MRSA My Difficult to Treat Infection

arafurapearl from wrote 1 comment

Take care Andy, West Africa wasn't called the "white mans grave" for no reason,
Your infection might heal better in a drier climate.

My son's girlfriend got bilharzia in South East Asia, but it's more common in Africa. She didn't know for over 5 years that she had it, until symptoms showed up, and it has affected her a lo.t

Jill
( from Sydney)..

Andy: Here in Puerto Limon,Costa Rica, the extreme heat-humidity combo causes many of the same probelms you are experiencing. A friend of mine here, who, believe it or not, hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana, (just South of Orland) had boils on his right side last October. He is 59 years old and it was naturally cured by using the Aloe Plant (Sabila), cutting off a piece and swabbing it directly over the inflamed skin. After 2 weeks of this treatment, the boils and irritation were completely gone! You Hoosiers have a tough constitution mentally, but Nature has remedies which the developing countries use every day. Hope this might help. Get better real soon,Andy, and I´ll be looking forward to your good news of complete recovery real soon.

Brotha J from has written 12 comments

Hey Andy! You might want to look into using Manuka Honey from New Zealand. I use it on my cuts for healing and have had amazing results. There are many products out there and I've read a few things on it working on MSRA.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090908-mrsa-staph-manuka-honey.html

Cheers

Phil J from has written 75 comments

Hi Andy. Make sure you are getting enough iodine. Sea Food and salt with iodine. That's why in the US there is iodine in most salt. Just incase you do not have access to sea food often.
Hope you get better.
Phil

Pato from has written 56 comments

I had this before around five or six years ago in China. It is a true nuisance. After going to tons of doctors and getting put on tons of medication to no good end, I stopped everything and just took care of it myself. I just washed with antibacterial soap once or twice daily, took care to wear very clean clothing, and it eventually went into remission.

I think this is one of those traveler infections that all of us will get at one point.

Best wishes,

Wade

are you self-medicating? -- big, big, really big mistake.
readers are recommending anecdotal folk-traditional-herbal-do nothing treatments.
when your infected mitrial heart valve starts growing "vegetation" (blood clots) -- watch out!
you could die waiting for visual symptoms to disappear.
btw, Methycillin is not the newest, strongest antibiotic that's why the bugs are "resistant'.
good luck.

tropicalguide from has written 112 comments

Do hope you are carrying traveler's Health Insurance just in case of a dire emergency. I still remember those foolish late 40s to late 50s people who came to Panajachel in Guatemala in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and began living on the edge, snorting up the snow, within a few months their bodies and mental clarity collapsed and they returned home with tail between legs, selling their VW Vans, TVs and what not for a song down at 'El Chisme'
Since I did not drink or drug, they were suspcious of me and I never got invited to their wild parties, saw many good people die young, their choice.
I am almost 65, thankfully stopped drinking in States before I moved to the tropics, 15 months ago wound up in hospital with pnuemonia and complications from cigarettes, not a puff in 15 months, no one's fault but my own, now gaining weight, feels good. I lived on the edge, took chances, well into my early 50s, not booze or drugs, but driving in Central America, finally too much stress for my then 55 year old body, just finding a parking space was a major feat, got rid the car, one day realized I was driving around uninsured, one bad accident, my fault or not, I would be paying through the nose. local "American" ex pats and well to do local friends think I am very brave to take public buses and walk around. My wise primo hermano (half brother of my cousin) retired then in El Salvador from working 30 years Stateside, advised me to 'minimize my chances' and sell my car, my primo hermano drank, so he took taxis when he went out at night, his Mother hired a driver. As far as my health, I spend part of my pension for health insurance, just in case and purchase generic meds when ever possible. I know how to act 'Macho' in an emergency situation and what and what not to tell strangers, especially young men and especially young men who ask me 'directions' at a city bus stop, You go ahead and tell all the 'truth' 100 of the time, I would suppose in West Africa, when traveling alone, one has no real 'friends' on the bus, in the bus station or the area around it, when I drove and was alone often I would pick up older people, nuns, disabled people at bus stops on road and drop them off at home if possible, rejecting payment, just for a Mitzvah Of course always gave cops and other uniformed officals short rides, now if I ever need help, it will materialize, I believe. Take care and travel at your body's pace and you will have at least 10 to 12 good years traveling if you so desire, some advice, from time to time take up offers from friends, have some fellowship and home cooked meals for a few days, then back to your hotel schtick, everyone requires a short brake in 'routine'.

PS Anyone coming here to Central America who skydives for a hobby? I will join you in a NY second!!!!!!! Still not 'cured'!

Brotha J from has written 12 comments

I just wanted to clarify that recommending Manuka Honey is meant to aide the healing of the open sores.

Are you combining Vitamin C with your antibiotics? For some forms of antibiotics (such as those in the "-cilin" family), Vitamin C renders them ineffective. And you want your antibiotics to be effective, no?

MRSA is easy to treat you could be taking Cipro (an antibiotic). It flourishes in hospitals because of the concentration of ill patients.

As you have been out in the real world, rather than a hospital, but have been taking multi-vitamins (the contents of which are unknown), I think before you decide your staph infection is resistant to methycilin, it is best to make sure that your antibiotic is able to do its job.

Also, per your Skype problem, I happened to be surfing the web today and on a completely different forum ran into this http://www.amazon.com/i2-Telecom-VoiceStick-Portable-Internet/product-reviews/B00080DISS recommended as a solution to costly call forwarding when overseas.

Fantastic Article Andy, thanks for sharing.
Christiana

there is no substitute for youth, nevertheless my money is on you to survive the skin infection.
Maybe you are lonely, where is Cynthia

Gadget from has written 916 comments

This may not be the proper course of action, but this was my procedure and this Staph thing appears to be gone.

1. Cipro for 7 days
2. amoxicillin for 7 days
3. I am now going to Clindamycin for about 7 days.

However, the point of the video was to explain, it is not just medicine, I have sanitized all my gear. I am washing everything in my room down with either alcohol or putting in extremely hot water with chlorine or bleach.

I am only taking multivitamins, not a concentrate of C.

I would not call this a skin infection, it is more of a in-the-blood infection, I have this in my system, and because was becoming malnourished because of not taking vitamins and eating the same food daily, I became weak. The Staph attacked, I kept regetting the staph because my dishes and room had Staph in it.

Cleaning everything in a country that does not have hot water is difficult. I need to boil the hot water in my room.

Note, if you put Chlorine or Bleach into water, then heat it, then place metal items inside, it can remove the coating. I had a couple of spoons looking rather corroded. Plus one run or small towel got bleach marks.

I took my clothes down, had the girl clean them, and hand dry in the sun to dry, I normally dry clothes under a fan, but sun is better for killing bacteria.

Nothing kills better than being in the open sun for a day or two, this is also the way to get rid of Bed Bugs.

has written 11 comments

Andy, there is a whole literature on tea tree oil -- AND on the topical antibiotic mupriocin. A recent medical article supports the use of a 5 tea tree oil body wash. The following blip on the web uses a more potent version for the nasal passages -- where mrsa tends to lie dormant. I found this some time ago and kept it: http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/MRSA.html “Take a small clean glass jar and mix about 2-3ml (think thimble full or less) of KY jelly or equivalent with 1-2 drops of 100 pure Tea tree oil. Cap jar and shake to mix completely. Take a cotton swab (q-tip) and dip it in the solution and apply it to the inside of your nostrils, one clean swab full per nostril (it will sting a bit at first but you'll get used to it fast). Once you have it in both nostrils pinch your nose closed and squish your nose around to spread it out inside your nose. Do this twice a day religiously until 10 days after you are boil free. Then do it 2-3 times per week for a month. This step is super important because MRSA will usually hang on in your nose even after all infection appears gone just to rear its ugly head again when conditions are right. (an antibiotic like mupriocin [Bactroban] would be used by a western doctor worth his salt)”

Do they have sugar-free Listerine mouth wash -- or something similar -- in Ghana that could be used as a body wash? Do they have sugar-free Scope -- or something similar -- in Ghana. The two are different chemically and each might be used on alternate days as a body wash -- with special attention to the nose. Allergic reactions are possible but not common.

Gadget from has written 916 comments

Hmm, Hanging out in my nose, this feels correct.

I am congested, I will do a nasal irrigation thing, and clean the inside of my nose. I have had sinus problems ever since I started to travel, and always carry Sinus medicine to stop the horrible pressure headaches, or change in pressure headaches.

But to use some type of cleaner to kills the Staph inside the nose is a new idea,

I am in the process of boiling my clothing.

Thank Robert

Fonzie from wrote 1 comment

I want prevent myself from staph and it is a good idea of boiling utensils.I am impressed..

Brotha J from has written 12 comments

I use a neti pot here during the winter months because its so dry inside. Since using it, now 5 years off and on, I have avoided Sinus issues. I swear by them, but you can have complications with doing nasal flushes. Don't do them too often. I also put 1/8 tsp non-idized salt into warm water. You might have to do it w few times, but man, when it works...it works. You know your body.

Asiabill from has written 258 comments

The "Be a Man" attitude widely held regarding health is plain dumb and shortsighted. I believe each person has a yin and yang / male / female / aggressive / passive character traits and attitudes and maintaining a healthy harmony between those two infuencin factors is what helps us enjoy life, those people we cross paths with or associate with, the local geography, weather conditions and daily events. My wife and I are both very much in touch with our male and female sides. Just like you recognized your weakness for drinking at a relatively young age and dealt with it so shall you have to deal with your aging body's weaknesses or requirements. For me borderline obesity is making my inner self command me to leave my extremely comfy life and situation here in the Philippines and keep moving and traveling and seek an adventurous life otherwise the shadow of death is will catch up with me sooner than later.

Gadget from has written 916 comments

If people could be be a man, they will come to Africa, instead they have a long list of what they are afraid of.

Health - Water, Malaria, AIDS,

People need to man up and grow up, they think it dangerous here. I think I am 10 time more likely to get murdered in the USA. Although i am t0 times more likely to get ran over by a car here in Africa.

Women can be a man, and I often think women now have more balls than the average American male, and this is annoying.

If you want to get many comments, tell people you are sick. I am deluged with people wanting to fix me, they are worried, and you can feel it in the comments. I thought is was a revelation to realize, my room is dirty with Staph, I never thought about it, I just ignored the dirt in my room. Now, I am having fun coming up with simple ways to disinfect my room for travel tips.

I have a bucket of chlorinated water here, when I am finished with a cup, I rinse the coffee off the cup, trying to clean with laundry soap. Then I drop in a buck with bleach or chlorine. I disinfect the cups the same as I do vegetables like carrots, by leaving them in chlorinated water.

I have a small measuring cup with some chlorine in it, if I am worried about clean, I put my finger in it and clean. Now, I am hypervigilant right now because there is a Staph infection in my body that is system wide.

Keeping one square room clean is more complicated than an apartment where you can have a storage closet full of cleaners. I cannot carry chlorine, bleach, Windex or other products for cleaning, I only carry laundry soap and a bar of soap. Therefore when I enter a new hotel, I am buying a can of insect spray to kill all the insects, and a small bottle of chlorine to kill the bacteria.

I would buy Alcohol, but bloody expensive in Africa.

The long list of worries stops people from being a man and coming to Africa. This is good, I do not like to be around wimps.

An old family remidy I often heard was swiming in the ocen cures stys in the eye. I think it helps with the creeping crud as well. Maybe at a nude beach sunlight and fresh air. Laying out on the rocks down at a quary with pure clear water nude as a jay bird may not have cured my angry skin but it made me feel better and didn't hurt.