For the boys only

[OrlandoMike]

OK guys, Dad here.

Seems there is a new bug going around. I got news of this from the gay channel on Sirius. Be careful and stay safe! Anti bacterial soap seems to be helping, so keep that in mind.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/health/15infe.html?_r=1&em&ex=1200546000&en=&oref=slogin

 

[ConcKahuna]

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

MRSA -- one of my HHO buddies' Dad died from this two years ago -- very scary stuff.

Honestly Daddy Mike -- did you think we wouldn't look just 'cuz you hung a "boys only" sign? Nothing funny about MRSA though...

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Anything that affects m'boys, I'm worried about.

MRSA is vicious stuff. I've run across it (as the article states) with many of my clients who are in or coming out of hospitals. I can only tell you that it is really horrid and do everything to protect yourselves from it. (Including any hospital visit you may have to make for any reason).

It is also prevalent in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, so keep sharp there too.

 

[2moms]

Honestly Daddy Mike -- did you think we wouldn't look just 'cuz you hung a "boys only" sign? Nothing funny about MRSA though...

LOL...it pretty much guaranteed I'd look!

Good to know tho, I did pass the article along, thanks!

 

[Viki]

Yeah, I had to look too, but likewise I see there's no humor to be had here - this is awful news that I just heard yesterday on another board I visit.

Please - play - but play it safe.

 

[billysotherdad]

They did a whole report on the news here in NYC. I saw it both in the morning and again after work. So they are pushing this information to keep us informed.

Which is good. They are saying soap and water, wash up, antibacterial lotions, all that stuff. But what they are not saying is, Just Be Careful Who/How With Your Sexual Contact.

 

[Timrobb]

shoudn't we be doing that (watching who we sleep w/) anyway? thank god i am in a 12+ year relationship.

 

[OrlandoMike]

I dont think sex is the only way it's transmitted. From what I have been hearing casual contact can also cause transmission.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Yes, OrlandoMike that is right. It's a staph, so therefore airborne. Do not touch any open wound (yeah, I know but hey, had to say it) or bandage of another person.

As difficult as you may first find it, insist that any medical professional (doctor, aide, nurse, dentist, PA, ANYONE) wash their hands thoroughly (in front of you) before they touch you.

Do not share razors, towels, toothbrushes, those sorts of personal items.

When in public places like gyms, spas etc, make sure all equipment you use is wiped down thoroughly BEFORE you touch it.

Be hyper alert to the signs and symptoms of MRSA and immediately contact your doctor for intervention if you even think you may have problems.

Not trying to scare anyone, or be an alarmist, but more people died of MRSA in 2005 than they did of AIDS.

Also, anyone with any sort of compromised immune system, the elderly, people who live in crowded/close settings (barracks, for instance) and children are at high risk for contracting and having complications from this illness.

 

[mickeysaver]

I will crawl out of my hole here for just a moment......let me tell you my story.

MRSA....4 letters that meant 5 months of pain, antibiotics, and torture to me this past year. While I will say that I had MRSA, the infection that I had was atypical, because there never was an open wound. So, there never was any tissue or pus that could have been collected to culture. My nasal and blood cultures came back negative though.

Back in late July, I was at work when I realized that I was S I C K. Over the course of 24 hours, I went from having 104+ fevers to having my entire lower left leg being red, painful, and swollen from knee to ankle. I was hospitalized for 4 days. I was sent home on oral antibiotics. My doctor's office told me that I was ok and not to worry, nevermind the fact that I was still S I C K and not improving much at all. I pushed and got in with an Infectious Disease specialist. I told him about the trip we had planned in late October. He thought that a more antibiotics were in order, so I took them. Not much improvement. I took another round, and another, and finally was told that I should take even more until after the Disney trip and then if still sick, I would need to get a PICC line and IV antibiotics. I even went to far as to get a second opinion from another Infectious Disease specialist with way more experience at that point. The second doc said I was ok, stop the antibiotics and go on the trip. So, being that I really, really, wanted to believe him, I did as he suggested. During our trip, the leg slowly started to get worse again. Thank God, I had already booked a ECV scooter or else that trip would have been ruined. Upon returning home, I went back to Infectious Disease doctor #1. He told me that he didn't mind that I had gotten the second opinion, but wished that the other guy had at least been right. I had a PICC line put in. I had IV antibiotics for roughly 2-1/2 weeks. I didn't tolerate the first drug well at all, but that's another story. Luckily, it seems that Vancomycin was my savior. I have been off the IV meds for about a month.

I am holding my breath still for the next month. As long as the leg continues to improve and I stay fever free, I am going to avoid getting a port-a-cath placed and being forced to have a 6 to 8 week course of Vancomycin.

No one knows how I got it. No one got it from me. I never was actively contagious or else Gabby would have most certainly gotten ill too. It was one heck of a miserable way to spend 5 months of my life. The infectious disease doctors both feel that I had MRSA. It was no fun at all.

So, fellas, PLEASE be careful. I love you guys too much to wish MRSA on any one of you. Maggie

 

[npmommie]

wow maggie that is a heck of a story.
I saw this story on the news here in Boston.

the thing with mrsa is it can be airborne, it can just be in wounds.......it can enter thru the tiniest of cracks in our skin.........a small scratch, a small nick in the skin from shaving, you get the picture.
hand washing is so important and I agree ask every healthcare person to wash.

MRSA scares the crap out of me. I put alcohol gel on my kids feet even after gymnastics practice.......and they go right into the shower after getting home.
i carry alcohol gel with me everywhere, and I also have some wet ones antibacterial wipes, that we use on occasion, depending on where we are, and if we have access to wash our hands.
shopping carts, public transportation, atm machines, I could go on and on about all the things we touch that are touched by a million other hands.
anyway, protect yourself.\

also that story intrigued me and the first thing I said was why gay men, and why this strain only in them? i would love to read the study fully.

 

[countingthedays]

Well of course being a girl and seeing “For the Boys Only” as I’m scrolling past made me stop in.

Mickeysaver is right – MRSA is about as nasty as it gets. As a result of cancer, my husband had his quadriceps removed. The incision was from his knee to his groin and he was what’s called open sinuses (two small places that continuously drain and will never close). Last year, which was 2 years after the surgery, he started developing these bright strawberry red patches around his ankle to his knee. He said they didn’t hurt, but after two days of the patches getting bigger, he finally made an appointment to see the doctor the following week. The day before his appointment, he came home from work early and had the worst flu like symptoms you can imagine. When I took his temp (102) I took him to the ER. They cultured the drainage from the sinus and it was MRSA. Because the MRSA infection is in the incision line (or wound site) and since he no longer has any muscle in that area, they believe it’s in the bone as well. He also was given a PIC line and Vancomycin, but because his MRI’s still show suspicious areas on his femur, he will be on Bactrim, which is less effective, but absorbed better by bone, for life.
A bone biopsy would tell for sure, but he had radiation isotopes placed directly on his femur immediately after surgery, that were there for 3 days. The radiation caused his bone to be brittle. A bone biopsy would break the bone and if it breaks, his leg would need to be amputated. There is no way to save it.
No one knows how he contracted it. He hadn’t been to a doctor’s office or hospital and certainly not a gym before he contracted it. It’s scary.

I think you can probably determine his overall health is not that great, but his recovery from this has been far more difficult that recovery from cancer surgery.

Be careful.