Staph Infection - Yukon,OK

Hi J.! We went through this with my three year-old, and I am so sorry! I know how upsetting and scary it is. I blamed my self (I'm not the world's neatest housekeeper - who is with kids?) but my house is a clean safe place. Suddenly it felt like every corner was harboring some creepy disease. All of the suggestions you received were good ones, but I'd like to add a couple of things just for you to think about.
My daughter ended up seeing an infectious diseases specialist at Birmingham Children's Hospital (wonderful!) and one of the things he said that was a contradiction to what we'd already been told was NOT to treat skin infections with internal antibiotics unless they become extremely deep and serious. He said the antibiotics should be reserved for deep infections and internal spread of the infections, as the skin lesions usually resolve on their own with the right care.

I know! Sounds crazy, but he told us to do everything you are doing and to treat the spots with an antibiotic ointment (Bactroban is preferred) and cover them only if they are weeping (to stop the spread). He said not to keep her out of school and put long pants on her only if we felt we needed to keep the spots clean (or if she messed with the spots or felt self-conscious).

Not using the internal antibiotics for the infections prevents overuse, so that when your child really needs it, the antibiotics still work for her. He also said newer studies have shown that the nose ointment is not very effective, so if your daughter fights that part, I would consider talking to your DR about that. He gave us lots of info (he knew the newest information on treating it) and really set my mind at ease. He also advised that we keep my daughter's eczema in check as much as possible, b/c eczema kids appear to be more prone to the infection. Lots of moisture, cooler baths, all the things you use to help the skin stay moist and healthy.

I'm sure you've gotten great advice, but the #1 thing I'd advise is to try and see a pediatric specialist in infectious disease. It was well worth the time and money (an overnight trip for us) to talk to someone who specializes in the problem and was wonderful with my child!
Good luck and hang in there!

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Years ago I actually had a staph infection on my neck that kept coming back. After 2 rounds of antibiotics with my doctor I went to a dermatologist who gave me an older antibiotic that they don't really use anymore and it cleared it up. I can't remember what it was but I think you need to find a dermatologist someone older.

Also I do a lot with natural health and I had a girl who had abscesses on her breast and we used Lavender oil and Tea Tree oil in a compress and the next day the redness and pain were gone (that was a thur night we started) and by Monday you couldnt even tell she had, had an open abcess or another one starting.

Have a great day

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Hi J.,
My husband is just finishing a course of Bactrim for the same thing. His is healing nicely. Does your daughter attend daycare? The doctor told us that this bug thrives in group oriented places-day care, locker room, gym, class room-anywhere there are a lot of people together. All of my children (4) have dealt with this at one time or another. It can be very contagious. My youngest daughter worked as the water girl for the football team and the doctor told us that the locker room is probably where it came from. But before the actual sore opened, my daughters happened to share the same razor, so they both ended up with it. My youngest daughter has had it several times and at one point (not while she had it) we were at the point of going to an oncologist to have a bone marrow biopsy because her white blood cell count was dropping dramatically every time she'd get sick instead of the opposite. Amazingly, the day she went for the biopsy, her white blood cell count was normal and has been ever since. You're going to have to clean, clean, clean everything that she comes in contact with-at home and anywhere else. Also, do you have pets that go in and out of the house? www.mayoclinic.com usually has really good medical articles if you're interested. Good luck with this. I know it's extremely frustrating.

R.

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I've heard of a study suggesting swimmers don't get repeat staph infections. You could put a small amount of bleach in her bath water. (as long as she doesn't drink it). I heard a formula for it was 20 gallons water to one cup of bleach. You could do a smaller amount.just a suggestion

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Try Bio K for babies. www.biok.com It is a probiotic liquid yogurt type concentrate, and can be effective for some methicillin resistant staph aureous infections, which it sounds like this case is. Their website has case studies on it. Your child definitely needs a good probiotic to build up the good bacteria to fight the bad. I have a friend whose baby took Bio K for an MRSA acquired infection, along with the antibiotics prescribed, after fighting with it for a long time, and it has not returned since taking the Bio-K.
Sincerely,
B. S. RN CCM

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Hi J.,

We, too, have suffered Staph infections with my little guy who is now 6--he was 4 at the time of his infection. We were habitual with the hibiclens and not reusing towels to dry off and basically wiped down everyting with clorox and lysol along with putting the stuff in his nose. we havent had the same recurring episodes you guys are experiencing--maybe if you can keep them covered while your baby is awake to see if she can keep from scratching or touching, because by doing that she continues to re-infect herself. This is very common and so present in the community. Stay diligent with the hibiclens even if it is a couple times of day. good luck!!

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a bf of mine has a teenager that would get them on her legs there boils. there coming back everyone thinks ther spiders bites. we had 2 people at work and one's wife,my husbands grandkids and his exwife and my bf's daughter 3 different towns all had boils. my bf's daughter got them over and over and over agian she had up to 10 on her legs. its been 3 years and bf said they havent seen one in the last year,year and half. the doc told them that its in there body from now on and sometimes it has to come out. my bf thinks she finally grew out of it they moved out of there house into a new one she doesnt know if thats it or not. were not sure. but good luck i know there bad!

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J.,

I agree 100% with ML. Read her post again.
A good website for natural remedies and info is Dr. Mercola's site. www.mercola.com

Here are a few extra tips.

1. Focus on her immune system.
2. She needs to eat right for her nutritional type (see mercola's site)
3. Drink the purest water.
4. She needs to take probiotics to rebuild the good bacteria in her tummy that has been destroyed by the antibiotics.
5. Pray, pray, pray (this is the most important step).

Please let us know what works for her.

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Hi J.!

I know exactly what you're going through. My niece started getting them first when she was 3 and then my kids who are 3 and 1 now started getting them. When they're that young it is common for them to get them around their bottoms and between their legs. My son turned 1 in June of last year and we spent 4 days in the hospital with him the next month because his turned out to be MRSA. They did have to lance his and put him on IV antibiotics, but it doesn't always get that bad! My daughter started getting them when she was about 1 1/2. They didn't get as bad as my son's, but they would always come back in the same place...in and around the diaper area. Our pediatrician told us that it would get better once she was potty trained and it did. We haven't had any on her since and she was completely potty trained within 3 months of turning 2. We've done the bactrim, and the swabbing of the nostrils, but they never gave us the special bath. We started giving them baths with just a squirt or two of antibacterial hand soap in it. I've heard Dial is the best, but I used the generic clear antibacterial hand soap from Wal Mart and it has worked great. We have had several episodes with them. My husband and I have never had them, but my brother, mom, uncle, and cousins all have. It's not uncommon for anyone to get them, but it is a lot more prevalent in small children because they touch everything and don't wash their hands a lot. I hope this helps. I'm sure you guys will be over it soon, but the recurring episodes may not stop for a while. I wish you the best!

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Lots of good advice. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is keeping her nails trimmed short & really stressing the hand sanitation.

My dau at the same age had issues with that & she would itch them or pick them & spread it around. I got her using hand sanitizer constantly & it helped along with bactrim.

I had a staph infection when I was a kid and ended up in the hospital for a few days on IV antibiotics. I got mine from a cat bite so I don't know if that was the reason or if it was just because of the staph infection itself. Hope you can get it cleared up! Good luck!

Staph can be very hard to get rid of. I've had a bunch of friends whose kids have gotten it. One of my coworkers son's got it and his was so bad that the antibiotics weren't really working and the doctor had to lance it and then give him antibiotics. After that it cleared up. Also, a friend I had ended up being hospitalized with MRSA and the doctors told her that the infection colonizes so that you may clear up this episode, but it can always come back, sometimes worse than before. Hopefully the doctor will be able to give you some better answers. Good luck!