Wow...thanks guys for your questions and comments. I could see that people had visited over the past months but hadn't heard from anyone until recently. Helps me know I'm not alone! Hopefully we can help each other.
I've had a few questions from people today, so I'm going to post my answers publicly.
1) First of all, someone asked if we use probiotics. Both girls have been using these daily (unless I forget) for over a year now. I'm not sure if it helps with the MRSA, but I know it helps both girls with tummy troubles.
2) Bleach baths, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide? Both girls haven't taken a bath in probably 8 months or so. We have strictly been doing showers. The reason for this is actually at my husbands suggestion. They both have eczema and if they have MRSA on their skin and get in the bathtub, then the MRSA will be floating around and getting into their broken skin. We did do bleach water "spray downs" in the shower before Hibiclens, but found it hard to manage since it was so watery. It was hard to tell if we got them good without getting it in their eyes. I actually had forgotten about the bleach water treatments? I may have to look into that as an alternative to the Hibiclens...I wonder if it would have less of an anti-bacterial effect? I'll have to check into that. Oh, for you guys using HIBICLENS, you can get it from drugstore.com for about 1/2 of what it costs at the drugstores, AND the last order came with a pump top that makes it foamy, so it's much easier to apply and you use much, much less. It comes in a 16 oz bottle for about the same price as an 8oz bottle at the drug store. Thanks Pippi, for the bleach reminder...I will check into that. As far as alcohol goes, we have used this sometimes, but since both girls have eczema...it stings!!! I have been researching hydrogen peroxide. The negative I've heard so far is that it does some damage to cells and keeps it from healing really well...but sometimes we just have to pick the best of the worst...so to speak. We have occasionally used hydrogen peroxide. I'm not sure how it compares to Hibiclens....not sure which is better to use and is least likely to cause resistance? More research to do! Note to self: Research effects of hibiclens, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide.
3) Pictures. Someone asked if I could repost the pictures. I just checked and they are still there. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, it plays them as a slideshow. If it has already scrolled through the pictures, you just click on "View All Images" and it will take you to a page to look at them all. I'm still figuring out these widgets....there probably is a better way. I also will try to remember to take pictures next time. I always think of it after the fact since there's so much to do during a breakout...laundry, showers, medicine, lotions, band-aids, clean-up, etc.
4) For Stingray....I really empathize with you! It is so hard to have a child wake multiple times a night itching and scratching and bleeding. We even taped socks onto her hands and feet trying to keep it under control. She would touch something playing in the park and start itching and turning red. When we go for a walk in the woods they know not to touch anything without asking! We've had to leave places from them touching something and then breaking out in hives! It can be rather frustrating. I will be praying for your family!...Also, She use to turn red around her mouth after eating almost anything.The allergies have been getting better since seeing our alternative doctor guy...I think I wrote about him in past posts. The thing he did that helped the most was treating her for parasites. Yes, I said parasites!!! Apparently this is a common problem that doctors don't even look for, but within a couple days we saw dramatic improvement. I would suggest trying this if you're up for it. I actually have a friend who's 12 year old suddenly started getting patches of eczema. They went to doctor after doctor trying to figure out what was causing it, with no help. I suggested her using the parasite syrup and it went away completely. It's not expensive and could give your 4yo some relief. It did help my 4yo dramatically, but we still have eczema issues. She does sleep through the night most nights now! We are hopeful once we get through the other allergy treatments, she will be even better. It's called Dr. Christophers Parasite syrup. I would give my 4yo 1/2 tsp. morning and night for 3 days, take 2 days off, 3 more days, 2 days off, then 3 more days. The two day breaks are to let any eggs hatch. (I know, YUK!). Of course, check the label for ingredients since your child is super sensitive, but it contains all herbal stuff. Doesn't taste great, but we kept it in the fridge...that helps. You could have her chase it with something she likes to help with the taste? We used a medicine syringe and squirt it down. The thing that helped most at night for itching was lanacane...it has a mild numbing agent it in. Also, calendula oil seems really soothing. And, after trying every moisturizer, butter, cream, etc, we found vaseline the most helpful (and it's cheap)...plus, it didn't have lots of things in there that they could have allergic reactions to. Just a couple suggestions that helped for us!
5) Fresh Air - Someone asked if we think our FreshAir from Ecoquest is working. This machine uses ozone and UV light to kill germs. It has been proven to kill MRSA in lab tests. I think it has helped us by keeping us healthy (cold/flu). I'm not sure how much it helps will MRSA on the skin? We did turn a corner at the beginning of the year, just after getting the machine...not sure how much it has to do with it though. I think it helps with allergies too! I just realized this comment was left a while ago, but never saw it...sorry!
