MRSA

[cabot1971]

We are at the end of our rope. My 17 year old daughter has been getting MRSA for about 3 years. We have tried everything we know to do. She is allergic to sulfur drugs so those are not an option for her. She gets abscesses at least once every 1.5 to 2 weeks sometimes more. We were at our local Childrens hospital last night to have a very large one drained. She was on Zyvox during Thanksgiving and we were free of abscesses for 3 weeks. That is the longest she has gone without having one. We have seen an Infectious Disease doctor that doesn't offer us much hope in getting these to go away. I have questioned putting her in the hospital for IV antibiotics but he tells me that is not a cure, it will get rid of the ones she has but doesn't prevent them from coming back. HELP, any information on how to get rid of this nasty bug will be greatly appreciated.

[mkh9]

I don't think Zyvox by itself is enough. The two antibiotics I mentioned together may knock out the resistant strains she may be harboring. Also, have the nose cultured. Glad you have the house/clothes issues covered. It doesn't have to be IV as long as it is the right antibiotic.
mkh9

[cabot1971]

Thank you for your reply. She is 17 years old, so no she doesn't attend day care. :) We have done the things you mentioned to no avail. She is a competitive swimmer so I think it all started maybe in the locker room of the pool. I wash everything she wears even if she has it on for a minute. Bed linens are changed constantly and towels are never used more than once. She is on 600 mg of Zyvox twice a day for the second time. She washes with herbaclins everyday. I am a OCD when it comes to house cleaning, no one else in the house has gotten it. I just want something to get rid of this, I don't know if flushing her system with IV and doing IV antibiotics would help it get out of her system. We are willing to try anything at this point.

[mkh9]

Hi and sorry you have this problem. We are not doctors on here but I am a microbiologist and can try to give you some advice.

I think a couple of things that could be happening are:

1. that she is being reinfected from her surroundings, either at home or school etc.
2. She isn't getting a strong enough set of antibiotics to knock it out.
3. It could be colonizing (inside) her nose and reinfecting her from her nose.

So, you may have already done these things but if not:
1. Wash all towels, sheets, wash rags, clothes in hot soapy water and if you can bleach. Bleach (10%) down surfaces that are not going to be damaged by it.If you can't use bleach use a disinfectant that states it will kill MRSA and won't harm your surfaces. This would include handles such as door handles, faucet handles, pencils, pens anything that she picks up. Also, anything that comes in contact with her skin.  At school, it is hard to control. If you know any other kids with the same problem she may be getting it there especially if it is a daycare. Keep her dry. Places like under the arms, under the buttocks any folds of the skin need to be extra dry.

2. Zyvox or linezolid is a good drug for MRSA (community acquired) but there are new recommendations of using daptomycin plus tigecycline. I don't know if the doctor doesn't want to use both on her because she is young or not. The problem is the bacteria makes "small colony variants that can be resistant" and they are resistant if you don't kill it off. So you might ask about this combination.

3. Get her nose cultured (nares). Sometimes the nose can carry MRSA and she can reinfect herself.

Try your best to clean down any toys and anything because it can get around the house.

Hope this helps.
mkh9

[jockojohnson]

how is her immune system? have you tried any natural health aids .green tea coconut oil and st johns wort are antiviral antbacterial and antifungal.they actually boost the immune system as well .wich may help aid in the fight against it .have your doctors determined wether or not there is an underlying cause .weakened immune function or otherwise .maybe you could try naturopathic dr.maybe some natural medicine paired with traditional medicine and healthy diet to boost immune function.in case you havent tried this already.