Community Chat

[Maysie]

Sudden confusion in the elderly is attributed to delirium, and is usually caused by infection and/or medication.  It is reversible when the infection is cleared or the offending meds are stopped. Speak to the nurses! 

[chihuahuamom]

Two famiiy members have it on a recurring basis.  They both got it from the gym. One is diabetic and he has serious cases of it. He takes so many high powered antibiotics that I worry they will finally not help. Last time he had it, the doctor gave him several shots in his rear plus antibiotics. Most of his are on his arm. It's really awful. Thankfully, the rest of us have not contracted it. 

[CAMOGIRL]

Yes, my son had a large open oozing  sore on his butt when he was very young - can not remember what age - the sample they took came back as MSRA. He had  to take a high dosage of an antibiotic  for a few weeks for it.. We had no idea how or why he  got it. I just remember them saying some people are more susceptible to it than others. It was pretty nasty looking  as  I think back on it now! He felt fine though, he just complained his butt was very sore  on that one side. I looked at his butt, thinking I would find a bruise and saw the open sore instead. Have to say - it was pretty gross!  I had never seen anything like that. To say the least, I immediately called his doctor!!

[Stray]

---

@gidgetgh wrote:

Maggiemack, I'm so sorry to read about your husband. I wish I could meet you in person so I could give you a hug. 

The doctor came in awhile ago and said the second culture showed no MRSA. So who knows.  All I know is he's really sick and we don't have a "smoking gun" and my sister and I are so concerned and very sad. 

It's possible that that all of these complications are caused by the bleed in his brain.  But so many of the issues, the confusion, cough, aphasia, came out of the blue last Friday, while he was in rehab, two weeks after the stroke. 

---

@gidgetgh - I am sorry that your father was so ill.  I developed MRSA after back surgery and though treated, I remained positive for years.  You said your father's cultures were negative.  Please be sure they cultured everywhere MRSA may be.  I tested negative in one part of the body and positive in another area.  They should do swabs of the nose (both sides) and the infectious disease specialist who treated me, cultured the arm pit on both sides.  It is almost impossible to not be in contact with MRSA if you spend a depreciable amount of time in a hospital.  And, tho serious, they know more about it and the proper drug to use; it is not a death sentence if treated.  There are other super bugs that have replaced MRSA and they are just learning about them.  But, MRSA is almost everywhere even outside hospitals. 

[LilacTree]

---

@gidgetgh wrote:

My father is seriously ill.  He had a stroke three and a half weeks ago and all doctors in the hospital thought he'd make a full recovery. After several days in the hospital, off to rehab he went. He did not do well there and had a sudden major decline last Friday and he's back in the hospital again. They've determined that he did not have another stroke, but they can't find the problem yet.

Anyway, in the middle of it all, yesterday afternoon, the urine cultures showed MRSA. They're repeating the cultures as that surprised the doctor. I've done some reading and stuff, but just wondered if anyone here as experience with MRSA, either with yourself or a family member.  I'm looking for info on what kind of symptoms you had, how did you feel, etc. 

My dad is declining pretty rapidly and my sister and I are really trying hard to lead to a diagnosis. They're trying to piece it all together. Does he have MRSA, are all these issues he's having from it or does he have something else going on. 

Not looking for help with a diagnosis, doctors are working on that, just some personal experiences if anyone is willing to share. 

---

My ex-SIL had a heart valve replacement which went very well.  She was sent home and four days later died from MRSA.  The hospital is the #1 source of most MRSA infections, and that is probably where your father picked it up.  That's the first thing they should be looking for if he had been doing well.  I am so sorry to hear this. 

[AngusandBuddhasMom]

People need to be aware of this as it can be picked up at Gyms,schools etc. I am a germaphobe so I make sure when I come home from the gym or visiting my mom who is in assisted living that I was my hands and clothes. As well as my feet if I was wearing sandals out. It is easy to pick up and I think people need to  be more cognizant of that.

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Thoughts and prayers to you.

[CatsyCline]

@gidgetgh  i am very sorry to hear about your father.  Please please have the medical team test again for MRSA to follow-up.   MRSA colonizes inside the nose and soft mucous tissues. As a preventive measure, if one is in contact with a MRSA infected person you can use an ointment BACTROBAN in the nostrils. ( Mupirocin) Bacroban will skew a culture so avoid doing this before culture needs to be taken.

MRSA is everwhere, gyms, surfaces you would even think of. if you have a cut or sore that seems to quickly become infected,  get to a doctor ASAP.  i believe there is no longer a distinction between hospital-acquired and community acquired MRSA. i picked it up somewhere, it may have been a hotel room. i got a sore on my knee that swelled up like a huge welt. my derm cultured it and it came back MRSA. i used the bactroban on it. i have to be careful now with any cut becuase i get the same reaction.

my father had a series of TIA over several years and ALZ   He was at home but became progressively more confused and was moved to SNF. after a year or so, he  choked and aspirated liquid in the nursing home and stopped breathing and spent 5 days in the ICU. they finally weaned him off the trach but there was no more they could do for him medically. he was moved to an ISO room because he was so septic with MRSA . everyone had to wear the full coverage (hats masks booties).  my Mom didnt listen to the nurses and gave him kisses on his cheek.  he was sent back to the SNF under Hospice care and sadly passed 3 weeks later.

[LTT1]

O/T maybe, but might be helpful to know...

After sinus surgery five years ago, the infection I acquired in my sinus was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (will get the full name in a minute).  This organism has now decided to inhabit all kinds of surgery tubing, instruments, etc.

My infection was cultured and specifically identified.

It took a non-generic ($30 per pill/10 pills equals 300) Levaquin -- the first round of generic Levaquin did not work.  The ENT seemed perturbed and said "I wonder how you got that?" (he was partners with the private small hospital and if the infection started in their surgical equipment no wonder he was perturber.)

The same ENT did a 2nd sinus procedure two years later, and this time the procedure was in his office ... there was no infection afterwards.  Just sayin'

[Vivian]

My friend in Florida caught MRSA at a local hospital. She was living in Naples Florida at the time. She was very sick for awhile but made a full recovery I'm happy to say. Hospitals have become dangerous places. The situation reminds me of the fear of hospitals a century ago. We've gone backwards. When I had thyroid cancer surgery in 2008, the biggest obstacle to my recovery was the infection I picked up at the hospital. After many tests, they identified the bug and after just two weeks of antibiotic treatment I was fine, but it was a miserable experience.

[esmeraldagooch]

Sorry to hear about your father, OP.  My uncle got what looked like a pimple and it ended up being mRSA.   They had to remove much of his private parts to finally save his life.

Another friend passed from it, a little at a time.  Her daughter , my firend also is still tramatized by it.