Need advice on MSRA

[roysmom]

Okay, I am looking for some advice from the medical community. I know we have some peds, doctors, and nurses on here. My MIL was diagnosed with MSRA this week. It is primarily located on her stomach, in a place where her shirt covers it completely. She wants DS to come play this weekend or early next week. How safe is it to let him go over there? I have been reading about this and it sounds REALLY scary, as we have had a few school-age children die from this, but I am wondering if it is as bad as it sounds. Her doctor told her that it would be fine for her to be around all of her grandchildren, as long as she kept it covered and washed her hands frequently. I am just so unsure. I would hate for my child to get it or to spread it at daycare. I just need some advice. Oh, they also put her on an antibiotic for 6 weeks.

[Emmas Mom]

Let me first state I'm probably an extreme case here. My older DD has had MRSA six times & there is no way I'd take her anywhere near someone that I knew had it. Now on a child who's never had it I may not be so paranoid but now that it's becoming so prevalent my thinking is better safe than sorry.

[elephantmeg]

what the doctor recommends is technically correct. My concern would be how clean she/her house is. Where are they doing dressing changes, is she disinfecting surfaces well. I would NOT let him us the same bathtub (I had a family where all 5 kids had it from sharing bathtubs). If you feel that she is fairly clean and keeps her surfaces clean I would probably be OK with it. I have a friend whose foster daughter has MRSA in her trach site (an ex 24 wk premie) and I know that she keeps her out of the public for the most part (takes her out for walks but not to playgroup etc) and I haven't felt really comfortable with her daughter being with DS-even though I know she is very clean but her MRSA site isn't able to be covered IYKWIM. Go with your gut. Here is a helpful Q+A from the CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSAinSchools/#q2

HTH

[californiagirl]

It sounds perfectly safe to me; it's not like the kids are likely to come in contact with the wound. I wouldn't be worried at all (then again, remember, I'm the one who did wound care for my MRSA-infected father until I was 42 weeks pregnant).

You are in contact with MRSA all the time. You're better off in a situation where you know where it is and are being cautious.

[roysmom]

First off, I see that I misspelled it, it is MRSA. Anyway, I just gave in and called the PED. They told me pretty much the same thing MIL's doc said...as long as it is covered and she washes her hands after touching it, everything should be fine. My MIL is extremely clean and the spot is on her abdomen, below her waistband line, so I think it will be okay. The ped also went on to say that the media has sort of latched on to this one and blown it apart. They have been seeing patients with this for years and never had a death due to it. It is real, it can be lethal if not treated, but it is very common and general hygiene will prevent a person from getting it. I thank everyone for their help and advice.

[dogmom]

I wallow in the stuff at work, literally at times, and I never had an MRSA infection. All MRSA is is regular staph bacteria that live on our skin regularly that have become resistent to methicillin antibiotics. There are several other antibiotics that they are not resistent to. The MRSA cases in the news are slightly more complicated cases that can happen with regular staph or MRSA or other bacterium. There is nothing scary about it if you get the whole picture.

Going back to your question, I would take my kids, try to keep them off my mothers lap, have them wash their hands well before eating. If they had a scratch or something I would cover it up with antibiotic ointment and a covering. Don't be tempted to wash them down with some aggresive antibiotic stuff (I'm not talking about the alcohol based hand cleanser here). All that will do is knock out hte regular "flora & fauna" on their skin and give a nice clean, non-competitive place for MRSA to land.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03
& Eve 6/18/06

[randomkid]

>Don't be tempted to wash them down with some aggresive antibiotic stuff
>(I'm not talking about the alcohol based hand cleanser here).
>All that will do is knock out hte regular "flora & fauna" on
>their skin and give a nice clean, non-competitive place for
>MRSA to land.


ITA - don't go crazy with antibacterial soap, wipes, etc. The best defense is plain old soap and water. Wash hands thoroughly for 15 seconds, rinse and use a paper towel to turn off the faucet. Don't touch the faucet with bare hands after washing as you will just put the germs right back on your/their hands. If you want to use a hand sanitizer, use an alcohol based product without antibacterial properties.

[randomkid]

>Don't be tempted to wash them down with some aggresive antibiotic stuff
>(I'm not talking about the alcohol based hand cleanser here).
>All that will do is knock out hte regular "flora & fauna" on
>their skin and give a nice clean, non-competitive place for
>MRSA to land.


ITA - don't go crazy with antibacterial soap, wipes, etc. The best defense is plain old soap and water. Wash hands thoroughly for 15 seconds, rinse and use a paper towel to turn off the faucet. Don't touch the faucet with bare hands after washing as you will just put the germs right back on your/their hands. If you want to use a hand sanitizer, use an alcohol based product without antibacterial properties.