Can staph or MRSA linger long-term?

[RockSexton]

I've been searching long and hard for about 4-5 years for the answers to my drastic decline in overall wellness.  In November 2005 I was in Seattle on a work trip.  My job at the time was to fly around company helping with the opening of new restaurants for my company.  Around the 4th day I noticed I had some kind of infection in my mouth around the lower back left gum line.  As the days proceeded it got worse.  I had an unbelievably high fever.  My body ached. My arm pits swelled up.  Literally my entire mouth hurt, my gums were sore, and they bled a little bit.  I also had a sore develop on my lip.

I tried to force myself to work thru all of this since I needed the money.  One night I had a really bad bout of diarrhea that came out completely black.  I decided enough was enough and I drove myself to a hospital.  The doctor didn't spend too much time with me.  He pretty much just prescribed me some Penicillan 500V and sent me on my marry way.

The infection seemed to have cleared up within a couple of weeks, but I noticed I was not feeling the same.  I felt fatigued and bloated all the time.  The inside of my nose was always crusting up.  I had a bout of nausea that lasted 5 months in a row.  My whole body was doing funny things and I was experiencing a myriad of symptoms that did not make sense.  It was driving me crazy

As aforementioned, I've spent a long time looking for answers.  Routine panels run by doctors have turned up nothing.  I'm just so frustrated as my quality of life has been crushed.  I've felt like crap literally for 5 years in a row.  I have to ration my energy everyday.  I'm just not the same person and feel unwell all the time.

Recently the nose crust issue has started again.  I noticed what felt like a pimple inside of my nose.  The inside of it also feels so irritated/swollen.  I started doing some reading which led me down the staph-MRSA path.  Is it at all possible that the infection/sickness I experienced in Seattle back in 2005, was actually a staph-MRSA infection that's lingered?  Some of what I've read about both it's surface symptoms and when it breaks barriers and gets into the blood sound so familiar to me.  

[Master4thDegree]

I found this site because I too have the exact same miss you for yours after merson faction and I just can't seem to be well for more than 5-6 weeks a year. Only when I take doxycycline for several weeks will i feel well again.  Two weeks (or less) after stopping I feel like I want to die again.    My answer is to now stay on antibiotics. Any news, did you get away from this ever?

[mkh9]

Master-4thDegree, I agree with the above posters in that you need to get a culture and antibiotic sensitivity tests done on the spot(s) that look like Staph or MRSA to see if it really is MRSA. Yes it can come back. It is usually a boil or a crusty scab like thing. Some people, especially diabetics get this over and over. So the need to test for antibiotic sensitivity is to make sure it is not resistant to the one you are taking. But even so this organism (if it is MRSA) can seed itself. It is hard to get rid of with some people. They can also do molecular tests not just culture to identify it. They sometimes do the nose culture to see if you carry it. But if you have a wound or sore then it is best to check that as well. Just in case Staph of any kind is normally on the skin. So that is not a problem. But when it is resistant and forms sores or other problems that is when one gets problems.  I would see an infectious disease doctor if you find you do have MRSA and you keep getting it back. Some is acquired in the community and some from hospitals. Both are from touching contaminated surfaces, and also clothing, sheets, underwear, towels sinks, handles of doors etc. where you or that person that has it has touched their scab and touch those items and then you toucn those items. So best to wash your hands after being in the public and if you have it disinfect things around the house including the items I mentioned above if you have sores in those areas.
mkh9

[Supersta06]

It’s been 10 years here and being allergic to sulfa is making it tough..prune juice and vit c and D been helping but not sure what to do to get rid of it for good.

[cursed1]

I know for a fact that MRSA is an airborne disease!  That is how I got it.  

[Sara_MHModerator]

While MRSA can potentially be airborne, it is very rare that it is spread this way.  Here's some information.  http://www.mrsainfection.net/is-mrsa-airborne/  

We are closing this discussion.

***  thread closed***

[researchaholic]

Just saw your question and wondering how you are doing?  Some of your symptoms do sound "MRSA possible".  You could have been infected years ago and MRSA tends to colonize in the body- espec. in the nostrils.  The antibiotic you rec'd is usually not helpful in MRSA but maybe your body cleared the inf. anyway.  There is lot of controversy as to if it rlingers in the body or not.  If you have another problem like above- you need to see an Infectious Disease doc. and INSIST that they culture the site because taking antibiotics that aren't useful will only set you up for further resistance.  It is interesting that this seemed to start while you were traveling often because recent studies of aircraft (commercial) have revealed hat MRSA was present in 100% of planes!  I rec. finished 6 weeks of IV antibiotic treatment from MRSA in a bone graft but was first diagnosed with cellulitis because my wbc and other markers for inf.-even body temp. were intially negative- which taught me that without a culture you can not totally rule out MRSA.  I wouldn't let any doc other than an IDD handle this kind of problem.  They would also be able to rule out some other inf., parasite, etc. that could cause your ongoing problems (fatigue).  Emergency rooms only function to stabilize patients so it is unlikely you will get any answers there.  You might check out the MRSA Forum (US an Canada) site- they really helped me all aspects of MRSA.  Good luck...How are you doing now?

[IDbow]

Staphyloccocus aureus tends to produce sub clinical signs and symptoms(you’re not really sick, but you’re not really healthy). The majority of Staph strains tend to be resistant to penicillin.

To determine if you have staph-MRSA(unlikely), you need to do a flem and/or nose mucus culture with an ABG. This will also give you the results as to the correct medication that you need prescribed.