Topic : 04/01 The Superbug

Dr. Phil,

My son (32) has had (2) bouts with MRSA. Interestingly, they occured exactly one year apart. The first week of February 2007 he had a terrible infection on the top of his foot. It took him a couple of days before he decided he had to see a doctor. They actually sliced into the infected area to drain every bit out that they could and put him on a stronger/specific antibiotic. The site was hot and huge, bright red with yucky yellowish/green discharge. (Are you sure you are up for hearing all the gross stuff?)! It took a long time to recover - I think it was about 10 to 14 days. The Doctor admitted that he had lost sleep worrying about Josh's foot. At that time, sort of by accident, I filled an extra prescription of the strong antibiotic, thinking that we might as well have it on hand...

February 2008 - same leg only moved to the knee. Within about 2 hours of wondering if he had it again - Josh took the first pill of antibiotics. We were not going to fool around this time. If you go online - there is alot of internet MRSA talk about a person's PH balance needing to be more alkaline rather than acidic. (Which would move you towards eating more fruits and vegetables) I  went to Sun Harvest - the local Health Food Store and asked for advice. I came home with a colloidal silver spray (taken/used in moderation) for topical application and also can be sprayed on the back of the throat, a grapefruit seed extract (drops) and some other supplements. I found out that lemon juice is perfect for creating a more alkaline state. So... in an attempt to be proactive  - we start every day with a super fruit smoothie - that has everything but the kitchen sink in it, including fresh sqeezed lemon, orange and lime, fresh pineapple, banana, kiwi, tangerine, and organic berries and yogurt. Have you heard anything about reversing MRSA in this way? (Basically through better nutrition) 

 I was glued to your show about this - but honestly was disappointed that there didnt seem to be any real answers.

FYI - Josh is an otherwise healthy construction worker - and National Guardsman.

Thank you for bring this to everyones attention - pf course my hope is that there can be some constructive advice to avoid a re-occurence.   

Sincerely,

Pat Agrelius

I created this to make it easy to forward the info - took me about a minute!  Really easy.

http://spongecell.com/event_page/view/600175

I included a direct link to Dr. Phil's episode on MRSA too.  Now you can click on this link and then click on invite friends and easily forward it around to make sure your friends and family are in the know.  Hope this helps. 

Also - WHY can't the govt put some funding towards making the swabbing routine at hospitals and schools and doc offices?  If the Pittsburgh Hospital saw a dramatic decrease in the % of MRSA in their hospital and there isn't a cure, then why can't we do what we know works to diminish this SuperBug from continuing to spread?  Geez!

Lab analysis showed two-thirds of the patients with skin problems were infected with CA-MRSA. Ten percent of them admitted to being regular users of meth — but only 2 percent of those who had no skin infections said they used the drug. The finding came as a surprise, Cohen said, because the skin lesions in the patients who had used meth were not limited to parts of the body where they might have injected the drug. But most of the meth users did not inject the drug, according to what they told investigators; they smoked or inhaled it. Instead, Cohen said, the bug was probably spread by skin-to-skin contact during sex while the users were high, and also by intense scratching — meth users' response to a side effect of the drug, called formication, that makes them feel as though ants are crawling over their skin. Scratching breaks the skin surface and can introduce infection. With the spread of MRSA among meth users, investigators said they are concerned that it is likely to move quickly into the community at large. "Part of the reason we feel this is important is it can impact other family members and the larger community, and will spread to community members who don't use meth," Cohen said.

Friday, 24 March 2006

By Dr. Vincent LaBombardi, St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center, New York City

Once one has MRSA, it can be deadly and I wouldn't risk treating it with oils. My spouse had MRSA last year and had five surgeries and multiple hospital stays and 7 weeks on vanco (one trip a day to the infusion clinic) before it was gone. Any cut, etc., in our home, gets treated immediately with Betadine. Not taking any chances.

Even scarier is the mutated staph which is resistant to ALL antibiotics. In other words, most will die from it. Not a fun thing to contemplate.

my family & i have mrsa. we have been battling this for going on 4 years now. my 8 year old son contracted mrsa from school. people don't realize exactly how dangerous this "superbug" really is. many cases are misdiagnosed as spider bites or skin allergies. WASH HANDS!!! antibacterial soap, bleach linens, hand sanitizer!!! everyone really needs to read this and become aware of this growing epidemic that can become fatal.

You Would never know you are infected until you become sick and MRSA can be very painful.

As a Registered Nurse who has had WAAAAAY too much experience working with MRSA patients, I can say that everyone needs to be concerned about this particular superbug, as well as VRSA (Vancomycin resistant Staph aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus). Once seen only in health care facilities, MRSA is now making a large incursion into the community. Once colonized with this particular infection, it is generally with you for life. It has periods of dormancy after treatment, but stress or weakened immune systems can reactivate the infection. The fact that it is showing up with increasing frequency in schools and athletic organizations shows that the general public needs to be educated about the infection and what measures to take to make the best effort to avoid contracting it.

"n our experience, patients who presented with soft tissue infections as result of spider bites predominantly had methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections, corresponding to the increased incidence of MRSA reported in the community. Therefore, a more aggressive approach to the management of spider bites presenting with severe cellulitis is warranted. Routine treatment should include aggressive surgical debridement, intraoperative wound cultures, the empiric use of antibiotics with activity against MRSA, and adjustment of antimicrobial therapy based on culture and sensitivity data."

If soo many patients present with a "spider bite" at the onset of being diagnosed, can testing be done to see if spiders can transmit this viralant resistant staph? I know of someone who presented with a spider bite, you could actually see the two bite holes and they actually had the spider in a jar they found it between the mattress and the wall. They could not get anyone to listen or test the spider itself, they previously had NO MRSA ever. I read a study about soil and how most of it tests positive for bacteria, especialy s. aurus. Also in my research in our area the cases of soft tissue MRSA infections were higher durring the months when spiders are mating and more likely to be aggressive and bite. What does anyone think about this? if there is a concern about bird flu, Malaria from mosquitos, maybe there is a possible spread factor with actual spider bites?????

I am outraged !!!  I can't believe no one is holding the hospitals accountable for spreading this awful superbug. When I  recently went to visit my best friend in the hospital the nurse told me he has MRSA and VRE.  NO one coming in or out was wearing protective clothing or gloves or washed any equipment or their own hands!!!  I also took my daughter to the doctors office the other day and not the doctor or the nurses washed their hands before of after being in the room. 

People we have to speak up and say something.  Do you really want someone touching you that has touched 100 other sick people that day?  Do you want  medical equipment used on you when you don't know where it's been?  Let's get real!!!! We are all moaning and groaning over the high cost of health care and the care we are getting is laced with superbugs because someone doesn't feel like washing their hands 200 times a day or disinfecting the equipment properly!!!!! 

I understand the superbugs are not only found in the hospital, I understand the types, the schools are disinfecting and teaching the students what to do. Why aren't we speaking up and demanding the same for our doctors, nurses and all health care personnel?

People are suffering needlessly, people are DYING!!!!!