Wash your hands often. Everything I’ve read says this is the best way to control MRSA’s spread, and my experience reflects this. I keep hand sanitizer all over my apartment and desk at work and wash my hands several times a day. I’ve been using antibacterial hand and body soaps but I don’t think that’s really necessary.
Keep on washing your laundry frequently, particularly during and after you have a sore. Weekly, if you have to, and with hot water plus a full drying cycle if possible. Keep them covered with a band-aid, but watch for band-aids that irritate the skin. Skin irritation near a sore site can lead to more sores.
Try to limit your skin-to-skin contact with others if you’ve got any active sores. You may want to keep your fingernails short, as bacteria can transport to other sites under your nails.
I don’t think you need to become paranoid or hypervigilant about skin-to-skin contact, but an increased awareness is good, I think.
It’s probably not MRSA. MRSA sores look and feel like zits. The big nasty ones feel like subcutaneous boils. Unlike zits, which simply hurt of you press on them, MRSA sores are truly painful to touch.
I’ve been awake today for a total of maybe four hours. You know how when you have the flu, it makes you unusually tired? It’s a tired so deep that it’s too much energy to read.
Still not in the least bit hungry. Do I follow my body’s lead and keep sleeping, or try to eat even if I don’t have any desire to do so?
Neck and head are killing me. Probably from sleeping on a rather uncomfortable pillow.
Yep, diabetes, for one. And the less controlled the diabetes is, the more likely that the diabetic will develop boils and other nasties. I’m sure there are other diseases that will make a difference, I just know about diabetes because I have it.
In my experience, a heating pad helps heal boils. So does a warm wet compress. I’ve had various doctors tell me that the heat draws more blood to the area, which in turn carries the antibiotic in and the infection out. An application of heat also seems to decrease the pain.
When I’ve had to have wound care, I’ve always been told to keep my blood sugar under very strict control, to eat properly, and to keep myself hydrated. And, of course, I’ve always been told to take my medicine as prescribed until it’s gone.
I find that I am able to drink the canned Slimfast or Walmart’s brand of Slimfast if I’m not hungry. While these drinks should not be mistaken for food, at least they provide some nutrition. I have also found that Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea is a soothing hot or cold drink. It does not contain caffeine, and sometimes will stimulate the appetite. Try it with a little honey for sweetening. I do hope that you feel better soon.
Thanks. Does that mean no -myacin type antibiotic would be effective? Because originally they had given me Zithromax (zithromyacin) to shut me up about my infected hand, but the next day when the culture came back they called and said not to bother with it, but rather come in and get the cipro.
It’s all very aggravating because of my eczema being on my hands, and impervious to most steroid treatments, and stress-triggered (I’m in law school), added to the fact that frequent washing with soap makes it red and irritated and causes the skin to flake off even faster (I am actually not supposed to use soap cleansers at all on my hands if I can help it) I can’t seem to avoid these periodic infections.
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How are you feeling this morning, purple haze? If it’s still like this^, please turn off the computer and call your doctor. That’s not good, especially after three days of antibiotics. You should be feeling somewhat better by now.
The original area on my leg is still the same size, thank Og. I’m taking the antibiotics exactly as scheduled and the pain is better than it was yesterday. The only thing is, there’s another area further up my leg that’s starting to get red. It’s a couple of inches away from the nasty patch I have now. That familiar prickly feeling is there, too.
Great.
Good ideas about what to eat! Slimfast and tea sound just right today. They go down easily and will be a good way to get something in ma’ belly. My husband is going out and about, so I’ll add it to the list.
You know, when I’m at work and having a busy day it sounds great to be in bed with a laptop, a good book, and the remote control. Then when it happens I wish for normalcy, good health, and the ability to get back to my regularly scheduled life. It’s only been a few days - hats off to those of you that have been sick in bed (or the hospital) for much longer.
I feel more like myself today. Not nearly as tired, and can carry on a conversation with my husband. He’s been watching me closely. Yesterday I didn’t want to even talk, which worried him. I’m starting to need a nap right about now, but have been up since about 8:00 so that’s a little better than yesterday.
IANAD (or anything even close, really), but it doesn’t seem like you should see anything new at this point. I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will check in, but it seems like a call to the doctor is in order, at least.
OK, I can do that. Now that you mention it, she did say to call if anything else popped up. I’m not sure if she would want me to keep taking the Bactrim, or switch to something else, or give it more time, or whatever.
I was thinking that the reason I felt so funky and exhausted yesterday was because there was a battle going on inside my body. Antibiotics and my immune system vs. the infection. I would think that would tax my body. It reminds me of a really bad case of the flu, where all you can do is sleep. Today my mind feels clearer. I didn’t realize how out of it I was until now, when I’m feeling slightly better. I was reading a book and couldn’t comprehend much of it. Sheesh.
Today is a better day. Hopefull the new spot will go away!
’haze, I don’t want to scare you, but please call your doctor. It won’t cost you any time or money to just call. It’s possible for Staph to get into the blood stream and cause sepsis - an infection of the blood. This will cause whole body symptoms, like extreme tiredness, lack of appetite and weakness. It may also be how recurrent staph infections keep going or concurrent ones spread.
ETA: Okay, good! I’ll stop mother henning you.
And, for the record, antibiotics should make you feel better, not worse, almost immediately. It’s not uncommon for some relief an hour after the first dose. This is part of the problem of antibiotic mis-use: they make people feel better before the infection is really gone, so they stop taking the antibiotic too soon. This encourages the growth of those bacteria which are resistant to the antibiotic. If you feel worse after getting an antibiotic, then you’re not getting the proper treatment, and your doctor needs to know that.
If that happens, it’s due to placebo effect, not antibiotic activity, frankly. They don’t work that quickly. I’m happy if I see clinical improvement in 24 hours, not immediately.
Qadgop, it is because of you that I got medical attention when I did. I owe you one. I probably would have let it go for a few more days if it wasn’t for your mention of staph. Someone else did as well, but I can’t remember who and the post disappeared into the mists of time. Whoever that was, thanks.
Thank you thank you. I would be in much worse shape if is wasn’t for you!
I would expect Zithromax to be less effective against VRSA.
Recurring infections, especially of something like VRSA are nothing to toy with. Speak with your doctor about how to keep your hands clean without aggravating your eczema. There are some cleansers which don’t dry out the skin as much as soap. Hibiclens is a cleanser similar to surgical scrubs which is supposed to be good for sensitive skin or those with ezcema. It is effective against staph on the hands. You may also want your nose swabbed and cultured. If you’re colonized you could be the source of your recurring infections. There are certain detergents which are effective at killing staph on your linens and clothes. Washing in hot water and fully drying will help too. Some surface cleaners can be used to fight staph, but the most important thing is your personal care. Wash your hands, don’t pick your nose, cover any sores, don’t scratch at itches or pick at pimples. Get a tube or two of antibiotic ointment with bactrim(prescription only, shouldn’t have trouble getting a script if you’ve had VRSA) and treat any pustules as soon as they form with a bandage and some bactrim. Bactrim can be used to eliminate colonization as well. Talk to your Dr.
By “periodic” I mean “once every couple of years,” just to be clear, not “frequently”. I use a non-soap cleanser at home but its impractical for every-time washing.
I must say, they didn’t seem very alarmed about my culture, and there are MRSA posters up all over campus. It wasn’t pustules, either. It was just sort of generally weeping and scabbing/flaking at the edges.
Sorry for the lengthy hijack. Feel better purple haze.
Sorry to hijack further, but have you tried Protopic ointment? It is not a steroid but works on reducing the immune reaction that starts off eczema. I have used it for some years now and have my skin under much better control.
You can’t use it on weeping eczema so I am usually prescribed a strong steroid for a few days to get it healing, then switch to the Protopic. It hurts like hell for some users (me) for the first few applications but that does wear off. Once you are in the swing of applying it and your skin is responding well then you can experiment with increasing the time between applications so you get a balance between using as little as possible and not letting your skin break again.
It WILL reduce your immunity in that area - I get a lot more spots than I used to but you will be able to wash your hands more because your skin will be whole (hopefully!)
I don’t mind the hijack at all - I hope this thread helps to answer questions that other people may have on the subject. I always thought this happened to people in the hospital, in a nursing home, or maybe an athlete in a locker room, sharing towels with other people. Go figure - I have no idea how I got this.
The wound looks slightly better now, although the Bactrim is starting to make me feel a little sick to my stomach. That was one of the side effects on the label so I’m not too surprised. As long as the funky-looking thing on my leg continues to improve, that’s what’s most important.
Right now it is about the same size but less angry looking. The center is a very deep red/almost purple, and there are very tiny white things that look like zits, also in the center (on top of the red/purple) There are eight of them. The area surrounding the center reminds me of poison ivy (I had it years ago.) It’s red and sorta mottled looking. Before it was solid red, so I’m assuming htis is better.
I had a fever yesterday but today it is almost normal. Yea!
If you’ve had ANY fever I would strongly encourage you to be re-evaluated by a physician very soon (this doesn’t include warmness at the sore, I’m talking about thermometer-in-the-mouth over 100.4F fever).
A localized skin infection rarely causes a systemic response like a fever unless it has spread to the blood stream (bacteremia) which could lead to sepsis and spreading of the infection to other sites.
Again, if there is an abscess under your skin which has not been drained, the antibiotics alone will not be adequate to treat your infection.
