Messages By: oregonboysmom

After this show I will be even more vigilant than I am with my handwashing/"foaming". I have a good knowledge of MRSA but hearing about the child that died made me cry.

In the ER I see patients EVERY day that come in with "spider bites" that are infected. Many of these people are touching them while describing their problem. I ask them if they have been "messing with" the wounds and most say yes. Many have been trying to incise/drain at home with needles and who know what. So their hands with the bacteria are who knows where in the community. I am frequently told the whole family has it and they don't know why...........duh! These same people are coming in and visiting people in the hospital.

Hospital acquired MRSA is rampant as you all know now. At our hospital anyone that has it has their chart "tagged". Next time they are admitted they go into isolation until they have three (I think) clear swabs from their nose, axilla and groin. It is hard on the families, especially to have to gown up to visit their loved ones, especially the elderly.

We have foam containers outside all of the rooms in our ER. When a patient comes into me with  an abscess the first thing I do is give them some foam for their hands and some for me (a little foaming party) before I put my hands or equipment on them. They are sitting in the waiting room, their infected kids running around touching everything; you get the picture.

A lot of the patients we see with Community Acquired MRSA are the uninsured; they of course can't see a primary doctor and are usually pretty bad when they come to us because of the cost. So they have been out spreading it for quite a while., living in cramped quarters, many are hygiene challenged. I have said for 30 years that there should be "hygiene stamps" (like food stamps) That is one of the last thing people with little money can purchase.

Here is a question for you..................in studies of handwashing in the hospitals who is the worst about washing their hands between patients and procedures?  Surprise, surprise it is the Physicians. They go from patient to patient, carrying charts, touching the patients.

If you are in the hospital ask your nurse or Dr. ......did you foam or wash your hands before coming in to see me? Don't be embarrassed...just do it. Your life may depend on it. I might even refuse anyone's touch if they were not wearing gloves!!

All that school cleaning is impressive but it only lasts until the next person comes by and leaves more bacteria on the clean area. I guess we need time released cleaning agents.

I must say I was disappointed to see Dr. Sears palpating that child's wound with an ungloved hand-yuk. I am guessing (hoping) it was healed but it was still creepy to see.

We human beings have done this to ourselves by our demands for antibiotics for every sniffle and not finishing the ones prescribed.

Foam out people!

Oh, yea I forgot to say~another place we see a lot is in the pubic area..........the ones that have been shaved and waxed. Anytime you interrupt the integrity of the skin you are inviting into your body what ever bacteria is in the neighborhood.

foam on~!

People are getting it from hospitals because of poor handwashing between patients!  Also from visitors that are touching the sick patients and all sorts of other places. Visualize an elderly patient walking down the hall; holding on to a handrail that has been touched by someone with MRSA on their hands.

I don't know where the myth comes from that hospitals are the most sterile place........that is where all the sick and infected people are. People let their children run barefoot and roll around on the floors in the waiting room. No matter how good the housekeepers are it is only clean until someone comes along and leaves more bacteria there.

foam on!

Beyond the psychologic implications of the OCD and the affect on her daughter is the health risk for herself and family. Excessive use of antibacterial agents cause breakdown of what is called the "acid mantle layer" that protects you from infection. Chapping and cracks are like a wide open door for bacteria which can cause infections........................remember the show on MRSA everyone?

I raised two boys that were into everything and I only had anti bacterial soap in the bathroom used by their friends. The bacteria is cleaned off the hands and whatever by the friction of the soap and water; antibacterial agents not needed. I do use liquid soap in the pump dispensers because I think the bars are disgusting when used by multiple people. Sometimes it is hard to find just plain soap.

In the hospital I use the antibacterial foam for but I don't use the antibacterial soap and water because it wreaks havoc on my skin when used at least 40 times per shift.

foam on people!

This couple most definitely need some counseling to save their marriage. Working as a Pediatric Nurse for the first 15 years of my career I saw numerous marriages torn apart by chronic illnesses and congenital problems. Back "in the day" counseling for these issues was not common but I imagine it should be now. It breaks my heart to hear an obviously bright 3 year old even talking about cutting off his legs. Way too much information and involvement for him.  He will grow up to be an emotional wreck if his parents don't get on the same page and work as a team on this.

p.s. Love ya Dr. Phil but I can't believe you called him  the cutest "thing"...know you didn't mean it that way but it jumped out at me

Both of my sons breast fed for only about 5 months, their choice. They are very intelligent college students; imagine if I could have kept them breast feeding for another 4-5 years-they could have finished college by the time they were `16 and saved me a lot of money; cause someone probably would have paid for it instead of their dad and I and they would be supporting us now instead of us supporting them!!!  Darn I wish I would have know that 20 years ago.

I am going to pass this new found 'learnin along to my pregnant daughter in law!

This mom is trying to make a decision with the information she has researched and should not be judged at all much less harshly. What a difficult decision to even consider but done with love and the purest intentions I would think.