Personal MRSA Stories
Personal MRSA Stories
Here you will find personal stories of experience with infection, written by MRSA patients and their loved ones. If you are interested in having your story published here, email christina@mrsaresources.com. You need not provide any identifying information if you do not want to, and all copyrights will of course remain yours. I cannot tell you how many people have told me that this is very helpful to them to be able to read these stories, I hope you will consider having yours, or a link to yours, here as well. Also, if you are interested in keeping a blog about your MRSA experience, or just your daily life while living with MRSA or another Superbug, please email me as well, I would love to talk about hosting it for you.
Submitted to MRSA Resources:
Marshall Jones – An MRSA Survival Story, PDF
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Marshall contracted his MRSA infection through an ingrown hair in his neck after a shave at home. He was an undiagnosed diabetic at the time, and the infection entered the epidural space of his spine, and then his bloodstream before he was hospitalized.
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Both of Denise’s two young daughters contracted MRSA a year apart through tympanostomy (ear tube) surgeries.
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Tony contracted MRSA during surgery for a broken leg. He has been very instrumental in the fight for victims rights and hospital rate disclosure in the UK (MRSA Support UK), and is working around the world for the same cause.
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Peg contracted MRSA in a leg wound after cutting herself shaving with her own razor.
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Michelle’s husband came home from Iraq with MRSA boils, and the bacteria was passed throughout his household.
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Francine’s 13 year old athletic son acquired CA-MRSA in his bone (osteomyelitis).
Rhoda’s daughter contracted MRSA while battling addiction, Graves Disease and Fibromyalgia.
Novena acquired MRSA after laparoscopic surgery.
External Links to MRSA Experiences and Stories:
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Bella was the first dog known to fall victim to the MRSA bacteria.
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Did not survive CA-MRSA, stemming from a small pimple – His mother, Theresa, along with Francine Jackson are working very hard toward community awareness of CA-MRSA, especially in athletes.
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survived Necrotizing Fasciitis
{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }
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hello,i am from ireland and was v ill in hospital recently.after coming out of icu and ready to go on a regular ward i was told ,oh by the way,you’re mrsa positive.if i hadn’t been lying down i would have fallen over!i have no idea,that is to say,they gave me very scanty info on this.expect i was in isolation but once i was discharged they said,carry on as normal.can i?
i know so little,i’ve heard terrible things about it,yet they say oh it’s fine.i was on bags and i.v’s and shots of antibiotics -i don’t know the names-in hospital,they said it was in my nose.so i used bactroban for 5 days like they told me,and a special mouthwash,i use hibiscrub,and gel that kills bacteria.i don’t know anything,how do you know when you’re dormant?please if anyone can advise i would be so appreciative!thank you.
i really want to get another tattoo,but now i am terrified my body will see this as a wound.but if i keep it ultra clean will it be okay?the same with a piercing?i don’t want to have to live my life in fear,and change who i am because of this…
I’ve dealt with MRSA for almost 2 years of my life, everytime I thought it went away it came back and it felt like the nightmare would never stop. I’m not sure where i got it but i was in the hospital removing my tonsils the week before so i’m assuming that’s where it is from. Of course with my luck my first boil was on my rear end and i went to the doctor and diagnosed it as lyme disease, when they figured out it wasnt that they said it was a spider bite….great doctors eh? so i went off to my freshman year of college limping and not being able to sit down, they gave me some great painkillers but mostly just made me walk around like a zombie for a while. sorry for being graphic..but this boil, literally the size of a baseball ending up bursting of course around a group of people so i was rushed to nurse because i felt like i was going to pass out, i lost a lot of blood and i still have a scar that to the touch feels completely hollow and makes me nausious when i think about it…just when i thought it was over i got 5 more…all over night, i wanted to die, i felt like i was going to, i couldnt walk and i have the worst scars, this time i had to get the boils drained by a doctor where they diagnosed it as not just staph but MRSA. i was in the hospital for a little while, and missed my whole first semester of college and it threw me off course for a while because it didnt wear off til about 6 months after that. I feel like im lucky to be alive and that going through that for so long and being ok other then a few scars when others werent so lucky.
Try oil of oregano. I think it will depend on the dosage. Online you can get a few bottles much cheaper. A good kind is “gaia herbs” supercritical co2 extract. Can get it for 16 bucks or so a bottle. Search online. I used to take 6 caps a day for a while (sometimes even more). Treat it as an antibiotic. Then you have to rest and take probiotics to replenish the flora. Also works topically.. Of course, make sure you are not allergic. We are talking about “origanum vulgare” wild mediterranean not the type you put on the pizza…
Do some research. Tea tree oil is good and kills mrsa (never ingested: it is poisonous to many organs and systems) when applied to skin. No resistance can be developed to oil of oregano because it kills bacteria by kinda overheating them. Remember not to abuse it though.
Go to the local health food store….buy some charcoal…not the kind for cooking. It is used in E.R. s for drug overdoses…they pump it in your stomach and it absorbs all the toxins.
Make a poltice…using the powdered charcoal and some distilled water…put it on the boil…you can even use it in baths and even drink water with a spoonfull or two on the water.
The charcoal will draw out the infection. It works. Antibiotics are a problem, from overuse. The body becomes ammune to them.
This works…I am alive and did not lose my arm…the doctors almost killed me using broad spectrum antibiotics.
Trust me…the natural way is the best way.
I had my first bout of MRSA Nov 16,2009. I went to ER because it burst on my under side of my belly. I never knew it was there…it grew from the inside out and burst. I was hospitalized and it was lanced. I was sent home with bactrim. Diabetes played a roll, 400 sugar count and blood pressure of 180/80 when admitted, but I was scared to death. It was the size of an orange and black all around and deep and around it about 5 inches was a yellow color and it was hard as a rock. I never felt it or saw it until it burst and formed. Bactrim was prescribed as I couldn’t stay in hospital due to not having insurance. Believe me, I have done everything. On top of everything else I became allergic to bandage adhesive and tape adhesive used in hospital, talk about a royal mess. I use Hebiclens 3 times a week, just got off bactrim today 1-4-10. I also took Tumeric capsules, Priobiotics (found in yogurt, capsule form) and also applied tea tree oil, and tea tree oil in baths- available for 5 bucks at
Walmart. Wound is closed and now I am on the look out for new outbreaks because antibiotic has been stopped. I also take a bleach bath once a week and bought tea tree shampoo. What a mess this thing is…and you are so scared to infect your family. I am just sitting back, trying to have some kind of calm in my life and not let this thing take over. God help us.
I’m in hospital at this time, being treated for my third bout of mrsa. On iv w/ vancocin and I am slowly getting better. I still have a hard swollen area under my chin and throat that lancing did not drain. I too want to know how to prevent this from ever happening again.
I have MRSA in my Maxilary Sinuses. It was discovered a year ago when I had surgery to remove two dangerous fungus tumors in my Maxilary sinuses. When the tumors were removed a lot of brown nasty gunk was found trapped behind the tumors. This gunk was cleaned out and sent to the lab along with the tumors. The gunk was MRSA. I have small artery and vein syndrome, so my veins collapse very fast when on IV’s. So I was put on extremely strong antibiotics at home and was in quarantine in my home for 6 weeks. I could not have any visitors other than my husband. We had to be super careful with hygenine so he would not get MRSA from me. Once I was finished with my treatment, he and I were both tested. He was MRSA free. I was not longer infectious, but will always be a carrier and have the danger of it becoming infectious again and it can return to my sinuses, as I have chronic sinusitis. It can also pop out in other places on my body, such as in a sore. I have to be very diligent in taking care of any sore on my body, no matter how small, cleaning it and making sure it does not become infected. I am a fairly new diabetic, controlling it with diet so far, but this complicates things, too.
I have had at least three or four sinus infections since the MRSA has been found and the one that I currently have is a very stubborn one, so I am worried that the MRSA has flared back up in my sinuses again. My cheeks are puffy again and giving me a lot of pain, and I am keeping a headache….all the same symptoms like when I had infectious MRSA before. I am still on an antibiotic. I will be seeing my Dr. for a follow up on Feb. 4th., so will wait to see if she wants to do a culture for MRSA then.
It is scary stuff. I know that it can kill.
My daughter did some research on treating MRSA in sinuses with Oil of Oregano capsules. I have ordered some, but I do not know how much I should take a day. Does anyone out there know anything about this? If you do, please e-mail me at Gildingthelily@juno.com Or is you have any other helpful info for me about MRSA and sinuses. Thank you.
Judith
DO NOT pick, squeeze, drain or otherwise mess with these “pimples” or “boils”…ever. When you do this you may get drainage out but you can equally get drainage in the other direction (through tissues into blood). Particularly do not do this with boils in your nostrils — very dangerous.
How do I know this? I did this and spread the infection to my blood, lungs and lip. I was perfectly healthy in all other ways. Essentially mrsa overwhelmed my defenses I ended up in ICU intubated for weeks and nearly died. Not just sick from the infection but what they treaed me with (vancomycin and gentamicin).
Now, my infectious disease doc did try to de-colonize my by having me smoosh a prescription antibiotic way up my nose several times a day — for a couple of weeks. Recolonization happens all the time.
I am now a student nurse but I am not considered particularly high risk as health workers are considered to be colonized.
See an infectious disease doctor and get a proper consult. Don’t mess with boils and such yourself. It is super dangerous. You also run the risk of introducing more bacteria of a different type into the wound.
Yeah, I was diagnosed with MRSA back in October and I had the hardest time figuring out what I had. The first doctor I went to told me I had mites (fleas), I was very upset an humiliated. After using this cream to treat mites, I realized the pain got worse. I went to get a second opinion from a different doctor and that’s when I was informed I had MRSA. I believe I got I from my boyfriend who is an MMA fighter and is constantly in the gym.
My little girl is now 15 months old. She got MRSA when she was 12 months old. It was awful I had never heard of it and I still don’t understand alot about it. When we go to the dr it’s always just mentioned that we have bad luck is why my little girl keeps getting it. I am so frustrated cause I keep thinking is it something I have done. I clean and sanitize everyday, clorox toys everynight, wash clothes everyday so I know this house is completely germ free. But my sweet baby keeps on getting these awful dreaded boils. They get really huge and we get antibiotics and cream and it works after weeks on in and I get so upset and just break down and then come up swinging thinking we are going to get rid of this awful stuff once and for all. But I have to get to that breaking point then I am able to keep on fighting trying to get rid of this awful stuff. But the sad part is when I try and get a dermatologist for another opinion as to why maybe my little girl keeps getting this they don’t want to see her. No other drs want to see her. And the week before my little girl got this a second time she had went to the dr and they didn’t use gloves but u can bet they did the next appt. I just don’t understand all I need to know about this MRSA but I am so glad to be able to read everyone’s story on here as to how it has effected , and somethings that has helped to get rid of this. So thanks to everyone on this site for giving me more knowledge and I pray that everyone gets educated on this dreaded MRSA cause it is hard to get any kind of information. I have been trying and luckily tonight I was able to find this website.. Hope we can all stick together and keep educating each other.. Take Care and God Bless!
I have 3 children. I never even heard of MRSA until my 2 year old daughter was diagnosed with this on her buttocks. I have a teenager that is very active in gym and has never had anything like this. I was devastated! I was worried for my entire family. My 3 year old was given antibiotics and we were instructed to keep it covered and drain it twice a day. Almost 6 months later, she got it again and this time on her leg. We went through he same process and this time we were given the nose ointment (muprirocin). Our entire family began taking the nose ointment and I started doing my own research as I wanted to stop this from ever happening again! I can’t even begin to tell you the crazy cleaning and just sheer fear of taking her anywhere. 5 more months passed and she got MRSA again on her buttocks but this time, it was so severe that draining was not possible and we had to have the boils (3) surgically removed. This was extremely painful for her and they packed the “hole” and we took her to the doctor every 48 hours to have the site cleaned and repacked so it would heal from the inside out. This was a 2 week process.
My doctor stated that you need to be MRSA free for at least 6 months to feel as though perhaps you may have killed that particular strain? I am happy to say that we have been MRSA free now for 7 months.
What I do:
1. PRAY!
2. I wash everything in HOT water. Use towels only once.
3. I keep Lysol wipes in all bathrooms and wipe the toilets down at every use.
4. I continue to use the nose ointment every night.
5. I give my children “bleach” baths twice a week. I use 1/4 cup of straight clorox in the bath tub. The doctor says that this is the equivalent of swimming in a chlorine pool.
6. I encourage eating yogurt to increase the immune system and provide “good” bacteria back into her body from all the antibiotics.
7. I clean my home every weekend and use Lysol or Bleach where possible – bathtubs, floors, door handles, etc.
8. WASH her hands, wash her hands, wash her hands! I keep GERMEX with me and wipe down tables, hands, etc when going out to dinner.
This may seem like overkill, but I don’t ever want her to get this again.
How did she get it? No one seems to know but I did noticed that the last time she got it, she had an accident (poo) in her pull ups and the outbreak began about 2 days later. She is now completely potty trained but I always make sure to clean her myself with bowel movements as the buttock area seems to be the most common place in children. I also continue to use Desotin as a precaution.
No one else in the family has developed this disease including an even younger sibling.
Also, my daughters do continue to go to daycare and gymnastics because we can’t stop living! I think that we just have to take extra precautions. I don’t let her go outside at dusk to avoid mosquito bites. If she does get a cut or scrape, I immediately clean it with peroxide and put the nose ointment on the area and cover it with a bandaid until healed. I am happy at 7 months of no MRSA and will continue to follow this guideline.
I hope this helps someone…….the info out there is so vague and the doctors don’t seem to have a solution or preventative guide.
My two year old son contracted MRSA after attending daycare. On his first day he had a tiny little pimple in his nappy area, which over two weeks spread rapidly down his legs and on his stomach. The doctor first said that it was a case of ‘school sores’, but after his course of anti-biotics and no changes in his infection, led to further tests and we have discovered that he had MRSA. Bactroban ointment has helped a great deal and the infection started to clear. But then his course of Keflex had ended and the spots came back more aggressively, infecting his eyes, ears, nose etc. We are having a very hard time dealing with this, as it is causing him to be extremely irratible, he has lost his appetite, and overall does not look well. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?????
Hello, I am 26 years old, and came down with my first MRSA infection five weeks after giving birth to my daughter (who is now an active 10 month old!) It started out with a painful lump in my right breast, which eventually became very painful with purplish/red streaks around it. I went to the ER and they decided to put me to sleep and open the abscess. They also put a drain in place, which I had to have flushed out at the hospital everyday for a week or so. About 3 days after the surgery, I noticed several pimple-like areas on my skin, so I called the doctor and he said I needed to be admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics. After about 4 days in the hospital, I was sent home with more antibiotics. I believe it was Cephelax?? Needless to say, I have returned to the ER about 3 or 4 times in the last 8 months because I keep having more outbreaks of painful pimples and abscesses. I am very fearful that I will NEVER completely get rid of this horrible mrsa!!! The last time I went to the ER, I was prescribed Bactrim, as well as Bactorban ointment for my nose. I am also afraid of transmitting the infection to my infant daughter and other family members. ADVICE/HELP PLEASE!!
This website is great for all the different info. My 8 yr old daughter just got diagnosed with mrsa and was admitted for 4 days in the hospital. She had to have surgery to drain the incision. She was on heavy doses of vancomyacin, 3x a day, iv and also on ultrin. My address is 2024 Sierra Rd Apt 14, Concord, Ca 94518
Hi all,
Back in February I had back surgery for spinal stenosis at L 4-5
Eight days later, I had to have surgery for a large hematoma that was very deep. Nine days later I was in surgery again for an invasive staph infection that had settled in my back bone.
The treatment, as the staph infection was so close to my spine, was IV vancomycin that was delivered every four hours via a pump that I had to wear 24 hours a day for 6 weeks.
My question is: What are the possible affects on the body after invasive staph infection.
I have told my family that I do not feel the same after my three surgeries. I am very tired to the point that I have to take several long naps a day usually lasting 2 to 3 hours each. My balance is quite bad ( yesterday I miss-stepped and fell going up a flight of steps.) I body get overwhelmed just walking to the mailbox, and generally I just don’t feel good.
If anyone has any thoughts on this I would appreciate some feedback.
Thank you!
Stephen
people, please do not let it get to the boil stage. at the frist hint a any tiny itch, do not scratch no matter what. run for antibacterial soap. wash it an d hands avoid towel. additionaly, if a small boil develops do not squeeze!you may tak a steralized razor blade, draw it one time across the bump, boil. then place fingers either side and PULL apart. it will bleed. use paertowel dab, stop bleeding. wash again hands, every thing w/ antibacterial soft soap. also lysol in the yellow bottle says it kills up 99 percent of staph on surfaces. i have found it effective on my skin. then get the right antibiotics
I don’t know if this will help any of you, but when my son started wrestling, I was so nervous about MRSA. I did a ton of research on natural ways to kill MRSA and came across Manuka Honey. According to what I read about MRSA, antibiotics just suppress MRSA, but the Manuka honey (and probably other natural methods) actually kills it. Anytime someone in the family has a cut, sore, pimple, ooil, etc. we use the Manuka Honey on it. So far, so good and it’s been quite a few years since he started wrestling. There are many sources to buy it, but the one with the best pictures/testimonials is manukahoneyusa.com where people send in their Staph and MRSA pictures and how they healed internally and externally.
I have had MRSA, confirmed and tested too many times to count. I contracted MRSA at age 12. I am now 30 and I have had well over 500 abscesses. I have been treated in the past by a Dr of infectious disease who was baffled that I still had outbreaks because my skin tested negative for colonization. However, every single outbreak I get tests positive for MRSA and is very resistant to nearly everything but Macrobid. Vancomycin has not helped and I am borderline allergic to it as it caused me to have convulsive vomiting. Rocephin, Clindamycin, Keflex, Z-pack… and others do not kill this nasty hanger-on. I am allergic to sulfides. I have had nose treatments with Mupirocin and I use antimicrobial soap everyday from head to toe. I wash my hands so much they crack and bleed. I have also had Polinidal disease which tested MRSA positive. I cannot rid myself of this aggressive disease. The hardest part is that I get lesions mostly on the labia majora. The lymph nodes in the groin swell and the scar tissue and indurated tissue is so bad that the boils no longer come to head themselves. As of 2006 I must be lanced nearly every time or the infection spreads under the skin until there needs to be multiple areas lanced to initiate secondary healing. Years back I was tested vigorously because my blood had an “unidentified white blood cell” they quarantined my home and I went in for them to take my blood. I never heard back from anyone (Michigan, 2003). It is important to note that I do not have a compromised immune system such as HIV or Hepatitis. However, I do have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I am also type 0+.
Now I suffer on a regular basis in many ways. My self-esteem takes an exponential hit. My sex life is effected along with a loss of feeling in the general area of constant infection. My right labia majora used to be the main affected area before I had that area marcupialized in 2004. Now the MRSA mostly targets the left labia majora and the lower part of my thigh and buttocks. However, I have had the infection on my face, neck, legs, back, chest, wrists, abdomen, arm pits…. you name it. I have had as many as 7 lesions at once. I can go months without any sign of infection at all. During those months of reprieve I do not back away from treatment. I have gone back and forth on the constant antimicrobial treatments for the skin to avoid dry skin cracks that are a liability for infection. I fear being too far away from the ER in case I get a really aggressive bout and it gestates in less than 24 hours into something that needs to be addressed immediately. I also have psoriases which also infects. I contracted Herpes in 2006 and though I do not break out often those outbreaks have infected with MRSA about ten times and each time it seems worse.
We are constantly cleaning the shower with bleach. We are constantly cleaning all surfaces. We do not use the same towels or clothes. I don’t even shake hands with strangers anymore because I am so sterile that I am likely to contract something new quite easily. In the ER if I have to be there for only a short while I am likely to stand and I try not to touch anything. I have developed a rather negative stance on public places. I wash my hands before I start shopping. I carry antibacterial gel in my purse. It is to the point that my friends with HIV are less careful than I am. I have never heard of anyone having this bacteria for as long as I have (that were confirmed). The central Mayo clinic probably has a file room just for me… I know they store samples of everything they get so I imagine I have my own directory. You know, file the MRSA under D for Dana…. That’s my story.
Hello, im 19 years old, and i need some kind of advice! my 20 year old boyfriend just went to jail a little over a weak ago. he is a diabetic, who just got mrsa from being inside the jail? im very worried for his health. His mrsa bumb is on his right arm at the tip of his elbow. he claims to have a big hole in it the size of a dime… what should i do to help him?? the only thing the jail is doing is giving him antibiotics but he feels like it is getting worse, he says it hurts so bad he cant move his arm?? is there anything i can do to help him, and should i worry more because of him being diabetic??
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