MRSA "superbug" warning

[AlethiaSi]

Originally Posted by REE1993

As someone with a chronic condition (and who is very suseptible to scary bugs), I wanted to put my thoughts about MRSA out there.

MRSA has been around for a long time. It's nothing new. It's been lurking around hospitals forever. The reason it is getting so much news coverage now is that there are more reported cases in people who have not been in the hospital, nor who have a chronic illness.

People do NOT need to panic.

The NUMBER ONE prevention is hand washing. If you DO get MRSA, it is very treatable. But again, prevention is the best "cure".

It's scary, yes, but not an epidemic. Just be careful.

REE- thanks, yes this is true, i shouldn't have been so quick to post in a "omg freak out" way, i sorry.
everyone in my office was spazzing b/c of htis stupid misquito bite so i figured i'd pass along the info

[REE1993]

Originally Posted by AlethiaSi

REE- thanks, yes this is true, i shouldn't have been so quick to post in a "omg freak out" way, i sorry.
everyone in my office was spazzing b/c of htis stupid misquito bite so i figured i'd pass along the info

Oh, no problem. I didn't mean you specifically. The newscasters would have you believe that it's the plague of the 21st century.

[srmom]

Not to be an alarmist, but it isn't just a hospital bug.

6 years ago, my son had been sailing all weekend long and when we were heading back into town, he mentioned that his knee hurt. He had, what looked to be, an ingrown hair, or pimple on his knee. I told him that we'd clean it and that it would be fine.

The next morning when I got him up to go to school, it had swollen and was red. I (have to admit, begrudgingly) took him to the pediatrician, who took a look at it and said that he wanted to admit him to the hospital just in case. He said that it was probably just an ordinary staph infection, but that they were seeing more of this weird antibiotic resistant strain and it would be prudent just to check it out.

Well, it turned out to be MRSA, and it was a huge ordeal consisting of 7 days in the hospital, surgery to remove the infected tissue, bone scans, echo cardigrams, and 2 more weeks on an IV of a medicine of last resort called Vancomycin, that my husband and I had to administer. It was scary as hell.

Since then, besides becoming a clean freak, I am much more aware of skin issues. At my kids' high school, there have been numerous incidents of staph (the treatable kind) and a couple of cases of MRSA.

It is much more common than you think

Don't mean that meanie face about any posts, just the bug - it SUCKS!