Preemies
AshleyDoll
member
Freaking out! HELP!
AshleyDoll
member
in Preemies
Ok... So today we were told by Sophie's doctor that she will be coming home in about a week, week and a half. GREAT news! Not so great news is that they tested all the babies for MRSA colonization today and Sophie's test came back positive. They said that it was hospital born and that the baby right across from her was diagnosed positive a few weeks ago. They are putting bactroban in her nose and on her diaper area and we have to wear gloves and gowns when we touch or hold her. Although the doctor said that she could still come home even if she still tests positive, I'm kind of freaking out about the whole thing! Right now she just has the bacteria on her skin and is NOT infected. Anyone ever have a baby test positive for MRSA? Any advice? I feel like I'm seriously about to lose it and could use any help/advice I can get. TIA!
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Re: Freaking out! HELP!
You can colonize MRSA and be completely fine. I colonize MRSA, as do most hospital workers. Its everywhere in the hospital. If they tested every nurse/doctor, a high majority would come out with MRSA on their skin. Its a problem when it becomes an infection.
When I was hospitalized for PTL, they tested me and found me positive...it was just a coincidence and not related to the PTL. I was put in a private room and no one could touch me without gowning up. But it was treated as a joke: my husband is a nurse, so it was a DUH that I would be colonizing it. My girls were also put under precautions when they were born and had their own private rooms in the NICU. Again, since there was no infection, it wasn't treated like a very big deal.
As long as people around take precautions (the gowning up, etc), its fine. They'll keep an eye on her, give her antibiotics, and continue to test.
I know it sounds bad, but as long as there is no infection, it isn't as bad as it sounds.
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Thank you for all of your help ladies, I do feel a ton better now!
1. YAY for Sophie coming home soon!!
2. The pp's are right...for the most part. 9/10 times being colonized is not a big deal. Without going into a lot of detail (because I don't necessarily think it's anything you need to be too concerned with at this point) I will say that my family is that 1/10 where it's a HUGE freaking deal. But our problems started (18mos ago) when my incision was infected at delivery.
DD had + nasal cultures two separate times while in the NICU and was never truly infected...and heaven knows there were all sorts of IVs and things that could have been infected at that point.
But, I personally think it's worth mentioning to your primary care dr - I would specifically ask about nasal cultures for you, DH, other children, etc. What we've learned (the hard way) is that it's sort of pointless to treat one family member for colonization (outside of the NICU obviously) when the others have it as well. It's near impossible to NOT pass it back and forth. And when someone DOES become infected...it's nothing to play around with.
I would also make sure that Sophie's pedi is aware of the + nasal culture and ask if there are any specific precautions you should take if you notice anything out of the ordinary. Any time DD gets a scrape or anything that looks remotely like a pimple, we're covering it with bactroban (in addition to using antibacterial soap). I all the time have people lecturing me about "that's how antibiotic resistant strains come about...people use too much antibiotic soap/gel/lotion" but that's easy to say when it's not your family that is suffering from it.
So, with all that said, just follow the NICU precautions and you'll most likely never have an issue.