Mrsa - Aztec,NM

I don't know too much about it...I would send you a link with some info but I think the other mom did that already. I'm almost positive you have to have skin-to-skin contact with the open wound on the person that is infected with MRSA. If I were you I would most definitely contact my doctor/pediatrician!

I cannot tell you how the mrsa will affect your grandmother...it will depend whether or not her problems in the throat have anything to do with the MRSA.

As far as the risk to you - As a fellow person who had contact with someone who had mrsa and completely FREAKED myself out, I am here to tell you to relax. Do not go google searching or you will just panic yourself. MRSA, as well as other run-of-the-mill staph is EVERYWHERE. It is on grocery store carts, pens at the bank, etc etc and odds are there are many people in your life that are carriers of staph in their nasal passages and you would never know. The only time staph is an issue is if the bacteria gets into an OPEN break in the skin and even then your immune system can often fight it off. My mother, who used to watch my kids constantly and has had chronic sinusitis for as long as I can remember (ie she blows her nose constantly, sometimes not washing her hands yes gross I know) has just found out that she is a staph carrier and most likely has been most of her life. We have never had a single staph infection in our house and my son has ezcema so he is considered more suseptible. Give yourself some reassurance by boosting your and your child's immune system with some vitamin d, zinc, probiotics etc but please don't stress. Your grandma will be in my thoughts, and I wish her a speedy recovery!

I work in a hospital.
One thing you need to know is that every single person that goes into the hospital is swabbed for MRSA.
Your grandmother will also be swabbed upon release.
People don't realize this, but MRSA is everywhere.
That is not said to freak you out.
That is honesty.
I work in hospitals and have never had it.
I was hospitalized in December with pneumonia. The first thing they did was swab me.
Even working in a hospital around other ill people, I was negative.
Ask to talk to the hospital's Infection Control Specialist.
They can tell you what is safe.
I will ask at work tomorrow and follow up for you if you want.
We do have patients with MRSA but we have plans in place to keep it contained. Mostly, the affected patient is at risk due to a compromised immunity.
The doctors and nurses don't "catch" it.
Our Infection Control Specialist has worked at our hospital for over 20 years. She is a nurse who has worked in the surgery suite and the ICU, the Cardiac Care Unit. She has never caught MRSA.
Washing hands is the most important means of prevention.

Ask the hospital your grandmother is at to explain this to you.
It's not that unusual and it's not the end of the world.
I pray she will recover from her initial illness and be back with your family soon.

Best wishes.

I believe MRSA can be very, very dangerous and contagious. Call the doctor or an emergency room and let them know about your exposure immediately.

"Many people wonder if MRSA is contagious. The answer is, yes, MRSA can be spread between individuals. This transmission normally occurs through direct skin-to-skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces that have come into contact with someone else's infection (such as towels or used bandages)." http://bacteria.emedtv.com/mrsa/is-mrsa-contagious.html

"MRSA, as like other staph infections, is found on a persons skin or in their nose. The spread of the infection is very easy. A brush against someone's side, or even being around when someone is sneezing could potentially cause the spread of the disease. They call MRSA a Superbug because of how incredibly easy it is to spread the infection. The interesting thing with MRSA however, is that healthy people can carry and spread the MRSA. The only time you can truly become affected buy it, is if it enters the body, usually through a cut or break in the skin. However, people with weakened immune systems are more likely to be easily effected by MRSA." http://hubpages.com/hub/MRSA-Contagious

MRSA is contagious, that is why she is on isolation precautions to prevent the spread of MRSA to staff, visitors and other patients. It is spread via contact. To protect yourself and others you should follow hospital policy and wear gown and gloves when in the room, wash your hands thorouly prior to leaving the room. It is not a good idea to kiss your grandmother goodbye. It sounds like the MRSA is contained to her nose, you can only contract it if you come in contact with the infected area - her nose or nasal secretions or even secretions from her mouth. If she rubs her hands on her nose and gets secretions on her hands you could catch it or spread it to others that way, same with secretions on pillows, etc...

Many nurses and other hospital workers as well as people in the public are colonized with MRSA - meaning they do not have an active infection. MRSA is mostly a concern when someone who has compriomisted health, an open wound, etc... if it is in an open wound it will prevent healing. Your grandmother healthcare team is most likely taking precautions to prevent the MRSA from spreading to the comprimised (sp) area in your grandmother's throat. I am sure that she is on antibiotics.

Please talk to the nurse about MRSA she/he should beable to provide you with some reliable written information. Also check out a reliable website such as the Mayo Clinic and see what they have to say about MRSA.

As far as receiving 2 units of blood - the doctor will re-check your grandmothers blood count and if it is still low and meets criteria for another transfusion she will get one. Most likely she only needed the 2 units and is fine now.

Wishing your grandmother a quick recovery!

My husband is also a natural carrier and has had an infection twice. Neither my son nor I got it while he had an active infection. As long as you didn't kiss an open sore, you will be fine. It is everywhere you are and most people never get it. Your grandmother is in isolation to protect the other patients in the hospital because it is contagious. Hopefully your grandmother will be able to fight it off with the antibiotics. Please don't panic, when my husband was first diagnosed, a nursing student friend of mine totally freaked me out but once I talked to my son's pediatrician, I knew that my son and I would be fine. We had a few precautions to take while the infection was active like not sharing towels and washing that stuff with bleach but he wasn't hospitalized and recovered fine. Good luck to your grandmother, I will keep you in my prayers.

Oh I am so sorry! I am praying for you guys!!!!

As long as you didn't kiss and/or touch an open wound, everything should be ok. My husband has had a MRSA infection, and was tested later and found to be a natural carrier of the MRSA bacteria. We just make sure he doesn't treat any scrapes or sores on the kids.
MRSA in the elderly can be difficult to treat, as their immune systems are usually more frail. In a lot of cases, MRSA is picked up in a hospital, so that is why she is isolation- to keep it from spreading to other patients whose immune systems are also compromised. Some people just have it naturally occurring on their bodies (like my husband). But their are medications that will treat MRSA. Take care and I hope that she recovers soon...

My child has had MRSA three different occassions and on one occassion was seriously very bad - 104 temperature.. It is very contagious and does not take much. I am a clean freak and always have been.. Some folks carry it and never get it and some folks have a lower immune system and seem to get it.. Just be careful not have small children around it -- My daughter has had three surgeries from it and hospitalized for weeks.

Don't mean to scare you but It is extremely emotional for me and MRSA is not something to take lightly.