So, how many of you have had MRSA

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I had a sore throat for a couple of weeks and went in to see a doctor to get an antibiotic. Culture came back as MRSA. So how big of a deal is it and do I need to tell the charge or manager? I'm a bit discusted over it as I've supposedly been working in the MRSA "free" rooms but we did have a patient that developed it that I had been working with. Also my wife is pregnant so do I need to be worried?

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
I had a sore throat for a couple of weeks and went in to see a doctor to get an antibiotic. Culture came back as MRSA. So how big of a deal is it and do I need to tell the charge or manager? I'm a bit discusted over it as I've supposedly been working in the MRSA "free" rooms but we did have a patient that developed it that I had been working with. Also my wife is pregnant so do I need to be worried?

Your manager and your wife's OB needs to know ASAP. Not that anything bad is going happen but it's extremely important need to know information that could potentially prevent the spread of MRSA to your loved ones and your precious new baby to be. Best of luck.

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I've not had it yet (that I know of). However, I'm sure I've brought it home to the family. My daughter (who is a nervous picker) has infected several sites on her face and arms with MRSA. Her Doc said I probably brought it home on my clothes. I know several nurses who's kids have gotten MRSA from itching mosquito bites with "dirty" fingers that had been in little noses. :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

I'll bite.

I had MRSA back in Feb 2007. I got it ( im 99% sure) from a private duty patient. I had 2 abscesses excised and was on antibiotics for about a month. It only took a month due to the fact that I was very sensitive to meds. I had : Bactrim (big nono for me), Rocephin IM, Clinda, Levaquin, and ended on Flagyl. Think there was some cipro too.. Throw some lomotil and some phenergan in there and thats all of it.

As said above, I'm really sensitive to meds, and the clinda ruined my stomach and caused a ton of GI issues..

It took me months before I felt normal again, and took one month before I could actually eat real food without being nauseated. ( I keep telling everyone, if you want to loose weight, get MRSA! j/k)

I'd let your infection control nurse know. However, they cant really ask you what you have, so its up to you. I let mine know and I just needed a note saying that it was ok that I work. They wanted it to say that I had MRSA on it, but that was a violation and my drs office refused to do so.

Its not fun, but I'd bet a ton of nurses are carriers for MRSA, they just dont have an active infection.

Make sure you take all your meds and get it treated well - you dont want it to become worse.

-Meghan

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

30+ years practicing without mrsa....in days before gloves were common too.

ca-mrsa information for clinicians

what are the criteria for distinquishing community-associated mrsa (ca-mrsa) from healthcare-associated mrsa (ha-mrsa)?

are mrsa infections a reportable disease?

it should be reported to your infection control department at your facility for guidance, especially as you suspect work related.

strategies for clinical management of mrsa in the community ...

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Specializes in CVICU-ICU.

Not sure the exact statistics but had one infection control MD tell me once that he believes 75 % of nurses would culture + for MRSA if we did nare swabs.

A hospital I worked yet years ago was having a big problem with MRSA infections in the ICU's so they decided to culture the nurses thinking that we were infected therefore that was the reason. They must have thought the same thing about 75% of nurses being + because they tested 1/3 of us per week instead of all at once. The reason was whoever tested + received the 5 day course of bactroban and could not work during the treatment period....if they'd have tested all of us at once and even 50 % had tested + then they'd be out 50% of their nurses for several days.

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Specializes in rehab, long-term care, ortho.

My microbiology professor said that in her classes, there are usually a couple of people each semester who test positive via nasal swab for MRSA. She also said that number appears to be rising.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I got community aquired MRSA, once the boil was excised, I was put on oral bactrim for 30 days. *shudder* Thankfully a repeat culuture was negative.

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

I had MRSA last year, developed an abscess after an intramuscular injection.

Told the nurse in charge who informed infection control. I have to say that the way my HCF treated me was disgusting. I was sent home immediately, put on sick leave and told to come back a week later. So i did, then they tried sending me home again. There was no hospital policy on what to do and i was treated like a leper. They wouldn't tell me what i had to do to be allowed to work so i was put on duties that didn't involve any patient care.

Every week they told me that i was still 'contaminated' (even though they never actually assessed my wound, swabbed it or anything) and so i had to involve the union.

In the end the union made consultant from infection control (who was making all these armchair diagnoses about me) actually assess me. The next day i was back at work.

The one positive thing to come out of all of this is now my HCF has a policy on staff infected with MRSA.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

I was convinced that I had it, due to a hx of some swelling and pus-filled boils occurring from time to time, especially in my chest area....However, am negative with nare swabs, and have discovered that I have an allergy to many detergents which caused some folliculitis and what I thought were boils were actually just some hives and some infected follicles...so as of now, I'm MRSA free...but I'm really careful about it....kinda like the time I caught scabies....

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

We all just got swabbed on our unit at work, from nurses to RTs, to MDs, management, secretaries...EVERYONE... (probably 200 people) If you came back positive, you were sent home with 2 weeks paid time off, antibiotics, bactroban and hibiclens. They did this right before the holidays, so most of us were secretly hoping we were positive :>P Everyone came back negative so far though!

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Specializes in Long Term Care.

I would have thought that at some point, I would have come back positive as I am always the one who is changing the dressings and helping the doc with *icky* I&D's. So far though, I have had one pimple that I thought might have been MRSA contaminated. It just had the *look*. So, I washed it with soap and water then put alcohol on it and allowed it to dry, gloved up, and broke the skin over the pustule. I expressed as much gunk as I could, (there wasn't much) then I washed it with soap and water then alcoholed it, then put an occulsive drssing over it. I changed it every day until the critter was gone.

I was just reading my post, and cringing at the *icky* words I am using to describe my nasty pimple.LOL :roll

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