mrsa

[homemademom]

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Edited by homemademom - 2/21/11 at 4:00pm

[annekevdbroek]

This seems like an excellent question for your pediatrician, your OB/midwife/whoever, and your mom's infectious disease doctor. I don't know the answer at all - I do help that she recovers and that you and your new baby (when he/she arrives) will all be well.

[prothyraia]

As a healthcare worker, who according to your statistics may very well be colonized with MRSA, and is pregnant....I'm not particularly concerned about my own soon-to-be-newborn. 

In the general info department:

MRSA = Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.  Staph aureus is a very common type of bacteria that lives on pretty much everyone's skin.  It becomes a problem if you have some sort of cut/incision/opening in your skin and it gets inside, and more so if your immune system isn't working as well as it should (so, you can see why it's an issue for people in the hospital).   The "methicillin-resistant" part means that certain antibiotics won't work against it, so it can be harder to get rid of. 

[homemademom]

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Edited by homemademom - 2/21/11 at 4:00pm

[galincognito]

mrsa is fairly common in the hospitals around here.  not to be flippant about it because it's a bugger to treat and can make someone sick however, it is a treatable super-bug; they just have to use different antibiotics than they normally would for a staph infection.

the policy in our hospital to be considered "cured"/infection free is to have three negative swabs over the course of a few days.

i too am a health-care worker, likely mrsa positive (purely due to statistical odds), pregnant, and have two young children.  we just practice good hygiene and no one's had any problems. 

[mrs.yd]

My family has dealt extensively with MRSA.

There is a test for MRSA.  They swab inside your nose, your groin, and I believe your underarm.  People can test positive for it, but never actually have it. 

We ended up having our whole family tested and all of us went through a "cleansing"- showers with hibiclens, baths in diluted bleach water, cleaning the house thoroughly, etc.  A full year later, I got MRSA (a hair follicle got infected after shaving my legs)  and had to be hospitalized.   

You can drive yourself crazy trying to make sure you don't get MRSA.  You could thoroughly disinfect your whole home, only to go to the grocery store and pick it up again.  So, take a deep breath, and realize there is only so much you can do to protect yourself. 

If your mother does not have an active infection, then handwashing with regular soap should be  all that is required to protect your family. 

If she is still fighting an infection, then you should talk to her infectious disease doctor.  If she isn't seeing an infectious disease doctor, she needs to be. 

Bleach kills MRSA and MRSA cannot become resistant to it.  Cleaning hard fixtures with a diluted bleach solution is a good way to prevent the spread of infection.  I know a lot of people don't like bleach, but it is less dangerous than other chemicals that kill MRSA, and it is inexpensive. 

When someone in our household has a wound, I clean all hard fixtures with the diluted bleach solution.  I pay attention to the wound very carefully, and if it looks suspicious, we get it looked at.   Otherwise I don't stress about it.

Hibiclens is also used for MRSA.  I don't think it would be necessary for you.  But, you can get it at the drugstore as a liquid or as individual towelettes.  You could ask your mom's infectious disease doctor about it. 

[homemademom]

Thanks again. That is really good information.  I appreciate everyone's comments.

[SheSpeeds]

Tea Tree also kills MRSA, and Melaleuca's Thyme based disinfectant (the one that's approved to be used in hospitals) also is rated to kill MRSA.  Lysol kills MRSA.

We had a run with it over the past two years.  all 4 people in my family got it one right after the other, including my 5 mo. baby on the back of her head.  None, but perhaps the first unconfirmed occurance of it was due to a cut.  I * think * it came from a bump on my son's knee where he scraped himself.  I picked it, thinkng there was debree. Then I was the first to get MRSA, on my belly, right about where his knee rides on me when I carry him.  I did not have a cut on my belly.  My son got it under his arm, no cut.  My baby got it on the back of her head, no cut.  My husband got it in his crotch...potentially from saddle sores from endurance cycling.  It felt like having the palgue.  My parents came to visit for Christmas that year between #3 and #4 case.  They did not get it.  Then no one had MRSA until a year later when a diaper rash spot on my then 15 month old turned into it.

I think the biggest prevention is cleanliness when someone is caring for an open MRSA sore.  Diligence in cleaning sheets and linens with something that kills it.  A good time to use disposible diapers, wipes, and other non-holistic home care.  Keep it covered!  Take all the antibiotics.  See a doctor. 

But generally: always washing our hands when caring for any sort of cut or scrape.  Don't touch other peoples boo-boo's (without washing).  Handle used band aids carefully.  Use Calandula or Neosporine on cuts.  All this stuff that we were taught as kids. 

This is what I know about it.  It's very easy to feel very creeped out about it.  Wiki also states that increased use of antibiotics in cattle is one reason for the gaining prevolance of MRSA.  So make good lifestyle choices too, which is what this Forum is all about.