Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Question about treatment...


Staphanie asked what Dr. Hudson recommended for people with current infections...I don't really know exactly, but I'll tell you what information I did get.

Dr. Hudson did talk with me about the fact that for a long time, it was thought that MRSA did not enter human cells. They now have seen MRSA enter human cells. The problem then is that most antibiotics DO NOT ENTER HUMAN CELLS. So the infection is only taken care of outside of our cell walls, not inside. I was telling him about the different antibiotics we've been on and I mentioned Bactrim (Septra), Clindamyacin, and Vanqamyacin. Clindamyacin happens to be one that DOES enter human cells. So, if your MRSA responds to Clindamyacin, I would say to go with that one.

Along the same lines, the alternative type Doc we see told us in February, after some research he did, to use Milk Thistle (silmaryin), especially when on antibiotics, because it allows the antibiotic to enter the cell and get at the infection. This didn't really make sense to me at the time, but it did after speaking to Dr. Hudson recently and finding out about antibiotics not entering the human cell. We did this in February with Bactrim and we have only been on antibiotics twice for MRSA since then (once me, once my daughter). That in itself is a miracle! Last year both my girls were on antibiotics, on average, twice a month. So, I tend to think it really helps! If you can't take Clindamyacin for your MRSA, I would suggest trying Milk Thistle with whichever one you are taking.

On a side note, Dr. Hudson hadn't heard of this effect with Milk Thistle, but seemed as if he may look into it. I would love to know what happens in the lab, whether it confirms this or not. He's a busy guy, but maybe?

Also, about Colloidal Silver. It seems it works well, if it can get to the infection or wound. I have used it on a sore throat, hangnail starting to get sore, taken orally when getting sick and it does seem to help dramatically. On wounds..same thing, it helps if it can get "into" the wound. It's hard to really get it into the boil at the infection site.

You have to be careful though about colloidal silver. Lots of products advertise as colloidal, but is really ionic. Here is a website where you can learn more. They even have a chart that tells you which brands are true colloids.

http://silver-colloids.com/index.html

Colgate has Triclosan!!!

I have three tubes of this in my house! I never thought to check my toothpaste! I've tried some of the more natural toothpastes before and nothing really made our teeth feel clean...but we'll have to start another search. Thanks for the info newb!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Dr. Hudson on Charlotte Talks


Apparently the UNCC Biology Department is changing their website and you can no longer access the Charlotte Talks radio shows Dr. Hudson did. I did find them though on the Charlotte Talks website. So here they are for those of you interested. I still don't know why when I insert a link, it doesn't show up, so you'll have to copy and paste.

Talk 1: June 26 , 2008 - Bacterial Resistance

http://www.wfae.org/wfae/18_93_0.cfm?do=detail&id=6645

Talk 2: July 22, 2008 - Health Issues and Germs

http://www.wfae.org/wfae/18_93_0.cfm?do=detail&id=8396

If these don't work in the future, you can go to the Charlotte talks website (www.wfae.org) and look up the archives for the dates above. Hope that helps.

Answer to Hibiclens question

Newb said:

"In your previous post, you said you were getting off Hibiclens:

After talking with Dr. Hudson, we've decided to not use Hibiclens if at all possible. It is an anti-bacterial, so it leaves the strong MRSA to multiply into more.

Now, you're getting back on?

What is considered resistance-prone "antibacterial" anyways? Is Lysol included?

What are cleaners safe to use that bacteria won't develop resistance to? Bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, etc?"

Answer:

Well, I was hoping to not have to use Hibiclens since it is anti-bacterial and still leaves the strong bad bacteria. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. It was getting so bad that we needed some relief, and the two showers a day with Ivory just wasn't getting enough of them off of their skin, I suppose. And, we didn't want to do oral antibiotics. We just went back to no Hibiclens today since they are both looking well now. We only will be using it if absolutely necessary and only on spots instead of their whole body like we were doing.

I'm still researching what is considered anti-bacterial and researching bleach, hydrogen peroxide and alcohol. I have the same questions you have. The radio shows where Dr. Hudson answered questions was helpful. I remember him saying something to the effect that alcohol was better to clean with than some other cleaners because it would never be used "in" the human body, thus not able to cause resistance. I'll keep looking for information on this and post as I find it. Thanks for the question.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Don't double dip!!!


Another thing we thought of months ago after realizing we were doing it...DON'T DOUBLE DIP! If you use moisturizer from a jar and spread it on a leg, then get more from the jar...you could have just infected the jar with MRSA. We use a clean paper towel or latex glove to get moisturizer out each time. (We try to get out enough in one try so we don't keep using more paper towels or gloves.) This way we aren't double dipping and infecting our jar!

Questions answered...People are reading??

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!

Update...

While using the Tumeric, I'm not sure if I'm seeing improvement. I've been giving them both 2 capsules, 3 times a day with 1 capsule of Milk Thistle. It did seem like some spots were healing up and were less swollen, but they were still getting new ones. So it doesn't seem to be doing the best job. We are still continuing, but I decided to contact the microbiologist contact I found and ask his opinion a few days ago. My 8yo had one boil about 2 inches in diameter and my 4 yo had some new ones appearing around her hairline...she would at times have 15 or so, very small pimple-like ones. I was feeling like antibiotics were going to be necessary. It hasn't been this bad since probably February.

I asked him if it's best to use Hibiclens before going to oral antibiotics. His suggestion was to use the Hibiclens first...so we started that two days ago. It's amazing how fast it works. My 4yo's are completely gone, and my 8yo just has the one large one healing up, it's not draining anymore, just red.

So...what to do now. I think we will continue the two baths a day and only use Hibiclens when we see new spots appearing. Instead of washing them head to toe (except face) with Hibiclens...we will only use it on the spots. This way they will keep some good bacteria on their skin to help fight this nasty bug!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

New Procedure...


After talking with Dr. Hudson, we've decided to not use Hibiclens if at all possible. It is an anti-bacterial, so it leaves the strong MRSA to multiply into more. He did suggest two showers a day though, so we've started doing two showers each day. WOW...we go through lots of laundry!

We have seen an increase in some spots on them though. I'm thinking it's partially because they have very little good bacteria left on their skin to help fight of the strong MRSA there. It totally makes sense. I've wondered why we still see spots now and then even after Hibiclens...because the strong germs are still there!

I found a website with overwhelming results for Turmeric (the Indian spice)..so we are trying it. I have to say, it seems to really be helping. It's only been a few days for my 4yo and 1 day for my 8yo and they look to be getting smaller and drying up (although they are really small...like an eraser or smaller) so it's hard to tell for sure. I'll be keeping and eye on it though and let you know how it works. Here is the website with the information on the Turmeric.


http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/MRSA.html

My browser isn't letting me enter it as a link, so you'll have to type it in.

Don't use ANTI-BACTERIAL anything!




I emailed Dr. Hudson, the mircobiologist from UNCC and he ended up calling me. He was very informative and the first person I've talked with that knows all about MRSA. He has been studying this bacteria for years.

One thing he really tries to educate people about is the use of anti-bacterial soaps and cleaners. Basically, when we use these, it kills both good and bad germs, BUT...leaves the strong germs. We all have both living on our bodies and we need the good to keep the bad under control. So, if you have MRSA on your skin and use anti-bacterial soap, you kill the weak MRSA and leave the strong MRSA to multiply and become stronger. The best way to wash is using plain soap! Yes, plain soap! We have been using Ivory. He says he even uses this soap and deals with MRSA everyday in the lab. You want to wash the germs off, not use a killing agent because no matter what you use, the strong one's will be left behind.

So...if you use anti-bacterial soap or cleaners in your house...THROW IT AWAY! It will eventually make the problem worse.