on your pillow, under your pillow case to protect it from becoming colonized/spreading if your pillows are already colonized! Some protectors are antimicrobial in nature. Just a thought.

You could limit their toys for a couple of weeks?? Perhaps to washable ones?


I don't know if the Vaseline is keeping the bacteria alive post washing....but I sometimes use WD40 to get greasy stains out. (I buy it at Canadian Tire....Hmm, trying to think of the US comparable.....where-ever you buy car products) WD40 is a grease cutter used for car repairs etc., but it works great on getting greasy stains out of clothes/linens.

How often are you being screened for MRSA? We do it weekly.

Still keeping ya in my thoughts! Good luck and I'm sure you will win the war on MRSA!

Keep us posted!

oh - fabulous ideas!! I didn't now about the antimicrobial pillow covers. I'll get some.
ANd the WD40!!!

I've got that in the laundry room because I was oiling a door hinge! I can use that on vaseline-covered linens? SWEET. Maybe i'll do that...and then run it again in bleach.

I'm just saying what we do in the hospital....I'm not sure what is recommended for the community...

But that being said....we need to have two or three clear tests before we take someone off isolation.

Hmmm.....Well, I would probably implement a strict thorough clean routine.....test after a couple weeks ("the boy") and if he's clear you could probably be safe to assume that everyone else would be clear too???

That would save some cost....or you could check with your local health unit....since this is a serious problem in hospitals and communities they may have testing programs? Worth checking out?

I'll bet that most of our nurses are colonized at one time or another! We spread it....even with all our preventative measures! 

Oh you're poor little guy, PC!      I'm so sorry, I hope the MRSA gets killed off and never returns!  I would definately check on the diff. between that "V" med. Sassy mentioned and Clyndamycin, because I know I've had Clyndamycin before and it wasn't for anything nearly as serious.  Surely there's got to be stronger things out there?  ....
OK between the last paragraph and this, I just called the pharmacy where a relative of mine works and he said they do have Vancomycin here in the US but it's usually given by IV in a hospital.  He says the IV meds would work best for a 4-5 yr. old who's "totally colonized".  It might be worth just running it by the infectious disease Docs to see which route is best since they know your son's condition.  He was also kind of shocked to hear that there isn't any testing schedule going on and that insurance might not be covering it (I wasn't sure about that but that's what it sounded like in your post). 

Where I live you don't qualify for any state or federal funded medical programs unless you fit very strict financial guidelines... although there might (there should anyhow) be different programs just for MRSA.  Surely there will be once some politician's kid gets it.  I learned about MRSA on TV, I think it was Dr. Phil - a lady who had it went on the show, and then I watched a PBS special on it too.  I bet Dr. Phil still has info about it on his site.  After seeing that I sat my kids down and we had a talk about not touching ANYTHING when out in public unless absolutely necessary, and sanitizing hands as soon as we get back to our vehicle, and not touching their faces/food before doing so.  I realize all the prevention in the world doesn't guarantee anything 100% with this bug.  Well, that and it's hard to catch your kids before their fingers go in their noses/mouths. 

PC, I know you're likely trying to just remain sane while dealing with this, but the Dr.'s you're dealing with know what this stuff is, right?  It blows my mind that they didn't recommend simple daily living procedures like letting the bleach sit wet until it kills the germs, some level of isolation, toy-washing, the pillow-covers, etc.  I would call the school district and check to see what their procedures are for this ahead of time.  I do wish you the best and will have him and you in my prayers.