MRSA

I have had MRSA, confirmed and tested too many times to count. I contracted MRSA at age 12. I am now 30 and I have had well over 500 abscesses. I have been treated in the past by a Dr of infectious disease who was baffled that I still had outbreaks because my skin tested negative for colonization. However, every single outbreak I get tests positive for MRSA and is very resistant to nearly everything but Macrobid. Vancomycin has not helped and I am borderline allergic to it as it caused me to have convulsive vomiting. Rocephin, Clindamycin, Keflex, Z-pack… and others do not kill this nasty hanger-on. I am allergic to sulfides. I have had nose treatments with Mupirocin and I use antimicrobial soap everyday from head to toe. I wash my hands so much they crack and bleed. I have also had Polinidal disease which tested MRSA positive. I cannot rid myself of this aggressive disease. The hardest part is that I get lesions mostly on the labia majora. The lymph nodes in the groin swell and the scar tissue and indurated tissue is so bad that the boils no longer come to head themselves. As of 2006 I must be lanced nearly every time or the infection spreads under the skin until there needs to be multiple areas lanced to initiate secondary healing. Years back I was tested vigorously because my blood had an "unidentified white blood cell" they quarantined my home and I went in for them to take my blood. I never heard back from anyone (Michigan, 2003). It is important to note that I do not have a compromised immune system such as HIV or Hepatitis. However, I do have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I am also type 0+.


Now I suffer on a regular basis in many ways. My self-esteem takes an exponential hit. My sex life is effected along with a loss of feeling in the general area of constant infection. My right labia majora used to be the main affected area before I had that area marcupialized in 2004. Now the MRSA mostly targets the left labia majora and the lower part of my thigh and buttocks. However, I have had the infection on my face, neck, legs, back, chest, wrists, abdomen, arm pits…. you name it. I have had as many as 7 lesions at once. I can go months without any sign of infection at all. During those months of reprieve I do not back away from treatment. I have gone back and forth on the constant antimicrobial treatments for the skin to avoid dry skin cracks that are a liability for infection. I fear being too far away from the ER in case I get a really aggressive bout and it gestates in less than 24 hours into something that needs to be addressed immediately. I have psoriases which also infects.

We are constantly cleaning the shower with bleach. We are constantly cleaning all surfaces. We do not use the same towels or clothes. I don't even shake hands with strangers anymore because I am so sterile that I am likely to contract something new quite easily. In the ER if I have to be there for only a short while I am likely to stand and I try not to touch anything. I have developed a rather negative stance on public places. I wash my hands before I start shopping. I carry antibacterial gel in my purse. It is to the point that my friends with HIV are less careful than I am. I have never heard of anyone having this bacteria for as long as I have (that were confirmed). The central Mayo clinic probably has a file room just for me… I know they store samples of everything they get so I imagine I have my own directory. You know, file the MRSA under D for Dana…. That's my story.