Son-in-law in hospital

[forrealone]

My son-in-law, Bill, has just been admitted into our hospital here.  He has MRSA.  I am not sure how severe it is, but having dealt with it with other family members before, hospitalization is not usual for early stages.  Please remember him in your prayers.

[IainH]

My son-in-law, Bill, has just been admitted into our hospital here.  He has MRSA.  I am not sure how severe it is, but having dealt with it with other family members before, hospitalization is not usual for early stages.  Please remember him in your prayers.

That's bad stuff, I saw some thing on TV, might have been NOVA. Anyway, it was about phages which, I believe are virus' (virii?) that kill bacteria. Different phages kill different bacteria. On the program a man was dying of a MRSA infection and the man's wife heard about research, found it on the internet like everything else nowadays, upshot; they tried the phage therapy and the man recovered. I made a mental note in case it ever came in handy.

[forrealone]

My son-in-law, Bill, has just been admitted into our hospital here.  He has MRSA.  I am not sure how severe it is, but having dealt with it with other family members before, hospitalization is not usual for early stages.  Please remember him in your prayers.

That's bad stuff, I saw some thing on TV, might have been NOVA. Anyway, it was about phages which, I believe are virus' (virii?) that kill bacteria. Different phages kill different bacteria. On the program a man was dying of a MRSA infection and the man's wife heard about research, found it on the internet like everything else nowadays, upshot; they tried the phage therapy and the man recovered. I made a mental note in case it ever came in handy.

I just read a paper on phages on NIH website.  Very interesting.  Just called hosp and he is just now in his room; nurse wasn't even finished with paperwork.  Anitbiotic IV isn't in yet but soon will be though I would have chosen a different med than vancomycin, like linezolid.  But then I'm not an MD.  Will check on him in AM and try to go see him.

[Ed Hurst]

My only experience with MRSA is having it grow in my nose. Not fun. May the Lord have mercy on Bill.

[forrealone]

My only experience with MRSA is having it grow in my nose. Not fun. May the Lord have mercy on Bill.

Interestingly, his is in his nose!  I talked to the nurse a couple of hours ago and he slept well, but woke up with a headache.  He was given three different IV antibiotics in the ER last night and another couple bags so far of something else in his room.  She has not received lab results, so MRSA has not been confirmed yet.  I am sure the doctor will be making his rounds soon, so will call in a couple hours again and speak to his day nurse.

I had wanted to go up there and check on him, but I woke up at 1:30 this morning with what appears to be a chest cold.  Time for tinctures and potions!

[forrealone]

Update.  He came home late Friday and came by briefly.   Yoy!  His poor left side of his nose and eye were red and swollen.  The fear with the doctors was to keep the infection away and out of his eye.  Uh, yeah !!!!  

Grandkids stayed with me that night.  My daughter was out of town. 

He came by on Saturday to pick them up after a good nights rest.  He looked better.  

As of yesterday, he is still improving.  Grateful.

[jaybreak]

My son-in-law, Bill, has just been admitted into our hospital here.  He has MRSA.  I am not sure how severe it is, but having dealt with it with other family members before, hospitalization is not usual for early stages.  Please remember him in your prayers.

Never heard of MRSA before, but obviously I've heard of staph infections, etc. Do you know how he got it?

Good to know he's better(ish), though

[forrealone]

My son-in-law, Bill, has just been admitted into our hospital here.  He has MRSA.  I am not sure how severe it is, but having dealt with it with other family members before, hospitalization is not usual for early stages.  Please remember him in your prayers.

Never heard of MRSA before, but obviously I've heard of staph infections, etc. Do you know how he got it?

Good to know he's better(ish), though

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, meaning a strain of Staph bacteria that has evolved to resist most antibiotics and continues to do so as new medications are created.  It typically occurs in hospital environments since we all know how those types of places are NOT good about sanitation like they should be.  Those are called HA-MRSA (Hospital Acquired).  However, since MRSA lives inside of us (especially in the nasal cavities), it can also be acquired in the community CA-MRSA (Community Acquired).  Fortunately, most of us have immune systems that are "used" to that bacteria and only if and when our systems are compromised, can it reproduce and cause serious illness, the worst of which is sepsis.  Sepsis occurs when a bacterial infection invades the bloodstream, targets the organs and one can die rather quickly. 

I have had two friends who became septic and both nearly died.  Fortunately, I know what to look for symptomatically, and got them both to the ER in time.  One of them lost a toe due to MRSA having infected that toe and the MRSA moved into her lungs.  They both had extremely high temps (105+) and felt horrible.  

It is a very scary bacteria and one should REALLY be aware of symptoms, most of which are visible on the skin that start as a small pimple looking thing.  In the nose, there would pain, swelling, possibly some oozing from the nostril.

If it is internal, a fever is definitely there with extreme not feeling well, etc.

It IS very contagious through any kind of physical contact such as hand shaking, sharing drinks, etc.  Families pass it to each other quite easily.  The whole house needs to be disinfected, bathtubs bleached, bedding washed in hot water.  It is a real challenge to prevent re-infection.

Okay, so much for my daily health lesson.  Sorry, I get a little carried away.

[Ed Hurst]

No need to apologize for that. It is enlightening.

[IainH]

Sepsis is really bad. I'm glad to hear your SnL is doing better.