MRSA Culture Test Positive

March 5, 2017 1:36 AM

I have been getting abscesses that when swabbed keep coming back positive for MRSA. I'm on round 4 of some heavy-hitting antibiotics and they aren't working. Has anyone successfully de-colonized themselves of this nasty bacteria?

I'm not seeking medical advice, you are not my doctor. That said, since the end of December, I've been getting medium-sized abscesses that have needed to be incised and drained, and followed by a course of antibiotics. Twice now these abscesses have been swabbed, and twice now they have come back positive for MRSA. The antibiotics keep the infections away, but after I'm done taking them, I get an abscess or two, so I'm still colonized with MRSA or it's in my bloodstream. Growing up I got strep throat every winter for like 5 years in a row, which always required antibiotics. I also got a MRSA infection at camp when I was 10, but it was a tiny lesion that went away after one course of antibiotics. So I've taken many courses of antibiotics throughout my lifetime, but not in the past 15 years. I've been fine until now. My partner works closely with a man who had a bad MRSA infection all over his arms, and this man ended up giving this infection to his children. Antibiotics eventually got rid of this co-worker's infection. I'm concerned that my partner probably is a carrier because of this, or has a MRSA infection that is under control and looks like acne. How am I going to de-colonize him if he's constantly being exposed to it at work is what I'm thinking. I feel like everyone he works closely with needs to be scrubbed. Community acquired MRSA is nothing to F around with. I'm concerned for my health. If you have experience with getting rid of it then please let me know, how did you do it?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

You may want to refer to the American infectious disease society guidelines and discuss with your doctor to see whether the proposed decolonisation strategies are right for you.

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posted by chiquitita at 1:48 AM on March 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

Gosh, that sucks. MRSA is like bedbugs, a real pain in the ass to get rid of. It took my family 3 rounds of infection before we seemingly got rid of it, but we haven't had an infection in years.

Each time we did the nose swabs and scrubbed the house. I guess the third time was the charm.

Edit: just talked to the missus, and her recollection was that the doctor told her you really can't get rid of it because it's everywhere. I'm not so pessimistic: something must've happened, because the odds are super low it was just a coincidence that we got it in rapid succession several times and then didn't.
posted by jpe at 6:03 AM on March 5, 2017

just talked to the missus, and her recollection was that the doctor told her you really can't get rid of it because it's everywhere.

Many more people are carriers (most commonly in the nasal passages) than ever show symptoms. You can live your entire life and never show symptoms or spread it to others. But, yeah, it's everywhere.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:17 AM on March 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

So we are all covered in bacteria. This is actually completely norman and healthy most of the time. One of the most common bacteria we all walk around with is staph aureus. Having bacteria such as this all over our skin for example, actually helps protect us from infection. It's in part crowding out unfamiliar bacteria.

As benign as these many bacteria are most of the time, they can cause us problems. When they get into cuts for example, they can harm us. Our bodies may be able to fight them off, but if not, the vulnerable tissue where the bacteria has colonized becomes infected. So we take antibiotics to kill them off when they are inside our blood.

Because of antibiotic use and mis-use, there is a now strain of staph aureus, called methicillin resistant staph aureus, which has become resistant to certain antibiotics. In some communities, MRSA is still relatively rare, in other areas, especially certain large urban areas, it is very common. MRSA has crowded out the plain old non-resistant staph aureus that is so common on most of us.

I'm a nurse who has worked in a county hospital. It is quite likely that I "have MRSA", meaning the normal staph aureus which colonizes my skin and nostrils for example, could easily be the methicillin resistant type. However, I am not infected with MRSA per say. When I get small cuts and so forth they don't get a virulent infection. Importantly, I can't "get rid of" the MRSA I probably have. It lives on my skin and so forth and basically doesn't harm me.

For a complex set of reasons that could include immune compromise, but some of which are not totally understood, some people are more likely than others to become repeatedly colonized by MRSA in a way that causes active infection. That is basically out of our control.

So if you have a history of MRSA infections, it is important for you to keep your cuts very clean. It's also important for you to get your exercise, eat healthy food, avoid stress, and all the stuff that helps people stay healthy. But it's impossible for you to disinfect your partner or anyone else enough to avoid exposing you to this bacteria. In fact you're likely being exposed to it all over the place - at the grocery store and whatnot. You can't actually avoid it. And if you have had it, you still have it - on your skin, in your nostrils, etc, even if you don't have active infections from it.
posted by latkes at 9:46 AM on March 5, 2017 [13 favorites]

When I got cellulitis a few times in one year, my doctor and I began to wonder if there was not some underlying thing out of whack with my health. I was being scrupulous about cleaning and treating any cuts and wounds (including using Polysporin or prescription Mupirocin), but was still getting cellulitis. So, I had a full physical, and began to whittle away at what seemed off, i.e. my Vitamin D levels were low, so I began taking Vitamin D, etc., etc.. But, I was still having the problem (which was not helped I think by my eczema), and then my doctor's Physicians Assistant pointed out that my thyroid levels were a bit low ... though not low enough where you would normally treat it usually (in retrospect I was having some symptoms that could be ascribed to low thyroid). So when my doctor and I talked, I said - how about trying a low dose of synthroid/thyroid medication, since we had tried everything else! Well, that did the trick, and I have not had cellulitis since (with the added bonus of a general improvement in my overall health, and feeling better than I have in years.)

I'm telling this story not to suggest that you try thyroid medication, but to suggest that you take a look at your overall health in detail, and if there is anything that might need improvement then try that, including even basic stuff like eating right, getting enough sleep, vitamins, etc., etc..

Also, I hope you are seeing a dermatologist, not just a GP.
posted by gudrun at 11:48 AM on March 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

I had to put anti-bacterial ointment in my nose twice daily for 2 weeks, but it worked.
for skin, I was pointed at Hibicleanse. which is over the counter and usually what you are told to wash yourself with before surgery. results have been largely positive for follicle irritation, can't speak to MRSA. go see a dermatologist.
posted by evilmonk at 5:39 PM on March 5, 2017

Don't forget aside from preventative measures that if you scrupulously use warm compresses on areas that seem about to turn nasty, you can get them to drain themselves and potentially avoid needing a procedure for I&D. If that's not working, get to an urgent care or ER or wherever to have the I&D done early so that there is no surrounding cellulitis - if there is no surrounding cellulitis then I&D is the only treatment necessary, no oral antibiotics will be required (unless there is something special about your situation/personal immune system that is making people keep prescribing you oral antibiotics every time).
posted by treehorn+bunny at 7:22 PM on March 5, 2017 [3 favorites]