Hi, my son has cf. I take care of my mother n law who has COPD and respiratory failure. She has been going down hill for over a week. She had to be put on a respirator She just had a sputum culture that tested positive for MRSA. I am very concerned for her and now so for my son. Should I be concerned that he has been exposed to this? He has been around her daily for over 2 years. I am not sure how long she has had this, but I would guess awhile. I am new to CF and wondering if he would need to be treated to be safe. Should I call his CF Clinic on Monday and ask or am I being overprotected. I am just concerned because he has alot going on right now. He will be getting a feeding tube and we just found out he has an abnormality on his left kidney that has to be evaluated. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Janelle
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Mrsa
- Thread starter jshet
- Start date
S
sanfloraine
Guest
MRSA can stay on a surface for 7 days so yes your son should be tested ASAP.
I would definitely worry about that! Then again, there's really nothing to do about it if he has already been exposed except to wait and see if it shows up in a culture, so perhaps that's why they are telling you that. Can you take steps to avoid his being exposed to it at this point?
TreasureGoddess
Member
I'd ask for his sputum culture next visit to be tested for mrsa. Some clinics don't treat for mrsa and some are aggressive. It's your call, but if he shows mrsa in his next culture (do sputum and not just throat culture if possible), ask about treatment. Often if he's had a hard time for a while and not felt well, it could be symptoms of the mrsa. We were at a clinici that said "oh we don't treat that, it's no big deal" and my son had a really rough 4 years. When we moved to another clinic they DO treat it and we've not irradicated the mrsa, but are able to get the levels from "many" to "few" and his overall health is so much better when we DO treat with heavy duty antibiotics.
We now are using a mask when he visits. The nurse said to keep his hands clean. I told her it is hard because he has autism and his hands are always in his mouth. I actually called his ped for advice. He is great and will probably call his cf doctor himself(they are good friends). The nurse from the peds. office said he will call me later. Thanks everyone for the advice. Janelle
I would be concerned as well. We spoke with DS' doctor about a relative with MRSA pneumonia. It was a relative by marriage who isn't very close, but my inlaws were talking about checking out their new house. The doctor indicated they should think long and hard about how important the visit was, especially with my FIL's sinus issues, he could end up getting it and passing it on to DS. More one is exposed to it, the greater the chances of culturing it. My inlaws decided it wasn't worth the risk.
I agree I would be concerned. The doctors told us for years not to worry about it after she got it, but yet MRSA always seemed to be the culprit that made her sick and it just never seemed to go away no matter what they through at it. Why is life so complicated? Ugghhh!! I'm very sorry to hear about your mother-in-law and your situation!!
Spoke with cf doc and ped. They said they are not concerned unless he would start to show signs of being sick. So I guess we will wait and see. He is going in for surgery soon so maybe they will do a culture then. I am only concerned because he will be having surgery and I don't want him to get sick with everything going on now.