Topic : 04/01 The Superbug

 We in this household have been dealing with MRSA for going on 5 yrs.  My mother went in for a simple knee replacement. Simple NOT!  Infection began shooting out of my mothers knee within days...the infection was deep in the joint.  After replacing the knee twice and 27 trips to the OR  and 29 units of blood. Constant drips of Vanco and Cipro.  Then developing VRE to add to the mix. The knee was finally removed and left open.  The doctor thew her arms in the air and said I don't know what else to do.

She fuzed her from her hip down to her ankle with a titanium rod.

 Between the hospital, rehab hospital, and a nursing home for rehab 11 months had passed.

I was told by the nursing home that they had approved my mother to stay forever.  (are they nuts I wouldn't leave a dog there)

Did I mention that my mother worked at the school? And was in charge of the cafeteria and also at a childrens home.  I had to retire her...takecare of getting all the paperwork for disability.  And god they make you feel like you are the dirt of the earth.  And tell my mother she would never walk, drive, or be able to live alone. . 

I brought her to live with my family. I had to leave my job to take care of my mother because she made $32.00 to much to  get any help inside the home. 

 We were told that it was a misfortunate event that my mother ended up with the MRSA.  She soon found out that her filters to her kidneys were damaged due to the heavy doses of antibiotics.  And now is a 3 day a week dialysis patient.  The MRSA is dormant by 2yrs. 

I am my mothers best patient advocate!

  I feel that if the MRSA is acquired in the hospital than they should be responsible.  I feel that they are so worried about getting in the next patient and making that almighty dollar that they do not take the time to clean like they should. 

that overuse of antibiotics in recent years may be related to a prescriber's fear of lawsuits. Not to digress, but if we continue to perpetuate a society which is automatically on the defensive and ready to strike at the first hint of "blame" in a situation, we will no longer be seeking to treat our patients, but to simply placate them and cover our behinds. This is not a society in which I would like to practice.

I so agree.  The panic stricken society comes into the doctor's office or ER, miraculously with the symptoms of whatever the media tells them to be afraid of at the moment.  The doctor has other, more urgent patients to help, so he gives them the "hypochondriac pill" to shut up the person (who usually won't take no for an answer and won't listen).  So the panic over having a common cold or something stupid like that, helped create this in the first place.  I'm glad I live in a state that has the Tort Reform to prevent these people from getting away with murder in punitive damages, but there needs to be more legislation to stop the sue-happy public from contributing to the healthcare cost crisis.

I am sorry to say but from everything I have read, I think you are incorrect here.

MRSA was a huge problem in Europe many years befor we saw it here.. The studies they did to determine the cause of spreading linked to several things. Number one is that it is extremely good at surviving, especially outside the body. (Dr Phils guest even confirmed that with his recommendation of Lysol and the germ light.) Anyways the studies in Europe found that the lab coats that doctors used to wear where crawling with it. Also upon swabbing nearly every surface in the hospital they found live resistant staph, on the curtains, the carpet, the phones etc. They continue to develop new ways to fight this, they have developed special paint, fabrics, and carpets and ways and means of cleaning specifically to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals. There is also a Steam vapor cleaning system that is brought in when an outbreak occurs, but requires that area to be shut down and ` these things are very expensive and not in practice everywhere.

Do a little reading and it will confirm what I am saying.

I am surprised that you working in the health care profession don't know all this. If germs didn't survive outside of the body then there would be no market for hand sanitizers, clorox, Lysol etc. If they didn't live outside the body why does the CDC recommend not sharing personal items like soap, bath towels, razors, or sports equipment.

This lack of understanding about the very resilience and nature of MRSA among health care workers perpetuates it spreading.

That in itself is enough for the public to panic and all part of the "hype" for your own safety and the safety of your patients please educate yourself on the mis-information you have been given about MRSA not living outside the body!

Everyone needs to be made aware of this virus. I contacted MERCA right before Thanksgiving of 2007. I had it on my nose of all places. I have never had contact with anyone who had this disease and my Dr. has no idea were it might have come from. I fought this for 5 months and hopefully I am done with treatment. I have had 2 PICC lines and went in every morning for treatment for 3 hours and took a portable pump home with me at nght and had 2 more treatments at home. I am very lucky to have great doctors who know what they are doing and how to treat MERCA. People need to understand the shame one has with this disease. People don't understand and act as if you are a monster. I have made new friends along the way and we all help each other though this horrible time. . I also have to say I am lucky to have a husband who was there with me every step of the way, some people don't have the support of loved ones.  I am very greatful for each and every day and now know how quickly it all can come to an end.

Hi! I really enjoyed the show on the superbug, MRSA. I have dealt with the bug first hand...my baby little girl contracted the bug after a heart surgery at less than two weeks old. Now you may be thinking, oh my, a baby only two weeks old with this horrible bug...well...not only was she less than two weeks old, struggling to survive after a heart surgery to close a valve to her heart that hadn't closed from birth, but she also only weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces.

Though I enjoyed the show thoroughy (as I do ALL Dr. Phil shows!) I hope it didn't go too far with scaring people. After Abby contracted the bug I advocated at the hospital for further safety measures to prevent the bug from further spreading. Having a micro preemie baby, I was already use to the drill of wash, wash, wash. Then after she got MRSA (which I was told was probably contracted during the surgery) my washing stepped up to almost an obsession. I knew my daughter had contracted it by contact with an infected person or object. Now I, as her mother, knew I could now be a potential spreader of this disease, if proper measures where not taken. I even visited with the head of the NICU to help take steps to further prevent the spread of this horrible bug.

Long story short - though my daughter had a very lengthy hosptalization (she did not come home for the first time until she was 14months old, spending her first birthday and Christmas in the hospital) she is now doing wonderful...bright, smart, adorable and a comedian to boot....and has been given the clear of MRSA (with three negative cultures). I still however, am a germophobic...

I always think of it this way...say you stick your hands in a gallon of paint every half hour without washing them...now go about your daily activities with the paint on your hands. At the end of the day, just think of how many objects around you would be covered in paint...and how many others would end up with paint also on their hands if they could not see it...that  paint is the germs/bugs...waiting for their opportunity to jump ahold to another victim.

Again, I thank Dr. Phil for the public awareness...but wish to give some comfort to others who are fighting, or are afraid of this bug that if a teeny tiny fragile infant barely weighing a pound could fight off this bully bug, there is definate hope for others. Thanks.

Dont think that if you dont have surgery in the hospital that you are safe from MRSA.  I was in the maternity ward of the hospital when I was exposed to MRSA.  I was having trouble breastfeeding and the nurse who helped me had MRSA on her when I got MRSA in my breast.  It was only found after i got a huge lump in my breast that needed to be surgically opened up and cleaned out.  It was a very scary time and I had worries about whether it would ever be gone and most importantly if I had given it to my newborn baby.  I could not get any straight answers from the docters and they all said it was gone, but I still wonder if I dont need to worry about the future.  I feel like i may still be carrying MRSA and may be able to give it to someone else.  It is an unclean, scary feeling and I want my son to be able to have a normal life.  The doctors say it is gone, can I trust them to tell me the truth?  Will I have to be worried about having any more children in that hospital?  Are there any lawsuits going on about this issue?  I never thought that I could have died.  Im very angry that others on the show have dealt with death and constant health problems without being reimbursed for their pains.  Someone should be held responsible for this.  The doctors who dont do the tests until it is too late and the hospitals that let their nurses touch patients without washing their hands or wearing gloves.  I cant understand why that boy had to die, or the young woman has to have lumps under her arm, and why my baby had to go without breast milk because someone came into our rooms with a deadly disease.  Why does it always take doctors months and months to order tests?  This is all so unfair and we are all so powerless against it.  I hope that in knowledge of MRSA, we can learn how not to spread it in the hospitals to all these innocent lives.  AAnd that doctors can stop neglecting  these open sores and sending people home with no help.  My main concern is whether MRSA can really be gone?  And how we can get rid of it?  I was finally given Bactrim for it after many weeks of penicillin.

I, too, have been living with MRSA for about six years now. I was in an automobile accident where I flipped my truck five times. I landed upside down and was held in by the seat belt, THANK GOD! The EMT's told me had I not been wearing my seat belt, I would have been thrown out on the first flip (end over end) and I would not be here today. The down side is that due to the seat belt holding me upside down,  I suffered an A/C Joint Separation #3. My Orthopedist tried everything under the sun to keep from doing surgery; however, I eventually had to have surgery and contracted MRSA in the operating room. Ten days after the initial surgery, I was back in the operating room, with my doctor trying to flush the "monster "out of my shoulder. He told my mom that short of amputating my arm, he had done all he could do. I was put in isolation for ten days and was admitted to the hospital six more times. Ultimately I was sent home with a PIC line. I am fortunate that mom is a nurse and she was able to administer the drugs as needed; had she not been a nurse, I would have had to pay Home Health $300.00 per day to come out and administer the drugs.

  I have numerous bouts with this "monster" ( that is the only way I know to describe MRSA). My most recent bout came up as a bump on the back of my neck and had a hole about one and a half inches deep. It was extremely infected and it still has not closed completely. My mom was out of state at the time that this last bout happened, so I did not know how bad it really was until she came home. Upon seeing it, she immediately took me to the doctor. Since I have no insurance coverage and cannot work due to the numerous outbreaks, I chose to treat this on an out-patient basis. I am now horrified every time I have to go to the hospital, but I do believe the worse has already happened.

  My doctor said that MRSA has gotten into my bloodstream and every organ of my body, including the muscles and tissues. Now I am just waiting for the day that this MONSTER takes me out.!!!!!!!!!!!!

I, too, have been living with MRSA for about six years now. I was in an automobile accident where I flipped my truck five times. I landed upside down and was held in by the seat belt, THANK GOD! The EMT's told me had I not been wearing my seat belt, I would have been thrown out on the first flip (end over end) and I would not be here today. The down side is that due to the seat belt holding me upside down,  I suffered an A/C Joint Separation #3. My Orthopedist tried everything under the sun to keep from doing surgery; however, I eventually had to have surgery and contracted MRSA in the operating room. Ten days after the initial surgery, I was back in the operating room, with my doctor trying to flush the "monster "out of my shoulder. He told my mom that short of amputating my arm, he had done all he could do. I was put in isolation for ten days and was admitted to the hospital six more times. Ultimately I was sent home with a PIC line. I am fortunate that mom is a nurse and she was able to administer the drugs as needed; had she not been a nurse, I would have had to pay Home Health $300.00 per day to come out and administer the drugs.

  I have numerous bouts with this "monster" ( that is the only way I know to describe MRSA). My most recent bout came up as a bump on the back of my neck and had a hole about one and a half inches deep. It was extremely infected and it still has not closed completely. My mom was out of state at the time that this last bout happened, so I did not know how bad it really was until she came home. Upon seeing it, she immediately took me to the doctor. Since I have no insurance coverage and cannot work due to the numerous outbreaks, I chose to treat this on an out-patient basis. I am now horrified every time I have to go to the hospital, but I do believe the worse has already happened.

  My doctor said that MRSA has gotten into my bloodstream and every organ of my body, including the muscles and tissues. Now I am just waiting for the day that this MONSTER takes me out.!!!!!!!!!!!!