hi all!
I just got out of the hospital because I started getting all of these lumps (boils maybe?) I had one area that got really bad and just sort of exploded and wouldn’t stop bleeding. The doctor took a swab and said he wants to test it for mirsa? Or mersa or something? I was kind of drugged up so I didn’t ask a lot of questions. I go back tomorrow for a follow up and I was just wondering if anyone knows what that is? It’s possible I am pronouncing it completely wrong too cuz like I said I was medicated.
MRSA is a superbug that is resilient to most anti-biotics.
Copied from Wikipedia
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (/ˈmɜrsə/ or /ɛmɑrɛseɪ/) is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treatinfections in humans. It is also called oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA).[1] MRSA is any strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has developed, through the process of natural selection, resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the penicillins(methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, etc.) and the cephalosporins. Strains unable to resist these antibiotics are classified as methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA. The evolution of such resistance does not cause the organism to be more intrinsically virulent than strains of S. aureus that have no antibiotic resistance, but resistance does make MRSA infection more difficult to treat with standard types of antibiotics and thus more dangerous.
AnIt’s pronounced mersa. Ot is one of the hospits
I can’t get rid of the above post with all the mistakes. Prednisone leaves you open to get infections more easily, as it is an immunosuppressant.
Thanks guys, it didn’t even occur to me that is might be an acronym. I don’t get to see my doctor for results until the 20th. Although I’m not sure I mind since I don’t really understand what’s happening.
Your doc should have the results quite a bit earlier than the 20th. It usually takes 72 hours to get enough growth on a culture. Did they give you a course of antibiotics? Since they suspect MRSA, some simple precautions can protect those you may live with. Keep the area covered, wash hands frequently with soap & warm water (especially after touching the infected area or near it), use a separate toilet until the doctor's tell you the infection is cleared, wash clothes and bedsheets in hot water, and finish all antibiotics as prescribed even if the infection appears to be gone. Finlly, make sure you go to all of your follow ups with the doc. You'll want to have cultures done after the antibiotics really completed to make sure the infection is gone. Good luck. MRSA can be managed well with good follow up.
Grumpy Cat is an advanced degree nurse, and a member of Ben's Friends mod support.
Thanks Grumpy!
It was an emergency room doctor I saw but yes he did give me a set of instructions and some antibiotics as well as some other pills for my stomach cuz he said the antibiotics are harsh ones apparently. I had a follow up appointment with the emerg doctor yesterday, he said that my sores are looking better, but he didn’t have the results back yet. He told me to follow up with my regular doctor, but the 20th was the earliest appointment I could get
oh and we don’t have a second toilet so mine gets cleaned a lot right now. We also only have a small hot water tank so my mom is taking half of my laundry to her house
ER docs tend to treat everything as the worst case scenerio, so it's not surprising that you ended up with rough antibiotics. The only ones that work for MRSA are very harsh. Increasing your water intake might be good too, since they tend to be hard on the kidneys too. Because MRSA is so contagious, it's good to follow the precautions until you know for sure what is going on. I would rather feel silly that I was over cautious than the other way around. It's a bit of extra work to be so hyperviglent, but it's worth it in the long run. If you're anxious to get an earlier time to see your doc, you could ask them to call you if they have a cancellation? Let us know how you're doing.
I am so sorry you are going through such a tough, crummy health time. It has to be miserable.
So I got my results today. Apparently it’s E. coli, which I never knew could present like this. The pills I was on before cleared it up but it just came back again, my doctor said he would expect that from what the ER doc prescribed. I’m on something new now. If this doesn’t clear it up then they have to surgically remove the area. This wasn’t the worse news I got however. My doctor told me today he’s leaving. It took me years to find one I love and now he’s leaving. I kinda felt like I got dumped haha, there are actually three doctors in my town leaving which will leave us with one doctor for 3000+ people. So that sucks
Oh no! So sorry you are losing a Doctor you held in such high regard.
Upon reading this, the first thought that came to my mind is that you must live in rural Canada. I have heard of this happening often. My husband is a US veteran, and goes through this constantly at the VA hospital. He no sooner gets to know and like and trust a Doctor than they are transferred. This can have an up side though, sometimes it's good to have someone look at things with fresh eyes, sometimes they can see things that the last Doctor did not, or perhaps they are fresh out of medical school with new knowledge.
I hope you have many good things to say about the new Doctor and I hope they can get this infection cleared up. I understand this is an ever growing issue and concern in schools around the world.
Being on an immune suppressant drug, I always have concern about these kinds of infections in the back of my mind, as we are even more susceptible to them.
I now have to go for a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy on Tuesday as a result from the E. coli infections. Ugh, feels so never ending sometimes.