without wading through websites talking in bullshit terms, anybody know the survival rate of MRSA? the hospital just said that my grandfather's test came back positive for it.
David/other medical people: MRSA?
- Thread starter Will Bozarth
- Start date
Captain Beard
No longer active
- Sep 6, 2001
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I had it in my ear, they gave me a special antibiotic that it wasn't resistant to. I don't know the survival rate in older people, it depends on their health. Normal immune systems can be rid of it within a month or two, no aftereffects if treated early.
Edit: He probably got it from the hospital. That's where everyone ELSE gets it from.
Edit: He probably got it from the hospital. That's where everyone ELSE gets it from.
AsModEe
also known as ass-mode
well msra is a real bitch, but nowadays there exists antibiotics capable of dealing with it, like vancomycin (perhaps that's what you received Capt. Beard). There's also a new family of antibiotics capable of dealing with it, which cost only 80$ a pill... you need 20 pills for a full treatment. Of course, here in Quebec, the Gov. pays for it... dunno about you guys in the US.
Anyway, it can be treated like any other infection, it just requires more kick ass antibiotics.
Anyway, it can be treated like any other infection, it just requires more kick ass antibiotics.
Lordlucid
Warning: Contains Alcohol
well, my grandparents have a good deal of money, so that wouldn't be an issue. I guess some of the sites I looked at are outdated, since they said that there isn't much out there that can treat it. that's a relief, then. hopefully he pulls through this
Nightshade
Blonde to the bone
MRSA (methacillin resistant staph blah blah blah) is nothing more than a very aggressive staph infection that is resistant to an entire family of antibiotics. There is more than one strain of it and each one is sensitive to a different "alternative" antibiotic. My father was in very poor health and over 80, and kept getting MRSA infections in his blood of fand on for years. He survived all but the last one, and really, the MRSA didn't technically kill him, it was the combination of mutually exclusive conditions that made it impossible to treat him.
The day he died I was diagnosed with a MRSA infection in my leg (apparently, if you're not eating or sleeping properly and exposed to sufficient levels of stress while dealing with a MRSA patient, you're not supposed to be shaving your legs. It took about 3 weeks to get rid of it, and I got one hell of a yeast infection from the massive amounts of antibiotics, but all that ever really came of it beyond that was a red spot on my shin.
Here's the kicker. Once you get exposed to it, it lives on your skin, clothes, environment, etc. forever and ever amen. That doesn't mean you're still "infected". An infection is actually bacteria out of control -- there are all sorts of bacteria, good and bad, that are on you every day of your life, without giving you an infection, because they're not growing out of control. So my friend spends a few weeks at my house, gets a paper cut, is too cavalier about it, and ends out with MRSA in her finger. It's been about 2 weeks and it's on the run, so to speak. She should be fine in another week or two, except for a nasty red spot where it used to be.
Our medical and hospital system is completely unprepared for how to contain this bug, and it is pretty much just out of the bag. The media has terrified us, just as an added bonus. It's not something to screw around with, but neither is it a death sentence. Daddy kept going back into the same hospital and each time they'd take 3 days to figure out he'd had MRSA and put him in his own room with a gown cart outside and completely different sanitation protocols. Wonder how many people they exposed to MRSA in a cardiac ward because they were incapable of reading a chart or communicating with their ER? Or listening to the family, for that matter.
So here's the deal. Keep beating the holy hell out of your grandfather's doctor to find out what they're doing about it and how they think he's doing. Make sure they keep you informed. Call, talk to the social worker or the nurse on call or whatever it takes to keep informed. That'll tell you what's up. Meanwhile, wear the gowns and the gloves, wash your hands every time you turn around. Make sure the rest of your family does as well. It's really very contageous.
Edit: They gave me and Rachel both Bactrum? Bactrim? Without the bottle and with my lunch break almost over, my spelling has completely gone to hell. Anyway, it was about $13 at Fred Meyer for one course. We both got 3 courses (weeks). Mine was in an area with poor circulation so I also got some vancomyacin IV, but had a reaction to it, and they just stuck to the pills thereafter.
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