As most of my friends know I have been battling an ongoing a MRSA Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection for a very long time. Four years ago I had sinus surgery and this staph infection made a new home in my left sinus cavity passage.
I waited for another four long miserable years and in the meantime researched out all the top specialists in the United States. This included New York, Chicago and Houston. I confidently settled on an excellent Doctor in Newport Beach, CA. Dr. Daniel did an extensive surgery and harvested my own rib, an ear and a section of scalp fascia to regenerate what the staph had destroyed before in my face. I waited patiently ten days and thought I was in the clear and headed back to Texas. I woke up this past Monday morning (Memorial Day) and my abscess was back in full force. I was truly heartbroken, almost to hysteria. My wonderful husband, John and I spent the day in the Emergency room. I was given I.M. antibiotics and some in pill form.
Obviously not able to fly back to California I could not consult with my physician. Yesterday, Dr. Daniel sent me to a colleague of his at the globally recognized Texas Children's Hospital. This facility is the most incredible in the world. This was my first introduction to the brilliant Dr. Sam Stal, who is chief of surgery at TCH. He cultured my nose and brought in his associate, Dr Sheldon Kaplan who is Chief of Infectious Diseases. I knew in my heart I had the A-TEAM! I went from borderline hysteria to these men putting me at ease. They both agreed the staph strain had been out of control in Texas and they felt like this was no easy journey I was about to endure. Once they survey the culture for various strains they will decide by later today or tomorrow if my antibiotics are having any effect. I guess I will know in the next few hours if I have to be admitted back into the hospital.
You can only imagine how I felt when I left the hospital yesterday and most of today. To say I felt defeated and crushed is an understatement. I have been home studying all I can on the MRSA virus and how you can protect yourself. Please take notice and take these precautions to protect yourself and your loved one from this virus that lays dormant in all of us but killed 19,000 last year.
I feel a bit like Chicken Little-Revere, shouting "the Staph/MRSA is coming!" But I really don't think that enough about this is being told. Do you even know what I'm talking about when I say Staph and MRSA?Why is that? Mainstream media doesn't talk about it much because it isn't "fun" news - (but they would talk about it a lot if alcohol based hand gel was an expensive product advertised on their channel!) No, a bacterial infection that is resistant to almost all our present-day antibiotics is scary. We don't really want to hear about it, do we? It used to be that this was mainly a problem for older people, sick people, or anyone with a weak immune system. I personally have had Meningitis four times, so my own immune system is much weaker than most. Alas, there have been cases of perfectly healthy middle school aged children who are fine one day and the next day they're on life support.
A new study found that invasive MRSA infections, the kind that attack the blood or bones, occur more than 94,000 times a year in the United States. In 2007 studies show more people died from the MRSA staph than Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome related cases. While most of those infections occur in hospitals, others are picked up in the outside world. Here, expert tips on how to protect yourself.
1. Wash your hands—a lot.MRSA passes by touch. Use soap and hot water. And carry a hand sanitizer when you don’t have access to a sink. Use bleach wipes to clean your keyboard and all phone sets. Wipe your cell phone down often.
2. Be on guard at the gym.Bring your own yoga mat, and wear workout gear that covers your skin.
3. Check it out.Pay attention to pimples or spots that look like spider bites. If they become painful or red, see a your doc—or visit a drop-in clinic or an ER. And don’t be shy about asking about MRSA.
When I first contacted this in 1995, I assumed (like many) I had been bitten on my upper leg by a spider. I went to the Doctor when this hard, hot boil started to form. The Doctor did not treat me for staph since it was not rampant and virtually unrecognized then. I had been in Coronary Intensive Care Unit for six days before I woke up from a coma. My leg was saved but I nearly lost it in this process. This happened so fast -- in almost 72 hours.
Keep in mind you MUST regularly clean your bathroom, kitchen, and all other rooms, as well as your personal items. Wash clothes and other items that are contaminated with hot water or bleach, when possible. Drying clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-drying, also helps kill bacteria in clothes.It also helps to carry sanitizing wipes for public bathrooms, phones, shopping carts, and door handles. It also helps to carry a small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Please, please take the precautions necessary!!
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