Has anyone ever had MRSA

[jenrose66]

I had posted a few weeks ago that my son was hospitalized for peri orbital cellulitis and that he needs an operation to open a clogged tear duct. Well, I have always felt that my DS's dr's didn't take his swollen eye seriously enough and if they would have just given me an antibiotic, maybe that whole hospital stay (and all the torture and pain my ds endured) could have been avoided. I have decided to switch peds, when I called my ins. company to do so they asked why, and when I explained, they encouraged me to file a complaint.

To make a long story short my former Dr. called me today after receiving notification that I made a complaint against her. She wanted to explain, why she did no wrong. She said that DS had a MRSA infection and there is no way that in a baby his age they would have thought he had MRSA. She also wanted me to know that i should have his hearing tested since he received a high dose of gentamicin in the hospital and that can cause hearing probs. Now, that really annoyed me, that she's just telling me about the hearing test now, because they saw him 3 times after he got out of the hospital and never said a word about possible hearing loss...but I guess that's for another post (he seems to be hearing ok to me)...

Anyway, no one in the hospital, nor my docs had ever said before that he had a mrsa infection. They just said that he had a strong eye infection...From the research I've been doing today on MRSA it seems like it's a very serious thing that tends to return. Now I'm worried sick..DS finished his course of Bactrim 2 weeks ago and slowly, his eye is starting to puss again, plus he's starting to get stuffy. He was very stuffy before the first MRSA infection, but the docs insisted it was just a cold and there was no treatment. Now I'm wondering if he has MRSA in his sinuses. I think I will insist that my new docs see me this week and swab his eye, nose, and throat to make sure that no MRSA is present. I don't want my son to go through that painful infection again.

Just wondering if anyone has dealt with MRSA before. If you did, has it come back?

Thanks,
Jen

 

[DawnCt1]

I had posted a few weeks ago that my son was hospitalized for peri orbital cellulitis and that he needs an operation to open a clogged tear duct. Well, I have always felt that my DS's dr's didn't take his swollen eye seriously enough and if they would have just given me an antibiotic, maybe that whole hospital stay (and all the torture and pain my ds endured) could have been avoided. I have decided to switch peds, when I called my ins. company to do so they asked why, and when I explained, they encouraged me to file a complaint.

To make a long story short my former Dr. called me today after receiving notification that I made a complaint against her. She wanted to explain, why she did no wrong. She said that DS had a MRSA infection and there is no way that in a baby his age they would have thought he had MRSA. She also wanted me to know that i should have his hearing tested since he received a high dose of gentamicin in the hospital and that can cause hearing probs. Now, that really annoyed me, that she's just telling me about the hearing test now, because they saw him 3 times after he got out of the hospital and never said a word about possible hearing loss...but I guess that's for another post (he seems to be hearing ok to me)...

Anyway, no one in the hospital, nor my docs had ever said before that he had a mrsa infection. They just said that he had a strong eye infection...From the research I've been doing today on MRSA it seems like it's a very serious thing that tends to return. Now I'm worried sick..DS finished his course of Bactrim 2 weeks ago and slowly, his eye is starting to puss again, plus he's starting to get stuffy. He was very stuffy before the first MRSA infection, but the docs insisted it was just a cold and there was no treatment. Now I'm wondering if he has MRSA in his sinuses. I think I will insist that my new docs see me this week and swab his eye, nose, and throat to make sure that no MRSA is present. I don't want my son to go through that painful infection again.

Just wondering if anyone has dealt with MRSA before. If you did, has it come back?

Thanks,
Jen

i would be sure to consult a pediatric infectious disease specialist. they can answer your questions and give you some guidance.

 

[Horseshoes]

If it was indeed MRSA, he would have been on isolation. There would have been protective equipment outside of his room, ie: gloves and gowns.

This is done to prevent the spread of it to others.

I would insist on being rechecked for it, especially if he has signs of infection.

Hope your little guy feels better quickly

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I sent you a PM.

 

[SueM in MN]

i would be sure to consult a pediatric infectious disease specialist. they can answer your questions and give you some guidance.

That would be a very good idea.
The Infectious Disease doctor can give you guidance, but also give the doctor guidance on appropriate antibiotics to use and how long to use them for.
If he did have MRSA in the hospital, they should have been using gloves and gowns for care that included contact with him (which, for a baby, would be most everything).

When you get the cultures done, make sure they are doing an MRSA screen. It might or might not show up on a regular culture because other germs that are present might grow better than MRSA and 'mask' it on the culture. When they do an MRSA screen, they use culture media and techniques that give the best chance for MRSA to grow if it is present. For purposes of seeing whether MRSA is gone or not, most hospitals use 2 consecutive MRSA screens of each site that had been positive. The patient should have been off antibiotics that are effective against Staph for at least 48 hours before doing the test.

Here are some good references:
CDC website FAQs page about MRSA.
CDC factsheet about MRSA
I don't know if this link will work, but it is the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) patient information page about Staph infections.