Staph Infections - FYI

Susposedly hospitals do not have to report these infections.
Right now their the #1 killer in the US even above Aids, and other illnesses.
If you go to a gym or get an infection after seeing a doctor or being in the hospital, better have it checked out soon.
Staph infections do not respond well to most regularly used antibiotics.

[imported_elp6n]

Having lots of experience in this field I think I'll preach on it a little bit.

I can vouch for the difficulty in dealing with staph infections.

Staph bacteria can live harmlessly in the body (intestinal tract) but when they (or other varieties of staph) 'get loose' major problems occur.

The sickest I have ever been in my life was when I had a respiratory staph inspection, and throat infections of staph are a close second. (One of the strangest side effects of the respiratory infection was that I lost the ability to taste for about 2 months...)

For that first infection I may have waited a little to long to see the Dr. The end result was nose bleeds, more than a week of semi-consciousness, and lots of pain.

One thing I have learned (the hard way):
When you go to the Dr. for what you think is a sore throat or strept throat, insist on having a culture done. Many Drs. will look at the throat and see what is 'clearly' a strept infection and not do a culture.
The weaker medicines used to treat strept can't touch staph.

From what i heard today on the news.
The CDC is probably gonna make a major upgrade to reporting this information.
As you stated, many don't do the testing to see if strep or staph or how bad.
Well now it has become a major problem.
One college football player two years ago, had to have his leg amputated to his knee, to stop the spred of the staph infection he got, he got the infection, while working out in a weight room.
He got a scratch on his leg and the person before him on the machine had a staph infection.
It infected his leg and before doctors could get it under control, it meant removing his leg to above the knee joint.
Be careful folks. This is serious.
And as i said.
Has been just one of those things that has not been reportable, because no one took it serious, until many begin questioning the number of cases.

My 2 cents- my sinuses suck. Had'em scoped several years ago , after trying about 3 months worth of meds, and constantly having sinus pressure and pain for years. Thursday morning they were cut, as much as could be safely removed, tissue and bone. Friday I felt like watching Appy and Sullivan North play at North. Tuesday I had the same feeling and pressure again, so i called the doc. Went back and he said "I'm sure you are OK, but to make you feel better, I'll look." Temp 101 and after a scrape a staff infection- I didn't ask, I didn't want to know- but I had to wounder if I had been carry this thing around forever and never getting completely over it because it was never properly ID'ed.

whats a staph infection

[imported_elp6n]

Understanding Staph


Actually, many people have staph bacteria "colonized" -- living naturally -- in their bodies yet don't feel any ill effects from it, according to the CDC. But if these people get cut or get a cold, -- anything that shakes up their immunity -- a staph infection can set in.


Others who do not carry staph bacteria can also get infected if exposed to it. These infections may be caused by antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria.


Many of these antibiotic-resistant staph infections can cause deep skin infections and create an abscess that needs to be surgically drained. When staph bacteria are determined to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, doctors have to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe -- some are given intravenously, while others are very expensive.


The antibiotic vancomycin is very good in treating methicillin-resistant staph infections. "But we're very worried that if we use it a lot, we'll start seeing resistance to it," says researcher Gloria P. Heresi, MD, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, in the news release.

Understanding Staph


Actually, many people have staph bacteria "colonized" -- living naturally -- in their bodies yet don't feel any ill effects from it, according to the CDC. But if these people get cut or get a cold, -- anything that shakes up their immunity -- a staph infection can set in.


Others who do not carry staph bacteria can also get infected if exposed to it. These infections may be caused by antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria.


Many of these antibiotic-resistant staph infections can cause deep skin infections and create an abscess that needs to be surgically drained. When staph bacteria are determined to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, doctors have to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe -- some are given intravenously, while others are very expensive.


The antibiotic vancomycin is very good in treating methicillin-resistant staph infections. "But we're very worried that if we use it a lot, we'll start seeing resistance to it," says researcher Gloria P. Heresi, MD, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, in the news release.

Understanding Staph


Actually, many people have staph bacteria "colonized" -- living naturally -- in their bodies yet don't feel any ill effects from it, according to the CDC. But if these people get cut or get a cold, -- anything that shakes up their immunity -- a staph infection can set in.


Others who do not carry staph bacteria can also get infected if exposed to it. These infections may be caused by antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria.


Many of these antibiotic-resistant staph infections can cause deep skin infections and create an abscess that needs to be surgically drained. When staph bacteria are determined to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, doctors have to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe -- some are given intravenously, while others are very expensive.


The antibiotic vancomycin is very good in treating methicillin-resistant staph infections. "But we're very worried that if we use it a lot, we'll start seeing resistance to it," says researcher Gloria P. Heresi, MD, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, in the news release.

Understanding Staph


Actually, many people have staph bacteria "colonized" -- living naturally -- in their bodies yet don't feel any ill effects from it, according to the CDC. But if these people get cut or get a cold, -- anything that shakes up their immunity -- a staph infection can set in.


Others who do not carry staph bacteria can also get infected if exposed to it. These infections may be caused by antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria.


Many of these antibiotic-resistant staph infections can cause deep skin infections and create an abscess that needs to be surgically drained. When staph bacteria are determined to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, doctors have to decide which other antibiotic to prescribe -- some are given intravenously, while others are very expensive.


The antibiotic vancomycin is very good in treating methicillin-resistant staph infections. "But we're very worried that if we use it a lot, we'll start seeing resistance to it," says researcher Gloria P. Heresi, MD, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, in the news release.

Methicillin-Resistant Infections


Cohen's study of 1,637 staph infections showed that 21% were resistant to the antibiotic methicillin. Of 176 resistant bacteria studied, 59% were acquired in the community and 42% were hospital-acquired.


About one in five patients with community-acquired resistant infections did not have diabetes or use intravenous drugs, which heightens risk for antibiotic-resistant infections.


"In the next few years, the routine antibiotics used to treat staph infection in healthy folks likely will not work anymore," says Cohen. "We may need to use more expensive drugs, or those with more side effects."


More Methicillin Resistance


In Houston's hospitals, 60 children were treated for community-acquired staph infections. Of those, 45% turned out to have methicillin-resistant infections.


Another not-yet-completed study shows that, in upcoming years, nearly 70% of staph infections will be resistant to methicillin, says Heresi. "It seems as though the bacteria are more virulent," she says.


One child developed a serious hip infection and, as a result, developed a blood clot in the leg that could have been fatal.


Penicillin, Erythromycin, Cotrimoxazole Resistance


One group of researchers tested three antibiotics -- penicillin, erythromycin, and cotrimoxazole -- for resistance to S. pneumoniae, a bacterium that causes pneumonia, ear infections, and sinusitis.


In 1992, researchers detected virtually no resistance to all three antibiotics. But in 2001, more than one in five (21%) infections were antibiotic-resistant.


Other studies have shown that one in four children had resistance to all three antibiotics.


Resistance to amoxicillin has remained relatively stable at about 9%. However, resistance to some of the newer antibiotics -- like erythromycin -- is higher, about 28% and increasing, reports researcher Robertino M. Mera, a professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.


Experts' advice:


Not every infection requires antibiotics. Many infections are viral and antibiotics will do nothing to eradicate them.
When an antibiotic is prescribed, patients should finish all the medication -- even if they feel better before they have taken all the pills.

The problem of antibiotic resistance has become serious, they say. It's no longer just a concern for the elderly or hospitalized people.