What were they thinking?

[Hannathy]

You think I'm wrong; I think you are wrong. My pediatrician agrees with me.

I will not take him.

Well unless you were able to tell your pediatrician what the isolation is for and you do not seem to know then your pediatrician is just covering their butt for insurance purposes! Because without knowing what the isolation is for and it could be something totally contact type they can not make an accurate decision. And should not have advised you.

I hope you don't take them anywhere then.

 

[YodaGirl]

Well unless you were able to tell your pediatrician what the isolation is for and you do not seem to know then your pediatrician is just covering their butt for insurance purposes! Because without knowing what the isolation is for and it could be something totally contact type they can not make an accurate decision. And should not have advised you.

And I disagree.

The pediatrician doesn't have to know what type of contagious issue there is. She just has to know that there is one. My 4 yr old goes in. Why? She has a better-developed immune system than her 8 wk old brother.

I hope you don't take them anywhere then.

All or nothing?

Quarantining them in my home? Overboard.

Keeping an infant out of the nursing home on doctor's advice? Not so much.

We disagree, and that is perfectly fine.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The misinformation and hysteria on this thread is astounding. And sad.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

Many hospitals don't even allow infants.

Not sure why any parent would think it's a good idea to take a small infant, to see ANYONE, no matter what they were admitted for.

Totally agree.

 

[AverageDiser]

Statistically speaking, 70-80% of the general population cultures some form of MRSA. So, 13 people on this thread (18 have posted, including myself). So does everyone go around bleach wiping every surface that you touch? Hospitals don't even culture employees because so many carry it, and what would they do, fire them all? Make them wear gowns, masks, and gloves with every patient? The main reason patients who culture MRSA are isolated is that good ole CYA theory, to prevent lawsuits. If you want to avoid people who culture it, you'd pretty much have to stay house-bound. Have fun with that.

** And hospitals are not a place to take infants unless they're the patient, there are much scarier things lurking there than MRSA.

 

[CKBear]

I'm surprised the hospital let the baby in the room if it was MRSA. My Grandmother ended up with a false positive for MRSA one time when she was in the hospital, she got a private room because of it, no kids were allowed to visit, adults were supposed to be gowned and wearing a face mask to be in the room with her. The nurses had to deliver her meals because they wouldn't allow the people that normally deliver meals into her room for risk of infection. I can't believe a hosptial would allow an infant or really young child into the room with a MRSA patient. I thought how they treated my Grandma was standard practice when it's confirmed active MRSA.

 

[sparklynails23]

Back to the pig MRSA. Can someone post an article about it? I can't get any of the articles that come up on google to load for some reason.

What I can tell from the headlines is that there is some sort of super-MRSA that's found in pigs, which is only being researched in the U.S. since like 2008 or 9. Seems interesting.

 

[luvmy3]

OP, you seem to know alot about what these people have been doing the last few days. Did you even ask whether or not they discussed visiting with the baby with any medical professionals?

 

[pensgirl10]

The hospitalized woman (along with a couple of posters here) said it was okay because she didn't touch the baby. She kissed him though....how did she do that without her lips touching him? I guess dangerous things lurk only on the hands. LOL

 

[RadioNate]

The misinformation and hysteria on this thread is astounding. And sad.

Can you be more specific?

 

[YodaGirl]

I'm surprised the hospital let the baby in the room if it was MRSA. My Grandmother ended up with a false positive for MRSA one time when she was in the hospital, she got a private room because of it, no kids were allowed to visit, adults were supposed to be gowned and wearing a face mask to be in the room with her. The nurses had to deliver her meals because they wouldn't allow the people that normally deliver meals into her room for risk of infection. I can't believe a hosptial would allow an infant or really young child into the room with a MRSA patient. I thought how they treated my Grandma was standard practice when it's confirmed active MRSA.

That's the standard procedure around here, or at least it was when my aunt was in the hospital with MRSA.

And I agree with the posters who have mentioned that it isn't a good idea to take a baby into a hospital room regardless of the situation.

 

[Coconut36]

Can you be more specific?

I am going to speculate it is about how MRSA can be spread. People make comments about her kissing the baby but MRSA is spread by skin to skin contact or contact with items that were contaminated with MRSA (like a towel used on the wound..etc) so she isn't likely to pass MRSA by kissing.

How does MRSA spread?

MRSA is spread by:

* Skin-to-skin contact. MRSA can be transmitted from one person to another by skin-to-skin contact. While MRSA skin infections can occur in participants of many types of sports, they're much more likely to occur in contact sports — such as football, wrestling and rugby.

* Touching contaminated objects. If drainage from a MRSA skin infection comes into contact with an object — like a towel, weight-training equipment or a shared jar of ointment — the next person who touches that object may become infected with MRSA bacteria.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/ID00049

 

[pensgirl10]

I am going to speculate it is about how MRSA can be spread. People make comments about her kissing the baby but MRSA is spread by skin to skin contact or contact with items that were contaminated with MRSA (like a towel used on the wound..etc) so she isn't likely to pass MRSA by kissing.



http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/ID00049

Lips aren't skin?

 

[suzannen]

I'm surprised the hospital let the baby in the room if it was MRSA. My Grandmother ended up with a false positive for MRSA one time when she was in the hospital, she got a private room because of it, no kids were allowed to visit, adults were supposed to be gowned and wearing a face mask to be in the room with her. The nurses had to deliver her meals because they wouldn't allow the people that normally deliver meals into her room for risk of infection. I can't believe a hosptial would allow an infant or really young child into the room with a MRSA patient. I thought how they treated my Grandma was standard practice when it's confirmed active MRSA.

My dad was put into isolation last year for 3 months after an active diagnosis of MRSA following a surgical procedure. The procedures described above were exactly the ones put into place for him. He was finally only let out after he went 4 full weeks with his cultures coming back negative for the MRSA. Sorry, I agree it's foolish to bring such a young infant into such a situation when it can be avoided.

 

[RadioNate]

My dad was put into isolation last year for 3 months after an active diagnosis of MRSA following a surgical procedure. The procedures described above were exactly the ones put into place for him. He was finally only let out after he went 4 full weeks with his cultures coming back negative for the MRSA. Sorry, I agree it's foolish to bring such a young infant into such a situation when it can be avoided.

Which is weird because both my kids have had MRSA infections and neither was hospitalized or isolated. In fact, I have the paperwork here, neither was giving any restrictions about anything. I was told nothing about disinfecting things. I did disinfect but I wasn't told I needed to at all.

My DS has had 2 in the past 18 months. Both times we took him in, they took a culture, prescribed Bactrim and sent him home. His 2nd one completely ruptured at home before taking him in and I dealt with the open wound and never got an infection.

My DD was a little more difficult as hers was a deep abscess rather than on the skin. For her we were sent from the peds to the hospital where they drained it, did the culture and sent us home with an antibiotic. A few days later they called and switched the antibiotic to Bactrim because her culture was showing resistance to the one they 1st thought would work.

I wonder if it is different for hospital acquired strains when the patient already has a lowered immune system from surgery or something.

 

[Coconut36]

Lips aren't skin?

Her MRSA was not stated as being on her lips..it's contact with the area contaminated with MRSA or an item like towel or razor that came into contact with the MRSA.

I have a family friend who had more than 1 MRSA infection..he was neither isolated nor was his child not allowed to visit him. He wasn't in the hospital horribly long..long enough for some IV antibiotics and then was sent home with some.

 

[pensgirl10]

Her MRSA was not stated as being on her lips..it's contact with the area contaminated with MRSA or an item like towel or razor that came into contact with the MRSA.

I have a family friend who had more than 1 MRSA infection..he was neither isolated nor was his child not allowed to visit him. He wasn't in the hospital horribly long..long enough for some IV antibiotics and then was sent home with some.

The towel being one example of how it might get from her infected area to another on her body.

 

[suzannen]

Which is weird because both my kids have had MRSA infections and neither was hospitalized or isolated. In fact, I have the paperwork here, neither was giving any restrictions about anything. I was told nothing about disinfecting things. I did disinfect but I wasn't told I needed to at all.

My DS has had 2 in the past 18 months. Both times we took him in, they took a culture, prescribed Bactrim and sent him home. His 2nd one completely ruptured at home before taking him in and I dealt with the open wound and never got an infection.

My DD was a little more difficult as hers was a deep abscess rather than on the skin. For her we were sent from the peds to the hospital where they drained it, did the culture and sent us home with an antibiotic. A few days later they called and switched the antibiotic to Bactrim because her culture was showing resistance to the one they 1st thought would work.

I wonder if it is different for hospital acquired strains when the patient already has a lowered immune system from surgery or something.

It may have been because it was a large infected wound on his knee - knee even turned black - and the dressings had to be changed 3 times a day by the nurses because it kept oozing so much. It was one of the worst things I ever saw. He was on intravenous antibiotics during that whole 4 weeks and then sent home with antibiotics for another 4 weeks after that.

 

[Coconut36]

The towel being one example of how it might get from her infected area to another on her body.

What? I am not sure I understand what you are saying. You don't think after the initial MRSA was diagnosed they were not taking extreme precautions to make sure it didn't spread? Was the infant touching or mouthing the towel? (and in a MRSA case you can bet any linens that could carry the staph would not be laying around the room).

Again my friend had their child in and out of the hospital (and this is a child who is slightly immune compromised due to meds they take for JRA), was able to touch/kiss her..etc without any concern from her Ped or Rhuem or the hospital staff. His wound was covered and she wasn't touching the MRSA infection so there wasn't an issue.

 

[Myothername]

OP, you seem to know alot about what these people have been doing the last few days. Did you even ask whether or not they discussed visiting with the baby with any medical professionals?

No. I did not ask them if they asked the doctor about bringing the baby up there. Knowing them they didn't ask. But I am at the point now where I am just not going to get involved in her ongoing illness any longer. I get so upset at such stupid decisions being made beginning 10 years ago. Yes, her underlying illness has been going on for 10 years and no one has thought to do anything until now. Of course she is in terrible shape now.