MRSA Staph Infection

I am a mom of 3 kids and a daycare provider. I would not allow my kids in a daycare that has a case of the staph infection. I cant believe the provider is still open.

Look what this school id doing:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/27/mrsa.school.cleaning.ap/...

I am a paranoid mother..very. I would call my pediatrician and see what he/she said to do. I would personally follow my "mommy instinct". My "mommy instinct" has never failed me yet and is always right. Anyone can pick up any germ anywhere public, so keep that in mind also. Good luck and do what you feel is the right thing to do.

Ok Moms,
Here's the scoop. I am a nurse of 14 years and have been exposed to MRSA more times then I can count. My 4 beautiful children and my wonderful husband are all very healthy! The media is definitly creating a panic amoung us all. Think about this. If all of the healthcare workers are not in a panic about this "new superbug", then the general public should not be. The numbers appear to be increasing because people are requesting and doctors are feeling obligated to test more people for MRSA. You all would be shocked at how high the % is of the population that are carriers of colonized (non active)MRSA. Yes, the hype is great as it will force all daycares and hospitals to provide cleaner environments thus keeping the usual infectious viral and bacterial infections away. So, don't panic. There is no need to go crazy washing clothes and items that come into contact with daycares/schools, (MRSA is passed on through secreations into nasal, oral passages) not objects. Teach your children good handwashing which is the best defense! Keep your children healthy, monitor open wounds closely for signs of infection. Educate yourself on MRSA and relax :)

I have experienced this MRSA staph and it's not fun. My son got it when we was 10 months old (a year ago this month). I had just gone back to work and put him in daycare. He had staph one time before he was in daycare, but antibiotics from his ped. cured him in about a week. When he got it the second time, I knew what to look for I kept an eye on it, tried antibiotic...after 2-3 days did not work. We went back to the ped. and they immediately sent me to the hospital to admit him. I was terrified. They put him on Vancomicin (sp) through an IV. We were in the hospital from thursday to saturday. They don't like to keep young children on this stuff very long because it can start affecting your kidneys and they had to do blood work every other round to make sure his kidneys were flushing it out ok. By saturday the on call ped. came in and said you can go home, but first I want to lance (sp) the "boil/staph". Well they did and the stuff went everywhere. ALl over the poor nurse the dr. it was horrible. He had to have the spot packed and we did this for a week to help everything heal and to make sure all the junk was out. He had another bout with staph again this year accompanied by pneumonia. The staph was not as bad, but I think it led to pneumonia.
I guess my point is, this is something we all need to be cautious of. It's a very scary thing. I bathe him everyday, change bedding all that everyday. We obviously are not going to be able to protect our children from everything. I have an older step-son that lives with us and he has not had any problems with staph...and I really thought he would being so close to his little brother.
My advice is to catch it early. My sons staph started out looking like a pimple and that's what we thought it was at first. Then the pimple went away and got red and bigger and then turned into a boil. IT got hard and felt like a knot is underneath the skin. The first sign of something take them to the dr. I wouldn't try and pop it yourself, because that definetly could make it spread. The idea is to get that stuff out of there, but you don't want it to get infected. I did pull my son out of the daycare he was in when he got the "bad" case of staph, for other reasons. Like I said we can't keep our kids in a bubble and protect them from every little "bug" out there, we just have to stay informed and aware of what's going on with this stuff and make sure we do everything we can to keep our kids safe from it.
Sorry so long, I didn't mean to ramble. I just wanted everyone to know what to look for.

http://tinyurl.com/2v72dq That's a 10/17/07 Washington Post article on "Drug-Resistant Staph Germ's Toll Is Higher Than Thought" By Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer. I disagree this is being overblown by the media. The media does not make up news. They are reporting what CDC officials and researchers are now seeing and saying. "A dangerous germ that has been spreading around the country causes more life-threatening infections than public health authorities had thought and is killing more people in the United States each year than the AIDS virus, federal health officials reported yesterday.
The microbe, a strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated.
Although mounting evidence shows that the infection is becoming more common, the estimate published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association is the first national assessment of the toll from the insidious pathogen, officials said.
"This is a significant public health problem. We should be very worried," said Scott K. Fridkin, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC." Yes, R.N. Cheryl is most likely correct, "You all would be shocked at how high the % is of the population that are carriers of colonized (non active)MRSA." HOWEVER, now the staph is "invulnerable" to common antibiotics. The most chilling part of that article is that at the bottom, researchers ADMIT that new vaccines (Hib was first, and now Prevnar is on the schedule for children) in addition to widespread use of antibiotics, have caused this to happen. "The researchers attributed the emergence of the strain to a combination of the overuse of antibiotics and the introduction of a vaccine that protects against the infection. "The use of the vaccine created an ecological vacuum, and that combined with excessive use of antibiotics to create this new superbug," Pichichero said." Who is going to pay for the clean-up? Probably us tax payers. Not good. My 7 year old got the Hib vaccine because I did not better, but I knew to decline the then new Prevnar. I did not give my 3 year old Hib or Prevnar. Babies who are breast-fed are naturally protected by the immunological properties of breast milk. http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/bfoutcomes.asp I read about Hib outbreaks... babies in day care on formula (dirty conditions). My children were not in daycare, so I knew they were safe. I never had those shots as a child and neither did anyone before my generation. I also avoided antibiotics for ear infections (only used them if there was strep throat.) Now we have a SIGNIFICANT health threat that did not exist before.

Well, I too am scared to death of MRSA. But I think it is great that the school is communicating the incident and their action plan to you about it. When you have to find out "some other way", I personally think that is WAY worse.

I would ask specifically when and with what that they do their cleaning and maybe pop in for a surprise visit just to ease my mind.

MRSA can come from so many sources though, that I wouldn't yank my kid out of school over it. You can catch it from hospitals, dr. offices, playgrounds, sport activities, stores, the list goes on and on. You can't lock your kid in a bubble as much as you might want to. Believe me, I know, I am a serious germaphobe but I have to keep on living!

My personal strategy is to emphasize basic hygeine and washing hands-that is the best front line defense against any bug out there. And secondly, watch your kid and know his or her skin-take them to the Dr. if anything out of the ordinary pops up and doesn't look like it's healing.

Well, that's just my 50 cents on the issue...but I hope you find piece of mind and that all works out for you and your kiddo! But you are NOT a bad mom for taking your child back to school!

I am a Biology graduate with a Chemistry minor, and I have read many details about this particular bacterial infection. The main issue is that when someone gets this they have to be treated with antibiotics and the common used antibiotics do not work against this resistant strain of bacteria. I do know that it is transferred by touch and not air bourne. I would keep your child home for a week or so until the school has cleaned up completely and until all sheets, blankets, and nap mats have bee washed and cycled through. Could you specify the daycare for all of us other moms.

Ok I just want to tell you my story and I dont know if it will help you or scare you but I think it doesnt hurt to know. I live with 2 people who have MRSA. I have a 6 yr old dayghter who has been living with it for almost 2 yrs and a husband who has been living with it for almost a yr. My daughter had chicken pox and I took her to the hospital to be treated and checked and everything was cleared up except she had a cut on her finger. The cut became huge and her finger swelled horribly. It had nasty pus coming out of it and I was scared half to death. I took her back to the hospital several times before they figured out it was MRSA. She contracted it in the hospital not at school. But the entire time she was going to school and no one else in the school came down with it because I am a clean freak. Then a year later my husband got bit by a spider and went to the hospital where he contracted MRSA. He was hospitalized for a month and came close to loosing his leg. They had to cut to large sections out of his leg to drain it and keep it medicated. You could take a long qtip and run it through his leg from one hole to another with nothing stopping it. The meat in his leg was gone. The only thing that saved him was that they had it under control before it got to the muscle. They wil both live with MRSA for the rest of their lives. My other 2 kids and I do not have. I was the one that took care of both and never contracted it. We have rules that we have to live by for the rest of our lives. We no longer use bar soap, we dont use the same washclothes or towels, all our laundry has to be done seperatly, I use high heat sanitary wash on my diswasher, we dont share any dishes or food, all bed sheets are washed several times a week, and we have to be very adament about every single cut or scrap. It is easy to do the longer you have to. Now it is an everyday routine. But we are all ok and I still have my husband and daughter. They are perfectly healthy and doing great. They got it from the hospital not the school, daycare or store. MRSA has been around a very long time and is normally contracted in the hospital or nursing home. If you would like more info you can write me and I will be happy to give you more ideas of how to live without losing your mind worrying about it. Good luck and God bless.

It may help you if you read up on the MRSA staff on the internet. My father had it years ago- a pretty severe case too. (he was even hospitalized and had to have a pump remove the infetion daily from his ankle- for about 2 months- it even required surgery) Then this past summer my four year old got it. He got it from a bug bite. Actually the staph lives EVERYWHERE!! It is even on your skin. My son was bitten by a bug on the 4th of July and it of course made a hole in his skin and that is how it got in. ( That is all it takes)A few weeks later my husband got it on his neck- a more severe case than my four year old. He had to got o the emergency room and have it lanced and treated with special packing) Let's just say that I bleached everything that a person could or would touch in my house. I cleaned doorknobs, lightswitches, doors , knobs on lamps, fab pulls, bathrooms, kitchens -every surface that I could think of. My hands were sore and it ook me a whole day but no more MRSA thank goodness. I still bleach some things occasionally. Who know how my husband go tit but I wasn't taking any chances. I will share with you what I learned. It lives everywhere - like door knobs under your finger nails, on your skin, - virtually all surfaces, It can sustain itself for quite a while on those surfaces also. The strangest thing that I learned is that it lives in your nose. In fact, part of the treatment was to swab this medication in all of our noses 2 times a day for a whole month. I still get upset if my son picks his nose without a tissue. It is a very scary thing, for sure, but it does live everywhere and unfortunately you can't hide from it anywhere. In fact, when my husband went to the emergency room they told him that they alone see at least 20 to 30 cases each day at their facility!! I am also a former elementary school teacher and you are right it is very difficult to keep the environment clean and the kids clean too. You just do the best that you can to keep their hands clean and treat any scrape, cut, bite , pimple etc.. taken care of with antibiotic right away. I promise that I am not trying to scare you- but read up and it may help you make a decision. Maybe talk to your pediatrician too. Good luck!!

Hi K. -

I agree with what alot of the Mom's are saying here. I have found out that my older 2 boys' school has a confirmed case of MRSA and so does the district high school. Notices have come home about both cases from all of the district schools. I believe they are going above and beyond the standards of cleaning to ensure the schools are free of the infection. Places with confirmed cases are under a microscope to make sure the infection doesn't spread. I would trust your instinct and do what you think is right. I also asked my doctor what his opinion was seeing how as my youngest just burst his eardrum from an infection. He told me that the media is really blowing the condition out of proportion. His office has seen quite a few cases of MRSA over the years and the staff is all healthy even after caring for MRSA. The media is reporting the worst case senerios to ensure the public takes the risk seriously but it is a rather common infection and nothing to go overboard about. Just teach good hygene, watch cuts and scrapes closely and you/your child and your family should be just fine. I hope this helps.

Hi K.,

My son's daycare had a child with MRSA too. I feel your pain. I just wanted to keep him home and never let him out but we can't do that. Does your daughter go to IBC? Hang in there. I'm always checking my son for symptoms now but he has been fine.

I was a CNA on an antepartum wing. We had a MRSA patient and I took her blood, waited on her, and helped her in every facility for several months until she had her baby. I never got it. That was in 2002- 5 yrs ago. (I am confused at why this is now such a big deal on the news...it has been around for awhile but seems to be presented as new news in my opinion)

I would be willing to bet the children in contact with this child are being checked out. Kids do tend to share everything. If you haven't been directly contacted by the daycare, I am willing to bet your child isn't in close contact with the other child.

They taught us in a hospital that over 95% if staph infections are gotten in the hospital. You should always ask people in a medical facility to wash their hands before treating you. I am sure that now this daycare is watching their p's and q's on everything.

Think of the contact you have with people every day. Other than locking ourselves up in a bubble, what are you options? You run the risk of getting something taking your child to the pediatrician.

I know where you are coming from. You don't want to knowingly put her in a position that could be harmful, yet finding good childcare it tough too. I have 4 kids. I would leave my child if I felt the daycare was doing as your pedi said.

Just my thoughts...good luck!

Hi K.,

I will give you motherly advice as well as advice from a nurse. If you are going to pull her out of daycare because of MRSA, then you should reconsider going to the grocery store, church, public pools, public restrooms, public events and any other places where people congregate. MRSA is primarily spread by contact with an infected person and then the healthy person comes in contact with that item. If you have a scraped knee, then that can be a source the bacteria can get in. The best defense against MRSA is to teach your child to wash her hands frequently. You can also teach her to use the antibacterial handwashes but remember that overuse of these products can result in reduced protection as the viruses and bacteria will mutate to these things over time. It might be wise to keep her home for a few days to give them time to clean and sanitize the daycare but if you change your life for every threat, how would life be? You need to focus on teaching your child to clean her hands independently when she is done with the potty, playing outside and playing with toys. You need to question the daycare about their disinfection policy. They should be disinfecting with something like Lysol spray or a bleach solution while kids are napping and at the end of the day. Good luck,
C.

Gee that is a tough one. This staph thing is becomeing so wide spread, it is going to pop up every where eventually. I think I would stick with the school you know is being proactive about disinfecting and doing what they need to do rather then go somewhere else when it is likely to happen there too in the near future and you dont know how they will handle it.

It is important to remember that staph is part of your body. Kids can get a staph infection from any kind of cut or wound if it is not properly taken care of. Bacteria is necessary for our bodies to function and killing off all of the germs on your body will cause you to get sick more often. My son had a staph infection 4 years ago and it was very scary...just watch cuts and trust your instincts!

good luck!

K.,

I work in a hospital and have several patients with MRSA. If it's in a wound site that's covered and it's only colonized in the wound, then it's fairly safe.... but we still wear gowns and gloves. If it's in their sputum then we wear gown, gloves, and face mask and we wash our hands constantly!..... so seeing what i've seen and knowing what I know about MRSA..... my kid would be out of there in a heartbeat.

Before taking my child back, I want to know from someone at the school - that the school has been thoroughly cleaned -- whatever that means....supposedly if its thoroughly cleaned since indentify the staph infection its safe. But I would not send my child back until such notice about the cleaning has been made -- not just a letter saying that they are following guidelines. I would want to know more specifics than some generic terminology like that. Also, while you might be able to instill proper clean up after activities - how can the school be so sure that each kid wipes, cleans, disinfects, etc properly after everything that touch. They simply can't....so hence, remove your child until you have hands on knowledge the issue has been resolved. And that goes for not only your own school where you send your child, but also outside of the home in public places as well. We all, just can't be too sure. Carry a disinfectant attached to your purse or car door handle at all times. And use it every where you go......grocery store, etc.
Best of luck,
K.

Hi. I just found out that a child from my son's school has it and the school had a teacher work day yesterday and they said that the school was cleaned from head to toe, but I don't like the fact that there were no warning or anything. From what I read that it is very contagious and I really do not like being kept in the dark. Just make sure that you keep your baby girl healthy and clean. Trust me I am with you about worring.

I have a great article on this...email me and i'll forward it to you. ____@____.com

J.

Hi K.
I am afraid I have to agree with the brother in law and the daddy. I would remove my child from that facility asap if possible- and let them know why......This is a very serious disease and it is impossible for the people running the facility to sterilize everything in the room on a daily basis- children at that age...everything goes into the mouth. I have had an experience with one of my children and a staph infection she actually got while in the hospital being treated for something else- it can be very damaging---
While they may say they disinfect and sterilze everything- the carrier child could be the one sitting next to your child- and you do not know how that childs home is cleaned etc........Nope- my child would be out of there really soon.
hope this helps

Ladies, the best defense against MSRA is being informed as to what products kill the bacteria. I read in the paper that there is one product out on the market TODAY that kills the MSRA in 1 minute called Oxivir Tb by a company called JohnsonDiversey. My sister in law and I are rallying other parents at our kids schools to get this product implemented. If we make ourselves informed and HEARD as to whats out there to remedy this problem it makes all the difference to make a change. "The old school days of using bleach does not to the job anymore."

Here's a link about the product. http://www.ahptechnology.com/Reference/MRSA/tabid/145/Def...

I've contacted the company and their Broward- Dade rep is Hector Espaillat - Market Manager ###-###-####

Keep me posted - Good luck everyone!

I'd be interested to know how long the affected child will be out. I had a friend whose toddler son had it over the summer, and she was told to keep him away from all other kids for at least three weeks. Like others have said, you can't protect from everything. So long as you feel comfortable that no one at the daycare is taking any kind of short cuts, and that they are cleaning 110% then you should keep your baby girl in. I wouldn't send her however if she has any kind of cuts or open wounds that could easily get infected. My son often scratches himself from itchy allergies, so I would be extra weary if it was him just because of that.

First off...it was my understanding that staph infections could only be caught from the hospital and you would have it forever. It is from a dirty hospital.

If one of the responders is correct in the fact that she could get it thru a cut on her finger
Take the time to find another daycare.

Go with your gut and defintely listen to your husband.

Sure they are nice but are you willing to take the chance of letting your child have this the rest of their life? Sorry if that sounds harsh.

My rule for a daycare 1 strike---you are out! What else could be going on? Food etc.

I wish you well....I just found a daycare and it took 10+ before I found 1 or 2 that was acceptable.

I wish you the best. Try Kindercare or Bright Horizons.

Kind Regards

The best advise I can give is to call your ped in the morning and ask what he/she recommends. I run a daycare and I clean with bleach and wash everything in hot water, but I cant stop everything.

Your husband and BIL are telling you what they would do, but you do what you feel is right.

The media hype is scary. Sometimes the news makes people afraid to open their doors or leave the house. I wish I could keep my kids in a bubble, but I cant.

Just go with your gut. If you think you need to find a new daycare than do it. The daycare did the right thing in informing everyone.

Let us know what you decide.

Hi K.,

First thing is to "BREATHE", Relax to clear yourself up so you can think and make a wise decision.

Second, Let us focus on what good this news could bring us. Let us find the GIFT on it. This could mean to bring our attention to be extra careful in our daily living. We make sure we are clean in ourselves, in our home. We need to be careful with the people we get in touch with, too. Also, this could mean to pay attention to the food we eat everyday. Healthy foods bring the body less chance of getting sick.

Third, for your peace of mind, if you can find a day care that gives you the same benefit or something better, then why not give it a try.

Lastly, the best thing is to take care of our kids instead of bringing them to the daycare. I do homebase business and if you want to check it out you can visit my website at www.braveheartwomen.com/bv1712. Thank you for reading.

I work at a school for early childhood. Ages 15 mo- 6th grade.......My son will soon be attending. If I were to find out that there was a staff infection, I would not return to school until it had been completely taken care of. If it were chicken pox, that would be fine, but there are certain bacteria and ilnesses that I would not allow myself or my son to be exposed to, and that is on the top of the list.

I am sure your school will take care of the problem, but I would ask a family member or friend to watch my baby, or take vacation/ sick time myself until there was documentation as to what measures and precautions were taken. All of which your school is by law required to have and give freely!

Good luck!

You know my sister-in-law had done this mom a favor and took care of her child while she went to an appt. The kid had staff, my sister in law freaked out and told the lady there would be no more visits until she got the kid's illness contained, the woman took the kid to a play area the next day, so who knows what she may have contaminated. My Pop, who is a physician told her she over reacted. My mom, who is a nurse said that it is your choice how you want to deal with it. I personally feel it's just not something I want to "handle" along with all of the other things in life. Sure once you have it you can control it and do all of your precautionary steps to keep it from spreading, but why put your kid in harms way? It's sort of how I feel about the flu shot, my kid gets the flu every year, why would I not give her something that can help her avoid this? Up to you.

Hi K.,
I was talking to a doctor about MRSA the other day. She told me that MRSA has always been around but the media has blown this whole thing out of proportion. I can't really give you advice on whether to keep your child in school or not, that's between you and your husband. Follow the schools guidlines and your daughter should be fine!

K.

Hi K.,
I was reading the responses to your letter, the info you got from writers was great, however, as pam wrote and she is absolutely correct, Staph/MRSA is everywhere. It is on all surfaces including your own skin! I am a prison/jail nurse for almost 20 years and deal with this almost daily! I have never contracted it and have never not been able to cure it yet!! dont let fear get the best of you because you will go crazy! Staph enters your skin due to an open area( skin is your largest organ!) If the person is unable to resist the bacteria it causes what they call the staph inf. When you contact the strain MRSa that cannot be treated with common keflex and bactrim (methacillins) it needs to be treated commonly with vancomycin. The bottom line is if you watch all wounds or open areas, at the first sign of infection you become very dilligent and if normal wound care with tao(triple antibiotic) and cleansing and dressing changes dont change the appearance of the wound within 2 days, or if the wound continues to worsen in a day or so call your MD. Early treatment is key! you children will be exposed to Staph everyday for the rest of their lives. Dont panic, just be cautious! I deal with it everyday and with proper handwashing after wound care, I have yet to become infected. Please dont allow this news report to scare you to insanity! dont forget, it was always there before the report and always will be! No matter what school your child goes to there is staph bacteria!
Good luck!

ok, I know that your situation has been worked out and I am glad for that for you, but I want to make sure that anyone who reads this little section hears something from me. Some people have said that this has been overblown by the media, however I am not the media and I am telling you that this is dangerous. I already personally know one man who has died from this, and my brother -in-law almost died from it, once he was out of the woods for that, he almost lost his hand. He is ok now, but it is a very dangerous thing and people need to be aware of that.

Staph is a really scary subject. I work for a company that makes a wound care product that helps to prevent MRSA infections so I get the pleasure of reading about it all the time.

If you visit our website, we have FAQ's about regular staph and MRSA, how to prevent it, and why you get it (not product pushing FAQ's, just basic info). Take a look if you have time at www.staphaseptic.com - click on FAQ's in the left side menu.

Ok, your post is basicallly my same post that I made today which is tells me how much this Staph really is spreading!!
My daughter's school informed me of the very same thing this morning. A child in her school had been diagnosed with MRSA, (not saying the child contacted it at the school though) and now I can't get it out of my head. I'm constantly making her wash her hands as well as the rest of my family and I'm really freaked out about sending her back. As far as I know though, the child could have been infected for quite a while while going to the school and not even known considering most people think it's just a mosquito bite when it first appears.
So, if she's already exposed and hasn't caught it and they've cleaned the school really well then I don't see what good it would do to take her out.

It is a very scary thing....especially if it becomes internal which can cause death but I hear it's very rare but it does happen!
My daughter's school also passed out paperwork regarding everything and didn't specify the age group the child is in.

My daughter attends a private pre-school in Mesquite that ranges in ages from 6 months to Kindergarten age and she's a Kindergartener and goes more days then the other children. What we do know about the age group is that it was not a child in her class but they can't guarantee she hasn't come into contact with items the other child has....

It's crazy how much this stuff is going around right now but if you're making sure her home environment is very clean and the daycare say's they're doing everything to keep it clean then you should probably keep her there.
One thing my Doctor's office said today is that if another child comes down with it that attends her school then take her out so that's what we're gonna do.

Good luck and let me know how everything goes.
N.

My mother works for a family Dr and she said that mrsa has been around for many many years and that has long as it is caught right away and contained you should be fine

I agree that you should go with your instinct and also keep in mind that her daycare is now probably one of the safest around. Now that they have a known case and are following the clean up guidelines, it's probably a cleaner/safer place than one that doesn't have a high profile reason to do better.

I agree with many of the other moms response. Always be cautious but not to the point of worrying all the time. Like one of the other moms said, hand washing is the #1 most important thing to practice and teach our children.