MRSA
blansaw
member
As some of you saw a couple of days ago, my grandfather is very ill. We just found out that he has MRSA and now I'm curious how my exposure to him can effect me and LO. I don't feel sick, but the research I have done said that I could still be a carrier. I called my Dr office and left a message and I am waiting for them to get back to me. My mom is also down with cold/flu like symtoms and I was around her too. I'm worried she could be a carrier too and with LO on her way I wanted her to get tested to make sure she didn't pick it up, but she refuses to go to the Dr. I warned her and told her that if she was still sick she couldn't be around the baby. I swear if it rains it pours and I may just be acting overprotective, but I want to make sure everything is alright.
Anyone have any advice, or am I just acting like a crazy FTM?
Re: MRSA
You are not crazy, MRSA is no joke! My best friend lost both of her grandparents to MRSA within the past 2 years - we were all very close to them. The grandfather got it following his heart surgery and he was recovering amazingly well then BAM! he went downhill fast because he picked up MRSA (most likely in the hospital). Then less than a year later her grandmother became ill and they couldn't find the source but ended up diagnosing her with MRSA and she passed a few months later.
My friend got sick while caring for her grandparents and being emotionally and physically stressed. She was warned by her grandparents' doctors to be careful about the amount of time she spent at the hospital with them... and my SIL who is a doctor in a hospital has warned about all types of staph being in hospitals so try not to touch things and stay away from others at all costs.
Shudder - this is exactly the reason why I want to get in and out of the hospital ASAP after we have our baby! One of the major hospitals in our area had an outbreak in the NICU (not the hospital I'm delivering at).
Don't share things like clothing, towels, or bedding with your grandfather...there has to be actual contact with the infected area (directly or indirectly) for you to get it.
Also - if you are worried about things like MRSA, remember not to buy/use everyday anti-bacterial products. Over-use and improper use of these products (and over-prescribing of antibiotics) are the reason why we have MRSA in the first place. For now, MRSA is primarily contracted in hospitals, but bacteria will soon become resistant in our homes if we continue this. Researchers estimate that most antibiotics will be useless in the next decade or two. Why this doesn't freak people out, and why it hasn't caused a huge public outcry, I will never understand.
what is important to find out is "where" is his MRSA infection. is it his UTI? Like the nurse PP said, SOOOO many people are colonized and have no symptoms. If you are really concerned talk to your doctor. they can swab your nose (the most common place to be colonized) and if you are a carrier you can be given antibiotics to kill it.
Again, I really wouldn't stress very much about this. I am a 4th yr med student and worked in the hospital throughout my entire pregnancy. I went into soooo many "isolation" rooms. yet i've remained healthy and while i'm probably a carrier for a lot, even with a "compromised" immune system I didn't get sick.
Wow, you are one brave momma. I used to teach high school and if someone coughed near me I would be out for two days with something.
That's the only reason it scares me. When I visit I always sit/lay on his bed while he sits in his recliner. I just want him to pull through more than anything. It just sucks that I can't see him. Thanks ladies for being supportive.
First of all, take a deep breath. Next, when you say "research" do you mean the internet? If that answer is yes then get off of it!
While MRSA is a serious infection (especially to the hospitalized patient) if you go to a shopping mall, a school or a grocery store you are exposed to MRSA. In fact, MRSA is so common that in many hospitals (including mine) if someone from a nursing home gets admitted they are automatically placed on isolation and screened for having it. Your mom having cold/flu like symptoms in no way equals being a carrier for MRSA.
If you are concerned, call your OB's office about it. While I would advise you against bringing your LO to visit your grandfather in the hospital, it wouldn't be because of the MRSA but more from all of the other germs your LO would be exposed to. Frankly, I would be a lot more worried about your mom being around the baby with "flu/cold like symptoms" than I would MRSA.
This! Where is his MRSA infection?
I work 7 days a week in two different hospitals and enter isolation rooms all day long. And so far so good. Same for when I was pregnant with DS.
Maverick James 01.07.2012 * Married 01.23.2010 * Harper Skye 01.24.2013
Agree with all of this! We don't use antibacterial soaps or hand gels at all. In addition, we don't take antibiotics unless it can be proven one of us has a bacterial infection. MRSA is definitely all around us. DH's grandmother is a carrier and just got out of the hospital because she was sick and the room also required a special mask, etc.
Just to play it safe, we aren't taking LO around her for a while, until we are sure she is better. However, she'll always have the MRSA from what I understand...