Grumpy old folks Complaining!

tony romo · #31 10-07-2007, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axe victim

Now this is something that I haven't heard of? Nothing catching I hope?Is it something you got whilst sucking a sweetie ( candy) or from an unclean toothbrush. Please tell us!!

I once heard ( on an american film) someone talking about mono? I never managed to fathom out what it was. Over here you have 'stereo' or ' mono' but its nothing to do with infections. If you can clear up this ..as well as the other 'staph' thing that you have, I'd be most grateful.

this in fact quite serious and fatal at times...

at a local hospital a 43 year old guy was brought in with a staph infection from dental problem that he ignored that spread to blood steam (Sepsis) and died the next day...

i'm sure Simon will be here soon to correct me,but, Sepsis is fatal most of the time...

Not Now John · #32 10-07-2007, 10:33 PM

My cousin died of a staph infection. It is rare today, because it is curable, but only if you seek treatment.

stchrissie · #33 10-08-2007, 04:00 AM

I knew what mono was but Staph? What the hell? Why have I never heard of it? It's clearly some sort of uk goverment conspiracy to let us all die of it.....

fairjess · #34 10-08-2007, 04:50 PM

Educate yourselves! lol
Don't get infected, because I can assure you, it hurts like hell

stchrissie · #35 10-17-2007, 03:34 PM

Ahhh MRSA!
My cousin also had that she was ok though.

Not Now John · #36 10-17-2007, 09:39 PM

Actually, MERSA is like super-staph.

stchrissie · #37 10-18-2007, 02:38 AM

This is what I read.

MRSA is always in the British press, apparently we are all going to die of it and it is all the goverments fault.

Not Now John · #38 10-18-2007, 12:34 PM

But staph has been around for a long time before MRSA, and MRSA is merely a strain of staph that is treatable with unconventional antibiotics. My cousin died of a staph infection in the late 70s, before all this talk of MRSA. Today it is rare, because it is often treated. Well, not that rare apparently because many people go untreated for lack of an understanding of what it can do.

Axe victim · #39 10-18-2007, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Now John

But staph has been around for a long time before MRSA, and MRSA is merely a strain of staph that is treatable with unconventional antibiotics. My cousin died of a staph infection in the late 70s, before all this talk of MRSA. Today it is rare, because it is often treated. Well, not that rare apparently because many people go untreated for lack of an understanding of what it can do.

Unfortunately MRSA is very common in the UK and it has been known to kill folk who have been recuperating in hospital after having an operation. Its at the point now where its not the operation you have to worry about, but the aftercare. Even today there was a big piece on the news about how some hospital down south (England) had the worst (MRSA) record in the UK. They have various theories about how it is being passed on such as doctors and nurses not washing their hands in between seeing various patients, or visitors sitting on beds, or lack of hospital hygiene or nurses not changing out of their uniforms after doing a shift. Here's another one.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/l...re/7049853.stm

Not Now John · #40 10-18-2007, 03:55 PM

Well, yes, hospitals are the breeding grounds of MRSA, but I was merely pointing out that it is treatable. Hospitals are dirty, thats a fact. As much as we like to think they are sanitary, and as much as we like to think that we are doing things to keep them sanitary, the fact is, sick people go in and out of them all the time.

fairjess · #41 10-18-2007, 07:15 PM

Weird reports of MRSA outbreaks in AZ, VA, and NC.

I've heard of incidents around the country at various time, but never more than one at once.

Incidentally, I still have my infection... no fun at all.

Axe victim · #42 10-19-2007, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Now John

Well, yes, hospitals are the breeding grounds of MRSA, but I was merely pointing out that it is treatable. Hospitals are dirty, thats a fact. As much as we like to think they are sanitary, and as much as we like to think that we are doing things to keep them sanitary, the fact is, sick people go in and out of them all the time.

yup,very true, but we hear more about it in the UK compared to the USA. It appears to us that America has a better grip on MRSA and is able to deal with it. Would you say that was true?

Simon · #43 10-19-2007, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony romo

i'm sure Simon will be here soon to correct me,but, Sepsis is fatal most of the time...

Septic shock is a medical emergency (falls under "Distributive Shock" category) - and a very difficult one to treat. Unlike Hypovolemic Shock (most common type - caused by lack/insufficient circulating volume) or Cardiogenic Shock (somewhat less common - failure/defect of pump/heart); Septic Shock (like Endocrine Shock) is difficult to treat because the treatment (killing the bugs causing the infection) takes time to work.

Septic shock is usually caused by bacteria including (but not limited to) - Escherichia coli, Proteus species, Klebsiella pneumoniae, pneumococci, streptococci and certain fungi. These are the most common ones seen. Potentially any bug can cause shock.

Mortality rate for septic shock is roughly 50%. Typical victims/patients include children, the elderly and immunocompramised individuals (patients with AIDS etc.).

Simon · #44 10-19-2007, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axe victim

yup,very true, but we hear more about it in the UK compared to the USA. It appears to us that America has a better grip on MRSA and is able to deal with it. Would you say that was true?

I'm not so sure.

It's gotten to the point that I assume any nursing home patient has MRSA (and 99% of the time, it turns out that way). I don't touch patients without at least my gloves on. I wash my scrubs in a different load separate from my regular clothes - they also have their own hamper. Even my "work" socks are different from regular socks. I routinely douse my stethoscope and work implements in a mix of alcohol and detergents at work - truly vile stuff. I wash my hands roughly once every hour and every time I walk in AND out of a patient room I use alcohol sanitizer.

All this and I don't even work ER/ID (Infectious Disease)....

Stardard treatment for anyone with MRSA over here is a 3-14 week course of IV Vancomycin - and because IV vanco irritates your veins, the treatment is typically admiinstered through the use of a Cental/PICC line (which comes with it's own set of risks and problems). Vancomycin cannot be administered orally - which is actually why Methicillin was developed and it (not vanco) became the drug of choice for fighting resistant bugs. Earlier versions of Vancomycin were also Nephrotoxic (bad for your kidneys) and Ototoxic (bad for your ears/hearing). Still, standard precautions with Vancomycin dosage is monitoring urine ourput and hearing. Regular blood draws are also done to check for level of Vancomycin in the blood to adjust doseage (Vanc. Trough).

Despite these issues, Vancomycin is a good drug. Some resistant bugs are susceptible to Sulbactams/Tazobactams - sulbactam is a molecule that destroys Beta-Lactamase, an enzyme secreted by bugs which destroys antibiotics. Sulbactams/Tazobactams are thus usually combined with antio-biotics (like Ampicillin, Piperacil etc.) and the combination usually works pretty good.

However, we're starting to see strains of VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci) and VISA (Vancomycin Resistant Staph Aureus). I wouldn't be surprised if Vancomycin goes the way of Penicillin in 10 years or so - it's going to be replaced with Carbapenems (e.g. Imipenem) and Oxazolidinones (e.g. Zyvox).

cheers,

Simon · #45 10-19-2007, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stchrissie

MRSA is always in the British press, apparently we are all going to die of it and it is all the goverments fault.

Actually, this is what a physician I know/read has to say about it:

Quote:

Bacteria develop resistance similar to the way that humans develop resistance. Expose yourself to an infection and your body figures out how to protect itself from the infection in the future. Get chicken pox once and you probably aren’t going to get it again. Your body has learned to adapt. Immunizations and flu shots are nothing more than weakened forms of the infections we are trying to prevent.

So how did the superbugs develop? Perhaps an oversimplification, but they developed by being exposed to antibiotics over and over again. The weak bacteria die and the stronger ones multiply. Eventually the stronger ones develop a resistance to the antibiotics. Then, once some bacteria learn how to beat certain antibiotics, they’ll trade their secrets with other bacteria. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

The superbugs kill more people than AIDS. They’ll eat your skin and wither your brain. And guess what, folks - they’re all our fault.

Patients:
Next time you request demand an antibiotic for a “sinus infection” that is nothing more than a congested nose, or for a sore throat because “it always turns into strep,” you, John Q. Public, are causing the development of resistant organisms. Take a sugar pill because it works just as well and costs one hell of a lot less.
Every time that you only take a couple of days of your antibiotic prescription because you’re feeling better, the millions of bugs you haven’t killed off are learning how to beat those antibiotics the next time. At some point, when you really need them, your “miracle cure” antibiotics won’t work any more.

Physicians:
When you prescribe antibiotics for rotten teeth, toothaches without abscesses, bronchitis, coughs, and colds, you’re not doing good, you’re doing harm. A lot of harm. I even have an issue with prescribing antibiotics for ear infections, even though I know I’m in the minority on this one. But before you write me off as an extremist, answer this question for me: How is it that a tooth abscess that swells up the entire side of someone’s face doesn’t cause a fever, but an abscess the size of a pencil eraser behind the eardrum causes a fever to 103 degrees? Sorry for the tangent. I’m in rant mode. But I still would like an answer to that question.

What’s the harm, you ask? Not every patient has an extra $150 to shell out for a course of Levaquin or Augmentin — especially when there is no medical basis for prescribing it. That’s a week’s take-home pay for some people.
Those unnecessary antibiotics also cause side effects. Some of those side effects can be life-threatening. I have seen more than a few cases of Stevens Johnson Syndrome and at least one of them was caused by an unnecessary antibiotic prescription for “sinusitis” that had miraculously been cured the following day with a few doses of Bactrim.

So patients, protect yourselves.

* If your doctor won’t educate you, educate yourselves. Instead of requesting antibiotics, go to WebMD or eMedicine.com and look up your symptoms. Become smarter than your doctor about these diseases if necessary.
* For nasal congestion, most coughs, many sore throats, muscle aches, and the flu, antibiotics will not help you! Ask for antibiotics if you want, but why not send your money to a favorite charity instead of making Big Pharma more wealthy? At least if you send your money to charity, you’ll feel good about yourself.
* And ask your physician when the last time he or she washed his or her hands. Tough crap if they are offended. You’ll be more offended if you get infected with a superbug because they haven’t done so. Hospitals are dirty places.

Physicians, instead of providing inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, take the time to teach your patients.

* Help patients to help themselves. My favorite line to patients requesting unnecessary antibiotics is this: Using antibiotics on virus infections are like using Raid on dandelion infestations. Both drugs kill things, but neither one is able to kill the things we’re trying to get rid of. I’ll help control your symptoms, but you’re body is going to fight this one out on it’s own.
* Oh, and wash your hands once in a while.

Want to know why I’m so passionate about this topic? My daughter nearly died from a strep infection a few years ago. She was in the hospital for 10 days. Fortunately there were some antibiotics that still worked to help cure her. Given her medical problems, I wonder whether we’ll be so lucky if there is a next time.

cheers,

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