Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Don't Worry, It's Only MRSA

Warning: post may be objectionable to the squeamish.

So Evan it seems has a long relationship with MRSA. When he was little he had an infection in a toe that was so bad that they removed a piece of the toe to get rid of it.

Recently he has been getting boils. Well, he has had two of them. They seem to develop quite quickly. He doesn't notice them until they have burst and are draining pus and blood. (I warned you.) One of them burst a couple of months ago. Another just a few days ago. Technically we don't know absolutely and for certain that the second boil is a MRSA infection as only the first one was cultured, but everyone seems to think that is likely.

He kept telling me that it was no big deal, that there wasn't anything to do except keep it clean while it did what it needed to do. My reaction though was something along the lines of "IT'S MRSA! YOU COULD DIE! CALL THE DOCTOR!"

The doctor's response was that if the boil had not burst they would open it so the infection would drain out of his body, but as it has done that on its own, there isn't anything to do except keep it clean while it heals. So he needs to keep clean dressings on it and keep himself as clean as possible. The rest of us need to watch ourselves for any sign of skin infection and go to the doctor if we get one, and wash our hands regularly.

We are also buying more towels so that everyone can use an absolutely clean one each time they shower. We also have a disinfectant spray that Evan uses in the shower or tub after he gets out.

And that is about it.

Except that if he gets a fever he is supposed to go straight to the emergency room. Do not pass go. Do not call the doctor's office. Go straight to the emergency room. That might mean the infection has started to go INTO his body instead of OUT of his body as it currently is.

And that would be bad. Cause you know, it is MRSA and you can die.

6 comments:

  1. MRSA is scary-sounding. I suppose all diseases about which we know very little are scary-sounding (e.g. AIDS crisis). Eeep. Good luck!

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  2. Ewwww gross sick- I hope he is okay and it is all out of him already and the rest of you don't get anything! ick!

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  3. Oh lovely, just what you need as a summer gift.

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  4. Hmmm well as long as it isn't anything dangerous! *sarcasm* That's just what you need in a houseful of boys.

    Does he know how serious MSRA is? We had a small issue with it last year in the city. Luckily we didn't catch it on the trains/buses.

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  5. I just found your site and am enjoying reading your posts. I will be checking back as often as I have time.
    Diane
    www.fosterfamilytalk.com

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  6. Well, actually you COULD die from any infection. Can die from and will die from are pretty far apart thank goodness. The only problem with MRSA is it is just a bit more resisent than some other bugs. Thanks for the non hysterical reaction. I get kind of tired of the over reactions.

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