Topic : 04/01 The Superbug

I watched the show today.  I emailed my children to let them know they had to watch for this.  I didn't want to scare them, but felt they needed to know it was a concern.  One of my sons emailed me back, "Taylor contracted MRSA when she was 2 weeks old, there was a zit looking thing on her stomach that tripled in size over night and the doctor told us the the hype about MRSA is much worse than the effects, after a treatment of topical antibiotics she was fine. "  Is he right?  Are some doctors not taking this seriously enough.  Unless I have proven facts, I cannot talk to my son.  He believes in his doctor.  What should I do? If you contract it once, will it happen again?  Dr. Phil, I hope you read these. 

 MRSA is very scary, and I have treated 4 cases of it in the last month. One thing that is showing promise is natural medicine. Not only are natural treatments successfully treating cases of MRSA, but it's also an excellent way to help prevent MRSA infections from occurring. Our philosophy is that it's not only the bug that's the culprit, but the terrain. If your immune system, or number of good bacteria in or on your body is out of whack, then this makes you more susceptible to infections of any kind. Balance is essential. And hand washing with regular soap - NOT antibacterial soap as this leads to resistance - is the number one thing you can do to help prevent infection. Remember to scrub for a full 30 seconds (2 rounds of Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Happy Birthday) often, and that can be your first step in preventing infection. And alcohol wipes or sprays are not disinfectants! They merely spread the bacteria around and maybe dry them out. Also, be careful with too much disinfectant in the home, as fumes can cause a decrease in your immune system when used too much. I highly recommend using the UV light for cleaning home surfaces so you don't have to deal with nasty chemicals.

The problem with this subject is that every one is loving the drama of the moment.  As the Dr said this "super bug" has been around for over 40 years.  Yes it is a serious infection, however it is not as contagious as it is being made out to be.  If you wash your hands regularly and don't go around touching other peoples open wounds the chances of you getting it are low.  As for dietary, they don't touch the pt for the most part they walk in to a room place the tray on the bed side table and leave never touching the patient or any of the area that may be contaminated.  Hopefully they wash their hands or use hand cleaner before and after they leave the room.  This should be a standard for any pt not just those with infections.  Also unless the MRSA or other infection is in the mouth, nose, or other part of the respiratory system it is not in the air and you don't need a mask.  As for the "Long" time for of diagnosis did you know that it takes 24-48 hours to get a culture result back, which is what is needed to diagnose and treat any bacterial infection properly, and longer to find out if it is the MRSA form.  I work in a hospital and have done so for several years and so far have never seen an out break that threatened, or even in any way hinted, that it could wipe out the hospital or even a single unit. 

            Sorry to burst your drama bubble, but most people who die with MRSA usually have a nother issue along with it, and that either allows it to grow easier or kills them first.

 

The proplem with any medication is that it has side effects that are not always good.  How ever before you go throwing drugs in to the picture you should probably think, how common IS this bleeding problem really.  According to the information I found only 3.5% of the people had the bleeding problems and nearly the same with those with out it.  I think the Dr was justified in choosing it.

Was the sepsis caused by MRSA?  If so was there a problem that came before that he did not get checked out before the dehydration.  People don't get dehydrated and die of sepsis.  There is also and infection that came first.  The moral of this story, don't wait till your dead to get your self checked out.  Hundreds of people come through the ER daily, and many have dehydration.  The treatment is to rehydrait and send home with the encouragement to get lots of rest and fluids.  Infection can also cause dehydration.  If he was out exherting him self it is hard to say this is due to and infection or lack of water.  Take it easy I know it is hard to lose a loved one, but it is even harder to carry around the anger that you have.  It is also not good to place blame on some one who was doing the best job they could.

First off, are you planning on never going to the hospital ever again?  If this is the case then by all means continue complaining.  I would also encourage patients to inquire of their health care provider about any thing going on with their bodies.  It is the Dr.'s responsibility to do what they can to get you well, but it is yours to find out what is going on.

As for the idea of swabbing every employee, what would be your next idea?  Should they stamp me in big red letters saying "I HAVE MRSA"?  Or do you think that removing these people from the hospital would be a more acceptable idea.  Yes, overhead is a big deal to the hospital, but if they did not think about it you would be paying more than you already are for you precious health coverage.  Part of the reason most hospitals don't do the swabbing is that there really is nothing to do next.  If they fire all those with the infection then there will be an even bigger problem with the nursing shortage and you will probably die before you are ever seen in the hospital if you are really sick.

YES, MRAS is in the community.  I have taken care of a number of people who have never been to the hospital and yet some how have accuired this bacterial infection.  Thanks for your comments now stop over reacting.   Just think it will cost the hospital more if they cause a problem, don't you think they are going to go to every measure possible to prevent it reather than allowing people to get it from them?

I am so glad to hear that I will never have to worry about taking care of you in the hospital.  Good luck with the herbal thing though.  Just remember these words if you ever do get sick, or injured or in any way in need of the assistance of those people with the knowledge that could some day save your life.

   
 
  
First, let me say BLESS YOU DR. PHIL for putting on a show about MRSA. Please Please consider doing another show in the near future that talks about VRSA and VRE as well as MRSA. I am not sure if the point that there is 2 different kinds of MRSA out there. There is CA-MRSA which is known as the community bacteria known to get in schools, prisons, nursing homes ect., which, I believe actually has 3 different strains now. Then there is the HA-MRSA, which, is the hospital borne bacteria. I really think that needs to be expounded on Dr. Phil. Another misnomer from the show is the fact that MRSA is not a virus it is a bacterium. If it was a virus antibiotics would not work on it at all.

 

I also want to say I am so so sorry for all of you that have MRSA or have gone through the loss of a family member with it. It is an awful illness for anyone to deal with. I put you all in my prayers and blessings, and hope that you do not have non-curable MRSA.

 

Now this is my MRSA/VRSA story.

My name is Debbie, and I am a 50 yr old marine wife and mother of 7 children and 14 grandchildren. I have written to you for years Dr Phil, and also to Oprah begging you to put on a show about MRSA and VRSA.  In 1995 I was a 33 yr old college student working on my AA. It was finals week, and I took home my 40lb book bag to study. While at home I bent down to pick up my  40lb book bag and felt a bad pull in my back. After studying for 4 hours I tried to get up, and couldn't. I was in so much pain, and took some Motrin before bed. In the morning I was suppose to drive for the carpool. I could not walk, more or less drive, however, it was finals week, and I was taking my tests no matter how much pain I was in. When I got to the college they brought out their wheelchair so I could get around campus. I did finish one test in tears, and from there the Dean would not let me stay. My friends took me to a Chiropractor who took x-rays before he would consider touching me. He told me he was pretty sure I had a ruptured disc, and there was nothing he could do for me at the time. He suggested I go straight to the ER so I could get a referral to the closest hospital.  I did do that, and after 5 yrs of physical therapy, steroid injections in my back 3 times a month, E-Stem treatments including a portable one I wore everyday, hot cold compresses, and anything else they could think of besides surgery; nothing seemed to work well, and my legs kept becoming numb. One day I was walking down an outside flight of stairs, and my leg went numb gave out and I fell to the bottom where I broke my ankle( lucky that was all I broke I did mess up my back more though).I was sent to a doctor that I did not like a lot. He set and put a cast on my leg, and when I asked him about surgery ideas for my back he said “The rupture and pain was all in my head", and he would not refer me to anyone. However, he did say he would tell me the name of a surgeon he knew, but it was up to me to get an appointment with him without a referral. I called the surgeon on a Tuesday and told him my story. On Friday the same week I was in his office finding out about my L-4 L-5 surgery that would take place in one week from then. I asked his assistant what was the worse thing that could happen to me , and he said "Die of Course" , and we both laughed ( not sure why though), and then he said "oh and you could get an infection , however that’s 1 in a million. Well folks meet the 1 in a million woman, even though, I know now that’s not even close to being true. I ended up with something called VRSA, which, is Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. I guess I just realized tonight not many people are as lucky as me to have this illness (being very sarcastic) .I had routine L-4 L-5 back surgery (partial  laminectomy ) in March 1999, and ended up with a hospital borne staff and strep infection known as MRSA.  MRSA is "The Best Known Kept Secret”, and there has been a "Code of Silence" when it comes to talking about it. Back in 1999 no one wanted to tell me I had MRSA, however, a nurse came sneaking in my room one night after I had spent 4 months in the hospital, and told me what MRSA was ,and told me to get a lawyer. She said she would never admit to telling me as she would lose her job, and she had children to raise.

 

After having my routine back surgery I went home 48 hours later less 1 tooth in my mouth, however, they were nice enough to put it in my hand so, when I woke up from surgery I could see it. I still to this day can not figure out what happened to me in back surgery that could cause my front tooth that was actually permanently screwed in my mouth to end up in my hand, and no one ever explained why. I still to this day have no front tooth due to any dental insurance, and the hospital would not pay for it to be replaced. Also I am down to only 11 teeth, because they all seem to be rotting away from the infection I have. The 11 I have left are broken or infected, and I can not do anything about that either, because no dentist I have talked to will touch me with VRSA.

 

 Anyway, within in 1 day home from the hospital I was picking roses in my backyard; the surgery was a SUCCESS. I was so happy that I was going to get my life back. However, two weeks later sitting on my couch with my kids I felt this liquid dripping out of the patch on my back, it was a bright runny greenish orange color it did not look right to me and thank god I followed my woman’s intuition and called the hospital (which was a civilian hospital almost 2 hours from my house on the base). I was told to stay still that they were sending the “life flight” to pick me up. I became very scared wondering what was so wrong with me that would cause them to fly me in a helicopter to the hospital. I called my husband and he was home before the life flight got there so, he threw me in the car, and drove like a bat out of hell to get me there. When we got to the hospital they asked my name, and when I said my name they had me on a gurney and stripping me down the hall under a blanket on the way to the Operating Room, talk about being afraid I had no idea what was happening to me. I later found out that the life flight would have been an hour late due to a fatal car accident on the highway. If my husband had not driven me to the hospital when he did I would not be writing this to you now I would be DEAD as I had severe “Septicemia”( bacteria in the blood) and my body was going into septic shock; this also caused me to have Chronic Osteomyelitis ( an infection in my bones) . 

 

From that day forward I spent a better part of a year in the hospital on the IV antibiotic known as “Vancomycin”. Anyone who has been on this antibiotic knows how painful it is. The IV drips very slow for an hour, and it burns very bad the whole time. It burns so bad that it actually burns your veins away, and thank god we have new ones that grow back or I would not have any in my arms now. I was on three different regiments of Vancomycin that year, and due to having so much of the antibiotic the MRSA became immune to the Vancomycin, which, is how I ended up with VRSA, and VRSA is very rare I have been told .

 

After having 2 major back surgeries to try to clean up the MRSA I started throwing up blood with a 104 temp, and the doctors realized my gall bladder was so infected with gangrene it started to burst, and I almost died on the table. After recovering from the gall bladder surgery I was sent home on 10 different kinds of medication where I spent another 7 months on a PIC line in a hospital bed where I almost died twice during that time frame. I was in a wheelchair over 2 years.

 

I really wish I could take a picture of my back and show you how the illness as eaten my back up. If you removed a small piece of skin on my back you would see a hole into my body. Also now I have 4 ruptured discs including the one that I had surgery on, and the hoot is no one will do surgery on me because of the VRSA. I was told I could never have surgery again without a very good chance of death.  The pain in my back even with all the meds I  take is unnbearable most of the time.

 

However, the good news is I did finish my AA with honors between being in the hospital, and in the wheelchair at home. So, I was quite proud of myself to roll across the stage at 38 yrs old in my electric wheelchair, and accepted my Associates Degree diploma that I received with honors, and a 3.89 GPA.

 

Since then, however, I have become permanently disabled. I have to carry a pillow with me so, when I sit I can put it behind my back. I also have to sleep with a pillow on my back. If anyone knows of a small soft pillow that has carrying handles I could buy I would be forever grateful. I have to carry my huge pillow with me, and it is hard holding that, and walking with a cane especially in the snow and ice. I have fallen many times especially in my own house when my legs go numb on me. I have several illnesses now, and I am sick several days a week with infections of some sort. It has gotten to be a daily chore to get out of bed and do anything since I have a compromised immune system and anytime I get sick it takes me weeks sometimes months to get better. I have been sick for months, and now just getting on the mend again. My father died on Feb 16th of this year, and since I am the only child, and he has been divorced from my mother over 35 years, it is my responsibility to take care of my father's estate. It has been very hard physically, and emotionally traveling from Alaska to California to take care of my father before he passed and when he passed. I spent 6 weeks in all there, and out of those 6 weeks I was able to spend the last 4 weeks of my father’s life with him. I can not drive with out hand controls so, it was almost impossible to rent a car, and get around while I was there, which, made it hard getting to the hospital, and skilled nursing facility.

 

My MRSA came from a teaching hospital in the south when we were stationed there as Marines. When we retired from the Marines on May 2002 (or thought we were retiring) we moved to Alaska. It was my dream come true, and my husband helped me achieve that dream. Unfortunately, I can not live here the way I wanted to. I can not stand in one place for more then a few moments, and I can not walk very far with out my legs giving out. I do walk with a cane; however, it will not be long before I am back in a wheelchair.

 

I wear a fentanyl pain patch 100 mcg that gets changed every 60 hours; that's a lot of pain medicine. I also take something called “Lyrica” for the neuropathy I ended up with. I also take hydrocodone for the chronic pain, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Due to all the meds I have been on I am now taking Prilosec , and Bentyl for my stomach.

 

I am not the suing kind of person, and really did not want to sue anyone at the time; however, as I got worse and the hospital insisted on their money (even though the MRSA came from their hospital), and turned me over to the credit bureau while I was fighting for my life in their hospital; I decided to try. I could never find a lawyer who would take my case since it is  a very well known Academical Medical Hospital in the south, and all of the attorneys I talked to sounded afraid, or thought I was lying I guess. I was told to get a lawyer out of state ( something I guess this state is known for), and we could not afford that being a military family of 9 at the time, and since I was so sick, and close to dying a few times, trying to find an attorney out of state was not an option at the time.

 

Now, I have been told it is too late to sue, and we have even had to go bankrupt. We do not have an accessible vehicle I can drive, and we can not even afford to buy our own house. We have never had our own house always lived in military housing, or had to a rent a place in town for a while since my hospitalization almost destroyed my life and family. Due to the VRSA, and other dis-eases I have ended up with from it, we will have to buy or build a wheelchair accessible house for me, and without the finances we will not be able to do that I am so afraid of the near future now, and have no idea what will happen the day I can not walk anymore. I would have only sued the hospital for my bill that was owed at the time. However, now I believe they should have had to pay for not only my hospital bill, but an accessible vehicle, and house for me to live in. Why should I have to pay for these items when they caused my illness that has made me permanently disabled? I will die with the VRSA and Osteomyelitis in my body. I am sick so much I can no longer work, continue my education, and my dreams have died. Also, we have a 16 yr old that has been in a residential hospital for over 4 yrs, and she will not be home very soon because I can not take care of her illnesses anymore. This has nothing to do with my hospital bill however; it also causes financial hardships for our family.

 

There is so much more to my story, however, I have taken enough of your time just to read this. So, if anyone really wants to chat with me please email me.

 

I am just so excited that someone wants to talk about MRSA and VRSA finally.  It is nice to know that I am not the only one out there dealing with this deadly flesh eating disease. It has been hidden for years. I remember trying to find anything about MRSA on the internet 4 yrs ago, and all I found was pass worded physicians sites that I could not get in to. In fact I really did not hear much about MRSA until the actress Rosie O’Donnell got it in her finger years ago. Thank-you so very much for caring about people like me that has MRSA, VRSA, VRE.

 

Thank-you Dr. Phil for making the “Best known Secret” not so much a secret anymore.

 

Thank-you so much for breaking the “CODE OF SILENCE”

 

Have a Great Day

 

Debbie or Hurtzlot

 

If anyone wants to write to me use hurtzlot@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--
 

             

My husband and I are both colonized with MRSA.  I have had seven infections and my husband is just getting over his third.  I am a certified medial assistant, not working right now, and what disturbs me is the lack of urgency that I see from the health care givers regarding a possible MRSA infection that a person might have.  I had my first infection in September 2006 right after we had gone camping and like alot of others assumed it was a bad spider bite so I tried to take care of it myself.  By the time the second and third infection  came about I realized that this was more serious then I thought and went to my regular doctor.  After a MRSA infection is healed it leaves a purplish scare.  Some of mine had healed while others were breaking out new and my doctor insisted that those scares were bruises and had not been infections.  She never took a culture, of the new ones just sent me home.  By the time I got to the seventh infection I had a temperature of 104.6, and my entire hip was involved in the infection.  She reluctently took a culture only because I had insisted.  After swabbing the area for the culture she left the room leaving me still exposed with the infection uncovered and draining and never returned.   When I realized she wasn't coming back I covered my infected skin the best I could with kleenex and left for home.  Over the next couple of days a large blister formed and burst.  I called into my doctor only to be told "well that is what it is supposed to do".  That was the last straw, I changed doctors.  Recently my husband had developed this third infection and I took him immediately to an urgent care facility for a culture.  The nurse practioner insisted that he had shingles and I had to argue with her just to get it cultured, even with his history of MRSA.  I can't believe that is a lack of education about MRSA within our health care community for the ignorant behavior of the health care providers.  I am more inclined to think it is a lack of policy or a mandated standard of practice that health care providers must follow when addressing  suspected MRSA infected patients.  In my opinion, all patients who present themselves with a possible infection whether MRSA is suspected or not should be cultured and then treated accordingly.  Prevention education is so important but also when an infection is present it is all the more important for health care providers to be able to recognize it and take every step possible to stop it in its tracks before it becomes even more of a threat to our communities than it already is.

Hi.  I had seven MRSA infections in six months.  I know it is scarey when it is your child.  We finally starting seeing a doctor that specializes in infectious deceases in our area.  What I have been told is use only antibacterial soap on the hands never all over the body because it kills all the good bacteria that our bodies produce to help fight infections.  I was told to use soap like Dove or Aveeno that does not have antibacterial properties.  Also, MRSA likes to live in the environment in the nose, under arms, and groin areas so keeping all those areas clean is important.  There is a nasal cream that can be prescribed for swabbing the inside of the nose to help kill the MRSA virus that lives there.  Good luck with your baby.  I have been told that the MRSA has colonized in my body but I have not had an infection in over a year.  I am hoping that with continued preventative measures that I take I will not have anymore. The important thing for you to do is find a doctor that will listen to your concerns and is also updated on the prevention and treatment of MRSA.  If a spot looks suspicious to you insist on a culture if only for your own peace of mind.

In August of 2006, my son had a "cyst" on his bottom.  I took him to the pediatrician, and he said "well, if it breaks, you can swab it and bring it to the lab."  The doctor gave me the swab and off we went.  That weekend, my son was MISERABLE!!!  Finally, I thought he must have an ear infection or something.  My husband and I brought him to the ER on Sunday, with a fever of 103, and sure enough this cyst had grown and he needed to be admitted into the hospital for intravenous antibiotics!!  I was so upset.  Then, the doctors had to cut this cyst open and drain it and put a wick in it.  I was beside myself.  How could this happen to my baby??  It was terrible.  He was in the hospital for 4 days, and had lots of people picking at his little bum!!

Needless to say, I think that the doctor is very liable for this.  As soon as we got home from the hospital, I changed Pediatricians.  I still to this day blame this doctor for the horrible ordeal my poor baby went through.  I often wonder what could have been.  If this doctor just treated him, he never would have gone through the tramatizing inpatient events that he was forced to go through.  Now, his little bum is scarred for life.  He has a scar from where the doctors had to cut him open and squeeze all the puss and infection out.  My poor baby!!  Luckily, since then my son has had no reoccurring infections!

I think that as parents, if we feel something is wrong with our children, we need to advocate.  If we do not get the results we need or want, then we should get a second, or third opinion.