Question About MRSA *More Info*

Updated on January 29, 2011
L.L. asks from Altamonte Springs, FL
13 answers

Hello,

My ex husband just found out he has MRSA. I have NO experience with this what so ever. I have been doing a little research online and have found out how extremely contagious this is! Apparently his arm had been bothering him for over a month but this past weekend it got so painful he went to the ER. They did tests and treated the wound. The results came back yesterday that it was MRSA. He is on antibiotics now but from what I have read online that is not a gaurantee the antibiotics will cure this.

Of course I'm concerned for my daughters father - but my main concern is her catching it. She goes to his house Wed nights and every other weekend (this weekend she'll be with him). How can we be 100% absolutely sure our daughter won't catch it?

Anyone have any experience with this at all?

Just wanted to add - the MRSA wound is in his armpit. I think it is wrapped with gauze, etc. So I don't know how often he is shirtless when he's at home. What REALLY worried me is oh my gosh - everything says it is sooooo contagious. I will have to talk to him tonight about hand washing, washing the sheets, disinfecting the shower, etc.

What can I do next?

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M.A.

answers from Phoenix on

You can't keep her from getting it if she is there. I had 3 MRSA spots on my leg (IT IS SO PAINFUL) and a few days later my daughter(10yr) got 1 spot on her sholder then by 3 days she was covered (127 sores)!! Like chicken pocks but they all tested poss for MRSA. She had the 105 fever. It was the worst thing she has gone through. My husband that I slept next to and my 2 boys never got it. Like someone said 99% of people have MRSA that lives on their skin it's just when it gets in a cut and blood streem that becomes a problem. Wash, wash,wash everything in bleach. Wash the showers after baths, towels, sheets EVERYTHING. AND GOOD LUCK hope no one else gets it.

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A.C.

answers from Boston on

I don't know what MRSA is, but I would suggest calling her pediatrician and asking about the risks.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.K.

answers from Kansas City on

As a lab tech, I hate to tell you this. The bottom line is you can't. But do be proactive. Make sure your ex covers his wound while she is around and doesn't touch things (such as couch cushions) with it. No towel/rag sharing/bed cuddling until it's cured. Make sure he bleaches his bath/shower before he sticks her in it. HANDWASHING! Even an itch scratching touch can pass it on. Sanitation is a must!

Mostly, COMMON SENSE!!! It will be hard depending on the age of your daughter (will she need extra cuddles? will she not understand not being able to touch daddy's arm? ect....)

My SIL had two bad outbreaks of it last year and she was so mad at me because even covered, I would not allow her on our boat! Can you imagine that bacteria multiplying on a wet boat carpet???? GROSS!!! And totally not happening!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.R.

answers from Naples on

My daughter contracted MRSA 3 times while attending a "Mom's Morning Out" 2 days a week for 3 hours so that she could play with kids her own age. The director's son had it on his face, and she had been "squeezing and squeezing" it because she "thought it was a pimple". She and her son were always picking up the toys and stuff in the playroom and I just have to wonder if they ever washed their hands. We ended up in the ER @ Arnold Palmer - and they had to surgically remove it from my daughter's leg. The Dr. there said that it is very painful. I was also told @ the ER that it is EVERYWHERE - and that it is rampant in the schools and gyms etc. The pediatrician and ER both prescribed antibiotics - which when I went to the Infectious Disease specialist in Orlando because she had 2 recurrences - I was told were the WRONG ANTIBIOTICS. The Infectious Disease specialist gave me a paper (which unfortunately I don't have with me here @ work) that said "Keflex & Augmentin ARE NOT effective against MRSA" "Use Clindamycin, or ?, or ? or something with a Z". Sorry I can't remember the other 3 names, and I'm questioning my spelling of the first one! Anyway - by the time that I got to that specialist, I was washing the sheets and and towels in hot water and bleach, marinating my daughter in betadine (rubbing her down and waiting a bit before rinsing) at the end of each bath, washed the dog in Betadine etc. The Infectious disease Dr. said that it had been a good idea but rather than exposing her to all that iodine, I should use HIBICLEANSE as her shower gel ANY TIME that she has
ANY broken skin on her body - scratch, bug bite, skinned knees etc, and then once a week as a preventative measure there after. Hibicleans is what she uses to scrub in before surgery, and you can get it @ any pharmacy. The infectious disease Dr. said that it is a bacteria that is every where - but is "opportunistic" you only have a problem with it if you have some break in your skin of some sort - bug bite, cut, scrape, or even dry crackley / chapped skin. Good luck, I hope that this helps you! I wish that I remembered the Dr.'s name - she is affiliated with Arnold Palmer or Nemours - and is in that same vicinity, if I remember correctly her first name is Kathy....but I can't be certain of that. If you need it, the ER @ Arnold Palmer can refer you - they / she are great!

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R.W.

answers from Tampa on

If it were me I would skip the visitation for this week. I would not expose my daughter to something like that for any reason if I could avoid it. If he loves her he will understand your concerns and agree with skipping this week. Then I would also talk to her doctor and see what he says needs to be done to prevent her from getting it. You see if he has it and he is the one cleaning the bedding, shower, cooking, etc. he can be infecting everything he is trying to clean from what I understand about MRSA. When my friend got it she had her brother come and get her kids until it was treated and she wasn't contagious any longer.

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M.C.

answers from Orlando on

I would google mrsa and glutathione. Glutathione is key to health. Glutathione is our body's major antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. I know about this because of my extensive autism background which is all about oxidative stress. This led me to join Max International which sells a glutathione accelerator called Maxgxl and Maxone. To find out more go on one of the Dr.'s on our medical board website www.rx4maxsuccess.com
I live in Winter Springs if you want to get some quickly.

M.L.

answers from Houston on

Many people carry MRSA on their skin. It is when it enters the bloodstream when it becomes dangerous, this could be from touching, if your daughter has a bug bite or scratch or anything along those lines and it comes into contact with his arm, she could be in trouble. But, when caught early, it can be contained.

No sharing of fabrics, lots and lots of hand washing, be sure she isn't touching her eyes, picking her nose, scratching at wounds.... He probably has an antibiotic he can put on his arm, can't remember if he can maybe keep it wrapped in gauze as well? Not sure.

How do I know this? My father, who was getting treatment from Leukemia complications, died from MRSA when he was injected with an uncleaned picline in his arm at the hospital, the MRSA went straight into his bloodstream, his arm swelled like crazy and was extremely painful.

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R.R.

answers from Tampa on

I would contact your pediatrician for specifics because they know your child best. MRSA is contagious! Contact precautions is what they use in hospitals unless it is respiratory MRSA. Your ex husbands in in a wound, so good handwashing and contact precautions are a must! If she has any open areas, puts hands in mouth or any toys, etc.. or he doesn't have good hand washing and he prepares food for her... you must realize that his clothes come in contact with the wound, plus sheets, etc... his arm goes on the counter, etc... it is extremely dangerous bacterial infection! I would stress contacting her pediatrician! Hope no one else gets this! Good luck!

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L.H.

answers from Miami on

ummm, it's a big deal to have mrsa. in the hospital they keep mrsa patients closed off in their rooms and to go into their room you need protection. this is enough of a deal for her to not see him until he is better. i am sure any normal person would agree that you don't put your child into a situation like that.

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

All his bedclothes and towels need to be washed and dried in hot. She would have to have an open wound and get in direct contact with his wound or towel etc.....don't worry, she would have gotton it by now and if he is on antibiotic I'm sure it has cut it to nill.

S.L.

answers from New York on

the contagious disease specialist recommend using hand sanitizer frequently, not sharing towels and pillows.

Updated

the contagious disease specialist recommend using hand sanitizer frequently, not sharing towels and pillows.

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T.S.

answers from Dallas on

My ex husband has it too and will always have it. So any scratch or sore will become infected and he has to use a Rx cream and swab the inside of his nose. Because we were told it is airborne. We have a son that contracted it too from his father, and so I'm always watching for sores. Ex spent 5 days in the hospital to get the infection under control and went thru 2 surgerys to help clean out the infected part. Yuck, I know (if only he would have listened to me in the first place :-) ). As my doc told me about my son, if he is going to get it he could get it from any where just do alot more hand washing. And we put a cap full of bleach in the bath water as a precaution, this suggestion from our doctor. Now we just live with it and use precaution.

T.N.

answers from Albany on

Hi L., there was an outbreak of MRSA in my kids' wrestling teams a couple years ago. Several boys got it. Notes went home, but the wrestling went on. My boys did not get it.
I understand it is much more serious when let go for too long, like your ex did.
I was inspecting every inch of my boys daily for months (teenaged boys do not like mom inspecting them, sigh), lookinf for any unusual skin changes but found none.
Would you ex understand if you felt it better your daughter not be exposed for the next couple of weeks?

I guess besides constantly inspecting every inch of her (without freaking her out of course), I would probably call my peds office and go by their recommendations.

I understand your concern. A boy from another school in our area who was on the wrestling team did not respond to the antibiotics and actually passed away (not to scare you, but it CAN be a VERY serious condition).

Trust your gut on this one.

:)

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