By the author of Be Ready for Anything and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
You’ve probably heard some horror stories about MRSA infections lately. It’s a superbug that is difficult to treat because it is resistant to most of our antibiotics. This, to me, makes it of particular concern in an SHTF world.
The CDC explains:
MRSA is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to several antibiotics. In the general community, MRSA most often causes skin infections. In some cases, it causes pneumonia (lung infection) and other issues. If left untreated, MRSA infections can become severe and cause sepsis – a life-threatening reaction to severe infection in the body. (source)
Back in 2012, The Atlantic reported that MRSA infections had doubled in the previous 5 years. In 2017 there was yet another uptick.
MRSA is bad news and not the easiest thing to treat. First, the wound has to be surgically drained. Then it has to be dressed, then the person has to be on specific. antibiotics for 10 days. Ask me how I know. Really.
A cautionary tale about MRSA
Are you ready for a gross story with
- a moral for the stubborn among us and
- a lesson for those preparing a doomsday medical kit?
Here you go. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
A few weeks ago, I had a business trip to Baltimore. That’s about a 5-hour drive from where I live. I was feeling a bit draggy/lazy so I invited my eldest daughter to come with me so I didn’t have to drive, then go to a meeting, be charming, and attempt to appear smarter than I am.
When we got to our hotel, I noticed what I thought was a mosquito bite on my inner thigh. I idly wondered how it got there since it isn’t shorts weather yet, but I didn’t give it much thought. I had makeup to apply and a meeting to rock. I walked to the nearby restaurant to have dinner with some folks who work with big-name marketing companies. By the time I got home, the “bite” was bigger but not worrisome.
But the next morning, it was totally different – huge, hot to touch, and a dark, scary shade of purple. Thanks to Google, I decided that it was a boil. No big deal. We grabbed some breakfast and headed home.
I started to feel terrible in the car. I was running a fever and felt nauseated. But me being the stubborn individual that I am, I decided that the fever and nausea were probably unrelated to the throbbing wound on my leg. My daughter wanted to take me to an urgent care clinic right away, but I felt I could treat it at home successfully. Because, as I mentioned, I’m stubborn that way.
So stubborn that I spent the next 24 hours applying compresses and using everything but voodoo to draw it to a head so that it drained itself. By Saturday morning, it was rock hard, the size of a golf ball and I had to put on a skirt because pants would have been impossible. My fever had returned and I had chills.
Then, suddenly there was a stabbing pain so sharp that I cried out. I thought it had burst and that relief would be close at hand, but no such luck. The wound began to throb painfully, no matter what I did. I was literally writhing around on the bed. There were red streaks around the wound and the swollen area around the main wound was about 8 inches in circumference. My daughters rushed into the room and insisted on taking me to the emergency room. We compromised on the urgent care clinic.
There, I was scolded and told I should have come in sooner. Because it turns out that it wasn’t a boil.
It was a MRSA infection.
You know. The scary one that can’t always be treated with antibiotics. This was only 2 days from the first symptom, that tiny little “mosquito bite.”
The doctor drained the wound in the office and cut away some of the infected tissue, the most excruciating thing I have ever endured – and I’ve had two 8-pound babies at home, without drugs. Lidocaine is a joke. Seriously. I hate you, Lidocaine, for deceiving me with false promises and broken dreams.
I hobbled out with a large, gaping hole in my leg stuffed with gauze, a handful of prescriptions, and a whole new concern for these types of symptoms. I have absolutely no idea how I got this and the doctor told me that most people don’t know anymore. It’s THAT common. This kind of makes me want to wear a body condom whenever I leave the house now.
Two weeks of bed rest later (walking around irritates the wound because of where it’s located), the photos on my computer have never been more organized. I’ve watched everything of interest that Netflix has to offer. Twice. I’m bored and cranky.
Let this be a cautionary tale: Any time you have a wound that looks infected along with a fever, you should seek medical attention. Please do this sooner than I did and the chunk you have cut out of your leg may be smaller than the chunk I had cut out of my leg.
I was lucky. If I’d waited much longer, I could have ended up with a systemic illness that might have required hospitalization. People get limbs amputated because of MRSA. It can get into your bloodstream or your organs. You can DIE from it. It requires quick action because it can be deadly.
What if this had happened after the SHTF?
Experiences like this really make you think about what a world without medical care and antibiotics would be like.
- Stock up on what medical supplies you can, You can find a fantastic list here with the tools you need to have on hand.
- Learn what antibiotic treats what infection/illness and do your best to acquire what you can. Remember that most drugs just get weaker when they are past their expiration dates, but certain ones can be deadly. Scroll down to #5 for a list of drugs that lose potency quickly after expiration.
- Have some kind of idea how to diagnose medical conditions, since in many semi-apocalyptic situations you won’t have Google at your fingertips. I’m talking about books. Physical print-and-paper books. There’s a list below that you should get your hands on.
- Cross your fingers that your kids won’t be the ones cutting a chunk out of you.
And for the love of all things cute and fluffy, if you are in a situation in which you CAN get medical care and antibiotics for something that is potentially deadly, obviously, do that instead of trying to treat yourself.
Even if you firmly believe in alternative medicine and essential oils, this may require something stronger. One of the people I told about my experience said that she had tried using her essential oil remedies and her infection worsened to the extent that she was hospitalized and nearly died. It’s important to learn about natural remedies, of course – one day antibiotics could be unavailable. But while they ARE available, don’t risk your life.
Some practical things that I learned about MRSA and the treatment of it
Learn from my painful lesson so that you don’t have to have your own painful lesson.
Clean a wound, no matter how small, with an antibacterial product as soon as possible. This is the best way to prevent a MRSA infection. Once the infection is present, dabbing on stuff like triple antibiotic cream will not do anything to help.
- Stock up on Hibiclens. It’s an excellent product for cleaning a wound and for soaking a wound after it has been treated. You can get it on Amazon in 1-gallon jugs, which works out to be way cheaper than the tiny little bottles you can get at your pharmacy.
- Pick up scalpels. I know, the idea of hacking away at a wound is horrifying, but in this situation, it has to be opened up and drained. You can get scalpels at your local feed store that are one-time use. This product has one handle and 10 disposable blades. Having scalpels in your medical kit doesn’t mean that you are intending to perform an appendectomy on your kitchen table – there are practical reasons to have them and it’s better to use the proper tool than hack away with a kitchen knife.
- Have gloves on hand. MRSA is extremely contagious, so be certain that you have disposable medical gloves for treating the infection.
- Have the supplies to properly dress a wound. You’re going to need lots of sterile gauze pads, surgical tape, and rolled gauze. I used rolled gauze to keep the gauze pads on because the skin around the wound was so inflamed that putting tape directly on it threatened another wound. When the doctor drained the wound, she stuffed a strip of sterile gauze into it, leaving a little “tail” sticking out. That’s because a wound of that size heals from the outside in, which could trap bacteria inside and lead to another infection. The gauze strip will probably fall out on its own in a couple of days, but if it doesn’t, you’ll need to pull it out with tweezers. (That’s why you have that little tail.)
- Soak 2-4 times per day. The day after a wound like this is drained, you’ll need to soak 3-4 times per day. Do this until the wound scabs over. Use a localized bath, depending on where the wound is. You don’t want to soak all of yourself in bacteria tea. To soak, add Hibiclens to warm – not hot – water. Try to stay in there for 10-15 minutes each time. Splash the water around the wound to help flush it out.
It took two weeks of sticking pretty close to bed until it was easier to walk without irritating the wound. I slept a lot, took my antibiotics, and let my kids wait on me while I binge-watched Netflix. I was shocked at how exhausted I was from this. Also, I learned I will never be an opioid addict. They sent home hydrocodone after cutting a hunk of flesh out of my leg, and it made me itch indescribably from head to toe. I won’t be taking that again.
Books you need:
- Merck Manual Home Edition
- Merck Manual Physician’s Edition (expensive but worth it)
- Prepper’s Natural Medicine
- Prepping for a Pandemic (check out the section on VRSA)
- Where There Is No Doctor
- The Survival Medicine Handbook
Have you ever had a MRSA infection?
How bad was it? Did you end up hospitalized? How was it treated? Share your story in the comments below.
British stubborn pig headed woman here! I also ignored a mark on my leg. It didnt go away or change for a week or two so I continued to ignore it. It suddenly inflamed but didnt get huge so , you guessed it, I ignored it. I developed very bad lower back ache which I just thought I had pulled my back so I ignored it and rested up. I then got flu like symptoms, shivers, shakes so I went to bed , drank plenty of fluids and ignored it!!! After a couple of days it just got worse so I gave in and went to hospital, feeling dreadful. Straight into resusitation as I had sepsis!! A couple of weeks in hospital, contracting flu virus and developing pneumonia as well I started to get very slowly better. In total it took me about 6 months to get better and a year to get totally right!! In a SHTF situation I would be six foot under!!
You have my sympathies. I’ve had two MRSA infections – one post surgical, the other post dog bite. I wanted to amputate the infected body part and took diluadid. The child had a deep, deep MRSA infection that no one knew about until she went septic. Ten days in isolation in the hospital, multiple antibiotics (including one that costs $2500 per pill) and lots of opioids. Luckily, neither of us needed surgical debridement because they ruptured on their own.
I had a cousin who died from a MRSA lung infection. Please do not wait to see a doctor!
Hi Daisy, I really appreciate you articles and the entire site! Thank you for publishing the type of info that is a must to know, and usually with references.
I spent ove 20 years in the military. Quite a bit of that was in Asia and some other poor country where health problems run rampant. Cleanliness and personal hygiene is of the utmost importance. When SHTF it will be too late to get the listed supplies. To most of us the idea of not going to the store is not thought of, and can be easy to overlook. Complacency is an enemy. I applaud you efforts in broadcasting this so well.
Now I have heard that MRSA is never quite removed from the body, and once there is some sort of trauma large or smal it is, it can return, sorta like It is dormant for awhile. Is there any truth to that? I’ve had many friends who have contracted in thru surgery on trauma, and have had repeated events. Some on a some what regular basis.
Finally I have a request of you. I’m 70 and my wife is 78. She has serious health issues that we all get as we age. So, when the SHTF we’re not going anywhere. My career in the ARMY taught me how to move and survive. I wish that there were more articles on surviving an emergency situation or societal break down at you own residence. It’s a scary thought have the inability to move and get away from the danger. Lots of us out here. Sorry for being so gabby!
Dear Tim:
I have heard this about MRSA staying in your system and unfortunately, there is not just one answer. Some people become carriers and are always more prone to it while others just get it once. (I asked the doctor this same question.)
I will work on more articles about staying put. It’s my plan as well. Here is one that I have which you might enjoy: https://www.theorganicprepper.com/bloom-where-youre-planted-prepping-to-survive-where-you-are-right-now/
I’ll repost this again soon to bump it up to the top.
Thanks for reading!
Daisy
Thanks Daisy for the article and Tim for mentioning it. We too will be staying put. Hubby at 63 is still in incredible shape…he’s always had a fairly physical job. I have severe arthritis in my knees, ankles and spine so walking even into a grocery store is usually impossible for me….running from zombies 😉 or even just hiking to a fema location would be out of the question. (not that I would go to a fema camp anyways) We also have too much stuff stored here and we’re working on beefing up security…. lights, interior bars for the outside doors etc. We also live above a shop with 14′ ceiling so we could cut the stairs with a chainsaw if we had to front and back……make them work hard to get into our place
Never had an MRSA, but hubby a couple of years ago scraped his leg on a machine and after 10 days he developed blood poisoning. Doc said that it can to that way sometimes….you just never can tell. And like with you they had to cut away a lot of tissue. Wound was about 1.5×4 inches and took well over 6 months to finally close completely. In a SHTF situation it probably would have gone to gangrene. He went through 3 courses of antibiotics, and it took him about another 6 months for his system, especially his tummy to feel normal, and yes I was feeding him yoghurt.
Thanks for all the wonderful articles and all the time you take to provide us with useful links.
Tim,
You are doing the right thing by getting Daisy’s articles. She is one of the very best and I highly recommend her Bloom Where You’re Planted Plan.
You can also get my free ebook titled “Bugging In: What To Do When TSHTF and You Live In Suburbia” by going to my website and clicking on the “Claim Your Free eBook” link. I’m 68 and my wife is in poor health so you and I have a lot in common. Our plan is to stay right where we are and my book covers how to do exactly that. The best advice I can give you now is to find others near you who think like you do and form a mutual assistance group–one at least the size of a rifle squad–that can help you defend your entire neighborhood. Always best to stop the enemy before they reach your front door.
Here’s a link to my website: http://www.raymonddeanwhite.com
If you don’t do ebooks Bugging In is also available on Amazon in paperback. http://amzn.to/2dFHyJN
Daisy, I’m not trying to hijack your post to sell my book but I thought Tim could use the information and at least the ebook is free.
It is true that those of us that have had An MRSA infection “could” have another episode if we are dumb enough to allow it! I learned my lesson. Hence, my intense desire to avoid same Ever Again.
Daisy! OMG!
Really what actually caused it?
Was it a bite?
Going to do some major research and collecting of the medical things you mentioned!!!
we have yellow flies that bite during blackberry/blue berry season in the Fla panhandle and S. Ala, etc.areas, and they bite hard leaving a mark worse than mosquitos. Like dog bites they too can leave bacteria which could turn into MRSA. Horse flies are common in the country, they can bite hard leaving a mark. Chigger bites leave welts also. Both of us suffered from chigger bites when camping and walking on trails. Took several weeks for bites to heal, intense itching. Live in grass, woods near rivers, etc. hard to see. Flea bites is another iffy for mrsa. I assume Daisy’s was bit by a chigger, possible flea bite.
my grandson has had a mrsa infection that has recurred twice. he got it while hiking, when he fell and scraped his cheek on a rock.
as a hospital registered nurse, i have seen some hard to cure infections. i suggest that you make friends with a nurse or physician’s assistant who have experience in wound management and learn anything they are willing to teach you. if there is course work in same that you can take, or just be allowed to sit in on, your time will be well spent.
i agree with the 70yo guy who plans a bug-in. we are limited to the same and appreciate all the info we can find to apply to our situation.
Glad to hear your on the mend. MRSA is no joke.
I was practice manager for a family practice clinic. Patients often came in with what they perceived as a brown recluse spider bite. I don’t think any actually had a spider bite, as they almost all came back positive for mrsa.
I am sad to hear this happend to you. However you are turning into something good by sharing this important information.
Colloidal silver will kill MRSA, and yes I speak from experience
Thanks. You beat me to it.
Either buy it from a reliable source, or make your own. There are many kits and how-to videos online.
It does have a limited shelf life once ‘made’.
Unless I’m mistaken, MRSA can be successfully treated with colloidal silver, consumed and applied topically. I’ve mention this before, but no one seems to pay any attention.
Colloidal silver has been shown to be anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Do some research.
I use it for eye problems for me and my sheepdogs, I take a small amount daily from early October until late March to ward off the flu. Any time I feel like I am coming down with something I start taking silver, and the problem invariably goes away.
Colloidal silver is easy to make, and easy to store. Silver wire is available online, but can be found less expensive by buying at a refinery. Silver wire, 9V batteries and distilled water are all you need. A test meter is also cheap, and recommended.
You have my email address. If you will contact me privately we can arrange for me to send you a quart.
Ray
@Ray, I don’t remembering seeing your post on this before today. I will definitely look at this……….Thanks
Meant to add in my other post that I’m very sorry to hear that you had the infection and had such trouble with it.
I’d probably have done the same thing, though. Old and stubborn, er, uh, determined. Yes, that’s it, determined.
Ray
Daisy Im glad you are okay and thank you for sharing your MRSA story. My MRSA experience 2013. Sudden onset of unbearable pain in my cervical spine. Prior had been feeling lethargic. No previous surgery, trauma or health issues. After 9 brutal days of being taken from one ER to specialist and was misdiagnosed with degenerative disc disease. Imaging did not show I had an epidural cervical abscess compressing my spinal cord. I was not “presenting” the normal symptoms. I had a large area of cellulitis on my elbow. The pain was unbearable. I would like to stress the importance of advocating for self or having someone who can advocate if one is too ill. I was being sent home and my friend refused to leave the doctors office. I could no longer swallow (they took notice then) and was extremely dehydrated as I had sepsis but did not know. Sent to hospital for emergency corpectomy (amputate vertebrae) and debreedment. I asked the surgeon to give me all the gory details……gross. The mrsa bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier. Months of antibiotics, severe allergic reaction to antibiotics and infection from the central line. Long recovery. Now Living with long term affects of surviving severe sepsis. I work hard at keeping a strong immune system and healthy lifestyle. I believe the stress i was under at time of infection was cause and made me vulnerable to attack. It does remain dormant similar to chicken pox for example. Ive been told its in my spine where i continue to have issues. Keep immune system strong. I have recently found medical studies done by University of Michigan on long term affects of sepsis. MRSA Survivors network.org may be good resource for some. Im glad you caught yours in time. Thank you again for sharing your story about this horrific superbug. Your article highlights important information. I am grateful to be alive.
Daisy,
Sorry to read about your experience.
Colonization. A concept that needs to be understood.
Doing a quick search “MRSA + colonization” led to the article below, one of many. Do your own search.
http://mrsatopic.com/2010/09/mrsa-colonization-vs-infection/
“So next time you read a news story about MRSA, take a second to determine whether the issue being reported is one of colonization or infection. After that, think about how one is associated with the other and where the most logical point is to attack the problem. I think you’ll find yourself ending up at the old “treatment vs. prevention” argument, and we all remember what our mothers used to say about an ounce of prevention and a pound of cure…”
If you ever went a hospital, or anywhere, chances are good you have been “colonized” with who knows what.
I had a MRSA. infection around 8 years ago. Luckily it was caught right away because the sore developed in between burn scars in my left breast. (I’d been scalded during a disagreement with a pressure canner and yes, I’m still canning.) I knew there was absolutely no reason for the leaking sore there and went immediately to my doctor. I got a very powerful antibiotic shot and then a 10 day course of more antibiotics. Everything turned out fine because I went in one day-1.
I’m glad you pulled through the infection. My dad before we knew his liver was failing not only had a staph infection once but he got one in his foot after a routine procedure that in 3 days was a golf ball sized mass in his foot between the bones. Everyone thinks oh it will never happen but even picking your nose the CDC doctor at the Cleveland clinic told us can transmit the pathogen to your immune system. They also warned us if it’s a group A streptococcus of the skin it turns to complete drug resistant flesh eating bacteria. Hygiene is the only way to prevent 97% of the serious infections. One thing we now stock due to my dad’s liver transplant is lots of the hibicleanse and chlorohexadine scrubs alike. Stuff smells god awful but better to stink than risk a serious super bug. Also simple green pro 3 kills nasty pathogens like MRSA, black mold, staph, strep and a lot more for a mild cleaner at 6oz to a gallon which in a survival situation to have a sterile space.
My sis in law had a MRSA infection on her thigh. They thought it was healed, but the doctor found another pocket of infection underneath. She had to go daily for treatments with a wound vac.
I used to work for a surgeon. (Office manager, NOT nurse) He did a lot of breast lump removals. Some were very large and he packed them with gauze. This isn’t just a one time thing, though. The patients would return every few days to have the old gauze packing removed and new pushed in. And I do mean “pushed”. We told patients to take a pain pill about an hour before the procedure. He packed the wounds tight pushing the gauze in with a long Q-tip. Any large wound needs to heal from the inside out for the very reason you mentioned. A scab over can trap infection.
For this reason, in a SHTF scenario, some wounds should not be stitched closed.
Glad to hear you are doing better. Hope you have a full recovery and next time (and I hope there isn’t a “next time”) don’t be so stubborn!
Also, thanks for all the info.
I am so sorry you had to go thru all of the pain and problems. Thank goodness you are better.
My husband has had several cases of C-Diff, ESBL,MRSA , RSV and pneumonia. All are reoccurring problems.
If you take antibiotics for any length of time, you are likely to end up with C-Diff. A horrible infection in your intestinal track. You can google the rest of the “Letter Infections”.
Valentines Day 2017 he developed pneumonia and RSV. Three days later he had MRSA and C-Diff from all the different antibiotics they were using trying to get rid of the pneumonia and RSV.
I know most people will not get all of these, let alone all at once!!
The immune system is VERY IMPORTANT. Once compromised is hard to get back on track. We have been told to take probiotics twice a day, and vitamin C twice a day. When he has an infection he takes Zinc twice a day also.
So if the SHTF I don’t think we will be going too far.
So glad to hear that you are okay. Your situation is the nightmare I fear.
As I have mentioned before, I had knee replacement surgery in February. I was shocked when the nurse cautioned me to treat ANY skin puncture right away, and if I had doubts to see my regular doctor or go into ER. Evidently, bacteria will head for the artificial knee, set up a colony, and breed intensely to destroy you from within. The only way to cure it is to be readmitted into the hospital, wherein the ortho doc opens up the knee, surgically cleans it, and you can start over with healing. My neighbor is a retired ortho nurse, and she remembers some patients with the antibiotic directly plugged into the artificial knee!! AAAHHHHH!!
I think that bacterial infections are becoming as dangerous as in the old days, (pre penicillin). I use peroxide or Hibiclens on ANY skin cut. I bandage with an antibiotic bandaid. But it is a worry for all of us, and we haven’t even hit a true SHTF yet. Remember the old saying that mama and grandma beat into you: cleanliness is next to Godliness. Keep your home as “clean” as possible.
Thank the heavens that you are healing. I’m very happy for you. This is another reason why we should all add a doctor/vet/nurse to your prep group! ????
Manuka Honey grade UMF 16-24+ is an excellent topical choice for wounds and skin infections. It works. I have it in my first aid kit all the time.
Just another thought. This works well on burns and ulcers. I have a nurse friend that slipped on some stairs and fell on a shovel. Cut into her ankle.
She updated her tetanus shot and then did her own wound care with the manuka honey. Her deep wound healed in less than two weeks. Also, her mom was in a nursing home and developed a bed sore. She went into see her mom everyday after work and changed her manuka wound dressing. Bed sore completely healed in less than two weeks. Anyone interested, research this wonderful medicinal honey. I only buy Manuka Honey from New Zealand. It is important to spread information that will help others. Daisy is very good at this.
I have had MRSA and another worse infection called VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci). They are in reoccurring leg wounds caused by poor circulation and diabetes. Having been hospitalized numerous times, treatment can range from IV antibiotics for several days to the last course I had of 8 weeks.
I have had all different stages of these infections, from minor ones described here to ones which caused sepsis (blood poisioning) and endocarditis (heart infection). I know enough to get to the doctor or hospital at the first time of infection. Treating these infections has become difficult for me since I have developed allergies to so many different antibiotics.
It truly is amazing how fast it can develop. I had an infection start in my wrist (from arthritis) which caused my entire lower arm and hand to swell and become red and hot. And that happened overnight. I must of been blessed to get it that bad.
Now I take antibiotic daily because of the heart infection which the infectious disease doctor say will probably be the rest of my life. Lucky me I guess.
Your advise of seeking medical help at the first sign of infection is well advised.
Thanks for sharing this great information.
Daisy,
Thanks for another great article. We all have to learn some lessons the hard way. While my wife and I have been able to avoid MERSA (in spite of some of her extended hospital stays) we know the danger is real and present. Our local hospital has had several outbreaks, one of which required them to re-do one of their operating rooms.
I hope everyone out there pays attention to this article.
I contracted MRSA inside my intestine I fell into a coma for 22 days I lost my children because I had no family being a lower class white female I was not eligible for free insurance so I was treated badly! If you are sick no matter being the only person there to care for your babies go go go! My children are grown I left then at age 11 andq2 they still don’t talk to me it took me months to get on my feet and by that time foster parents who took in my kid’s brainwashed them and never losing my parental rights paying child support! I was not allowed to see them because I became homeless over this horrible disease and it can ruin your whole life! I am still sick to this day!
I tried to order the gallon of Hiciblens from Amazon and it says you have to have a business account or be a healthcare business. Unfortunately, the 32 oz is the same price as the gallon.
My experience with MRSA started with a small pimple in my nose when I worked at a hospital. My nose was sore and itchy one night before I went to bed. When I woke up the next day the bottom half of my face was so swollen that I looked like Fiona in Shrek after she went ogre. I saw a doctor and was given antibiotics. The next morning when I woke up (day two) my face had swollen so much the interior of my lips and cheeks had split open and the swelling was moving down my throat making it difficult to breathe. At the emergency room I was admitted immediately and started on IV antibiotics and painkillers. The next five days are something of a blur but the nurses told me that they were monitoring me VERY closely because the infection was so close to my brain that I could have died. I have an extremely high respect for MRSA and have become almost paranoid regarding any breaks in the skin.
This was a very good article. MRSA is horrible. I had be hospitalized because I ignored it. lets just say band aids and peroxide became my best friends. I am glad that you are feeling better.
MRSA has a 21 day “window of opportunity” for an antibiotic to reverse the spread throughout the body. If no such medical treatment is received, then sepsis is the likely result, and death is a certainty.
I made it to the 19th day, thanks only to the Lord God, and an infectious disease specialist.
Being deathly ill and allergic to all but one of the available antibiotics, I was hospitalized, and given a Benadryl® precursor via IV. That stuff burns like napalm!
My heart rate was monitored and seldom got below 175 bpm.
Blood pressure was 200 over 80, most of the time, with spikes after each Benadryl®/Antibiotic (Vancomycin®) dosage.
To this day, I carry 3% Hydrogen Peroxide everywhere I go and liberally apply same to every scratch or cut.
I also use a Triple Antibiotic (Melaleuca®) ointment in my nose, applied via cotton swabs before I go outside or enter Any Medical Facility or where there is a large group of people.
Herbal medicine being my preference, there is nothing of which I am aware that will cure/treat MRSA! I am an Herbalist. I should know. Not even Colloidal Silver at 100 ppm works until after the staph infection has been stopped. Then, it will aid in the healing process.
All of us “carry” MRSA on our eyelids, my infectious disease specialist told me. I now use soap on my face and eyelids…Often!
I was consciously cautious before MRSA. I am a Stickler for Good Disease Prevention Protocol Now. And I Insist that any medical personnel that touch my person has washed their hands and “gloved up,” before they come near me or my loved ones.
I am certainly glad to know that you are recovering, Daisy. It has been 12 years since I was where you are now. Having to change the “soaked” bandages 3 to 5 times a day was no fun. And expensive.
Occasionally, I can still feel the hole that the “Flesh Eating Bacteria” bored into the bone of my left ankle. You are so very right about the lack of effect of Lidocaine®, too!
Be Blessed, Ma’am!
I am so sorry to hear that you went through this and am glad you are better. I am most concerned by the fact that you had no idea how you contracted MRSA. I am also concerned when I read stories about people getting MRSA after ordinary cuts or scrapes. I live in a big city and ride the subway and am pretty surprised I haven’t contracted an MRSA just from city living and subway riding. I do carry hand wipes to clean my hands after using public transportation. I do keep in the house things like hydrogen peroxide, silver solution, manuka honey and drug-store-brand antibiotic creams. I will buy this Hibiclens too, now. Ultimately this sounds like the kind of thing that people only survive due to living in a first world hi tech society. There are billions of people alive today who are only alive due to the magic of electricity and what electricity makes possible — antibiotic manufacturing, etc.
My grown, married daughter got a MRSA boil on her thigh. She knew what is was because one of her children had recurring MRSA boils. She was hoping to make it to Monday so she could go to her primary care physician, but it got so bad it burst on Sunday, and she had to go to the Urgent Care clinic. Her husband can’t stomach gross things so she asked me to take her. The doctor didnt just lance the boil, he jabbed the scalpel up and down into her thigh multiple times. He said that MRSA makes multiple cyst type pockets of infection, and he had to be sure and puncture every one. He dressed the wound just like yours with a gauze tail sticking out, which I later removed for my daughter. The doctor said if one of the children has recurring infections, then the whole family probably has MRSA on their skin. It just hangs around and waits for a mosquito bite, nick,or cut to do its thing. Fortunately, the child has grown out of having infections. Having good hygiene, attending to wounds or bites immediately, and keeping a healthy immune system are the most important things to prevent a MRSA infection.
Indeed, Angela, “Cleanliness” is essential! Coupled with a health environment and life style inclusive of Zinc and Vit. C, taken in a “therapeutic” dosage, rather than a “supplemental” (e.g., what the label says).
[If in doubt about the “supplemental vs. therapeutic value,” ask me.]
Colloidal Silver is also helpful, but it also should be a daily intake. Our bodies, though “fearfully and wonderfully” made, require a cumulative intake of both supplements and corelative adjuncts to build up a resistance to harmful entities. I liken this to being “prayed up,” instead of asking at the final moment of necessity.
Be Blessed, Ma’am!
Thanks Daisy for this revealing article. We often think that we can out distance ourselves from such problems as this but the truth is we are helpless against the onslaught of these dreaded diseases. I was fortunate to be medically trained in the Navy in 1968 as a medical corpsman to serve with the Marines. Then I had further training as a physicians assistant in the early 70’s. So when this happened I was able to catch the infection in time. It happened this way:
Recently, approximately three weeks ago in early May 2018, I purchased some mechanics gloves that were on special.
One day two weeks ago I had to use them. Nothing happened at first then on the second digit of my left hand a small blister popped up that was approximately 1 millimeter in size. I thought nothing of it at first just as you did. three days later there was an angry red streaking traveling up my index finger and with it two more blisters. that morning, Saturday, I went to the urgent care clinic because there was what appeared to be an allergic reaction to the rash on my finger that went up my arm. The doctor gave me a steroid shot and wished me well.
By Monday morning the redness had spread to my thumb, the web between my fingers and all over my hand. I decided to go to the urgent care clinic here. Not the same as the one I visited on Saturday. The nurse practitioner looked at it and said that it looked like MRSA. She gave me shots of a steroid to reduce the inflamation, a shot of a potent antibiotic, and two antibiotic prescriptions. Had she not taken action as she did it would be up my entire arm in only two or three days. I’m still treating it but didn’t have to have an I and D (incision and drainage) done. I was fortunate that she caught it in time.
I did have a MRSA infection: sepsis and pneumonia. No idea how I got it. I spent 11 days in the hospital and had VATS (lung scrape surgery). It was horrible. I’m still recovering. I am looking for info on what to do to encourage healing internally; everything I’ve read has to do with external MRSA infections. Thank you for a great post, though, and for the list of supplies to collect.
Hi. Thank you for your post. I have had MRSA since 1985, when it was first named. I got it while visiting my premier in NICU. Somebody gave it to my child,whom passed a painful death. I believe I got it from holding my son as he passed. It never really goes away and in my case, tends to colonize in my nose. Of the 4 antibiotics available to fight MRSA, 3 no longer work and just feed my MRSA and make it worse. What I found helps is the first sign of a spot or any itchy spot anywhere on my body is immediately washed with hibiclense and then I apply witch hazel on my dry skin. The witch hazel dries it out before the plug and boil can form. Also, curad silver solution for antimicrobial works like a dream.
I had my first ” boil” on my chest and little blisters on my shoulder. I thought I had poison ivy, turned out it was MRSA and shingles so the doctor sent me to the Center for Communicable Diseases. Trust me when I say, nobody ever wants to go there. Surgical steel everything everywhere, people in full hazmat gear from the receptionist to the medical staff. I wash seen by a 6 doctor team. I was told to take Vitamin B with C, Vitamin D3, Hair,Skin,Nails supplement and Zinc everyday for the rest of my life to keep my immune system healthy, follow a diet with lots of blueberries and broccoli, wash everyday with hibiclense, taught how to excize the wound myself and most importantly, pull out the MRSA plug because if you don’t, it will keep growing.
I am a carrier, so I am diligent about cleanliness. I have found stress triggers my outbreaks and sometimes being proactive about my help isn’t enough everytime. This afternoon one dot popped up and by evening it is the size of a large marble, off to the doctor tomorrow.
Stock up on Witch Hazel, Silver Solution, Antimicrobial Alcohol and Hibiclense and don’t wait till it gets bad. The docs at the CCD told me that it is very deadly if left untreated.
I was in the hospital for a month for an MS attack which paralyzed my left arm and leg for a month. I had an IV steroid, methylprednosolone, which depressed my immune system. One night I needed to go to the bathroom but no one came when I pressed the buzzer. I got up and hopped to the bathroom, hanging onto furniture. I fell, scraping the side of one calf on the burlap-like carpet. When a nurse came and saw the minor scrape, she went ballistic cleaning it and putting on an enormous bandage, which I thought was overkill. I went home a day or two later. There I found that the tiny scrape had ballooned into a large, red, swollen, painful infection. I just didn’t want to see another doctor. I soaked my leg in extremely hot water with a lot of apple cider vinegar poured into the water, until the water cooled. Three times a day. After the first day, the swelling went down. I continued treating it for another few days, but it healed without incident.