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?

I have not gotten MRSA, but I am a nursing student who has taken care of MRSA patients. I have not gotten it. You can't be too careful when taking care of sick patients. I worked as a medical writer for a while in my first career. I was really oblivious to diseases then and infection from ill patients. I came in contact with a disease while working as a medical writer that nearly killed me-- I was on life-support, took years to recover and so forth. Guess I need my head examined for going back into the healthcare field. :bugeyes: Anyway, I am acutely aware of infection now. When I worked with the MRSA patients I made sure I was properly garbed. I saw many nurses going into MRSA rooms with their gowns hanging half-off, gloves only half on and so forth. Many were quite careless in dealing with these patients. Not saying you were, but I have witnessed many nurses who just do not seem to take infection serious enough. Also... this next bit may sound extreme, but it has kept me and my family well. If I have worked around a MRSA patient, or any highly infectious patient for that matter, I strip at my front door (we live in the country and no one is around). EVERYTHING comes off and into a big plastic bag. I spray my shoes off with Lysol disinfectant and leave them by the front door. I do not touch anything when I come in the house and my husband turns the shower on for me and I get right in. Also, since it can live on clothing and objects and survive for up to 6 months, I spray the leather seats (where I have sat with my hospital clothes) in my car with the Lysol. When I wash my clothes, I handle them with gloves and use hot water and bleach. This may sound a bit extreme, but I know first hand that getting a serious infection is no fun. I have fully recovered now from that illness I had as a writer, but it took me years to get better. Having had that, I am cautious-- and so far, knock wood, I have been just fine. Anything can happen I know, but if you are careful, you should be Ok. Peace and Happy New year!

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I have not gotten MRSA, but I am a nursing student who has taken care of MRSA patients. I have not gotten it. You can't be too careful when taking care of sick patients. I worked as a medical writer for a while in my first career. I was really oblivious to diseases then and infection from ill patients. I came in contact with a disease while working as a medical writer that nearly killed me-- I was on life-support, took years to recover and so forth. Guess I need my head examined for going back into the healthcare field. :bugeyes: Anyway, I am acutely aware of infection now. When I worked with the MRSA patients I made sure I was properly garbed. I saw many nurses going into MRSA rooms with their gowns hanging half-off, gloves only half on and so forth. Many were quite careless in dealing with these patients. Not saying you were, but I have witnessed many nurses who just do not seem to take infection serious enough. Also... this next bit may sound extreme, but it has kept me and my family well. If I have worked around a MRSA patient, or any highly infectious patient for that matter, I strip at my front door (we live in the country and no one is around). EVERYTHING comes off and into a big plastic bag. I spray my shoes off with Lysol disinfectant and leave them by the front door. I do not touch anything when I come in the house and my husband turns the shower on for me and I get right in. Also, since it can live on clothing and objects and survive for up to 6 months, I spray the leather seats (where I have sat with my hospital clothes) in my car with the Lysol. When I wash my clothes, I handle them with gloves and use hot water and bleach. This may sound a bit extreme, but I know first hand that getting a serious infection is no fun. I have fully recovered now from that illness I had as a writer, but it took me years to get better. Having had that, I am cautious-- and so far, knock wood, I have been just fine. Anything can happen I know, but if you are careful, you should be Ok. Peace and Happy New year!

Have you had your nares swabbed?

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Keep in mind the MRSA being passed around in the hospital is usually different what we are picking up in the community. I'm pretty sure the community is fast becoming full of it. I have two sons who are athletes who have been treated for boils that responded very quickly to bactrim. This was the sign that it was community acquired MRSA without doing a culture. If it had been MRSA that I brought home from the critical care unit I work on I don't think bactrim would have worked. We have decolonized the family with bactriban, hibaclens and bleaching the house.

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Hi. The MRSA patient I worked on had it in a wound on her leg. One of my classmates was assigned a MRSA patient who had it in her NARES, but I was no where near that patient and never cared for her. In-fact, I just had a head cold and saw the doc. He checked my nares and said all looked fine. I did tell him I had been around MRSA patients. The cold cleared up in a week (viral) and I am all better now. Good question though, but no... had not cared for any MRSA patients in which it was in the nares. I was on a Med Surg floor, and we knew for the most part, what the patients had. NOW- had I been working in an ER then yes, no telling WHERE the MRSA may have been. Oh.. come to think of it, yes, I had one MRSA patient who was VERY SICK with MRSA in his lungs and nares, this just came to me... yes. But I observed a procedure on him (along with five other students) and we all had special face masks on. I was probably about 5 feet from him. I was fully protected when I went in. Anyway, nah... doubt it's in the nares. I am feeling fine and a doc. just checked my nose and sinuses out. Have a good night!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I had a bug bite near my elbow this past July, that abcessed and caused a wicked cellulitis to the surrounding area. I went to a convenient care clinic at the first signs of cellulitis and was started on Bactrum at a low dose and failed that treatment.

I saw my NP a few days later and he did an I&D and presumed it was MRSA and doubled the Bactrum and added Zithromax. The new regimine worked and the culture did come back MRSA. At which time he asked me to also use Bactroban on my nares for 7 days.

He allowed me to return to work with a dressing after 48 hours of treatment. It was a nerve wracking experience to watch it spread and get infected and it took a while before it finally disappeared.

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Specializes in AGNP.

I had a case of community acquired MRSA about 3 years ago before I started nursing school. I had the most digusting abcess on my arm. About a year after the intial positive culture my nare swab finally came back negative. Needless to say since I started nursing school in March I have become OCD about washing hands, wearing PPEs, etc.

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Anyway, nah... doubt it's in the nares. I am feeling fine and a doc. just checked my nose and sinuses out. Have a good night!!
Unless he did a swab, you can't say you're not colonized. 'Feeling fine' has nothing to do with it.
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i have worked many times with mrsa pts, one nursing had it in just about everyone with a dressing change. i have always thought that it wsa the person doing dressing changes not using good universal precautions

anyway i probably have it because of exposure but if you test positive after you've had it even if colonized i guess you only treat if sx show up

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we don't culture the nurses but ALL patients are nares cultured upon admission to any unit for MRSA (we have been doing this for the past 6-8 months) and we have been culturing ALL pts going in and out of ICU for both MRSA and VRE ( nasal, pharngeal,rectum,perineum) for the past 10 YEARS

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Hi. The MRSA patient I worked on had it in a wound on her leg. One of my classmates was assigned a MRSA patient who had it in her NARES, but I was no where near that patient and never cared for her. In-fact, I just had a head cold and saw the doc. He checked my nares and said all looked fine. I did tell him I had been around MRSA patients. The cold cleared up in a week (viral) and I am all better now. Good question though, but no... had not cared for any MRSA patients in which it was in the nares. I was on a Med Surg floor, and we knew for the most part, what the patients had. NOW- had I been working in an ER then yes, no telling WHERE the MRSA may have been. Oh.. come to think of it, yes, I had one MRSA patient who was VERY SICK with MRSA in his lungs and nares, this just came to me... yes. But I observed a procedure on him (along with five other students) and we all had special face masks on. I was probably about 5 feet from him. I was fully protected when I went in. Anyway, nah... doubt it's in the nares. I am feeling fine and a doc. just checked my nose and sinuses out. Have a good night!!
I asked because you may be colonized with MRSA and not know it - you would not have any s/sx and looking inside your nose would not reveal MRSA. The only way to be sure you are not colonized is to be swabbed. Also, just because your patient's MRSA isn't in their nose doesn't mean that you can't pick it up. I am truly not trying to pick on you, any one of us can be colonized and not know it.
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Specializes in Neuro ICU, Neuro/Trauma stepdown.

I had two abcesses on my arm. There was not a break in the skin, or anything, just looked like two spider bites. They obviously were not however, because they grew by leaps and bounds. They were tripling in size daily. I got into a doc on a monday after they had grew all weekend...when he walked in the room he stopped and said 'ew, that looks like MRSA.' thanks doc.

I started on atb for MRSA and when the c/s came back it wasn't sensitive, so I did another week. By then I had a whopping yeast infection and that sucked, better than cdiff though, right?

Employee health at work said I was fine to work as long as it was covered, not draining and i was on atb. I had my nares swabbed and it came back fine.

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A few months back, our facility tested EVERY employee that has any contact with patients for MRSA. It's a fairly small facility but still that was around 100-150 employees. Out of those, only 13 were positive. This is a LTACH where the majority of our patients have already tested positive for either MRSA or VRE before they even get to us (extended hospitalizations/long term antibiotics/immunocompromised...you get the picture). I was completely shocked that the number was so low (and that I wasn't one of them).

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