We have been doing wonderful! I am in awe that I can say that because in the midst of it, sometimes it felt like it would never end. It has been 2 1/2 years since the girls were on antibiotics! That's a long time. I can't remember the last time we had MRSA, I think there was one very small boil that went away in a day or two at the end of last summer, but other than that, it's been two years! We found so many things that helped tremendously, much more than the antibiotics and ointments the doctors gave us. Ultimately, I attribute this to God's healing. He gives, and He TAKES AWAY.
The last couple of days I've heard from a few people asking questions, so since it's been a while since I've updated or blogged about MRSA I thought I would blog a "what I would do list" again. I've edited it some since the last time I posted this list.
1) Wash hands frequently with regular soap -- Antibacterial soap will kill the weak germs and leave the strong ones. This leads to more antibiotic resistance! We use alcohol to spray down hard surfaces in the bathroom after showers.
2) Wash all towels and clothes after the first use (even dress up clothes) - it's a lot of laundry but MRSA multiplies very quickly. No sharing towels. I found in some research online that it takes about 30 minutes on high heat to kill the MRSA, so I make sure it's drying for about 30 minutes after the clothes are completely dry. I change sheets once a week. I have at times changed them everyday, but didn't see any difference, so went back to once a week for sanity's sake! The girls have been showering each and every night so they are clean when they go to bed.
3) Keep wounds covered with band-aids or bandages that are sealed on all 4 sides so no pus can escape. We have found Band-Aid brand Ultra Care the best for smaller ones and use gauze and tape for larger ones. We also would make sure the area was not only covered by a band-aid, but also by a layer of clothes for extra measure.
4) We avoid antibiotics if at all possible. Sometimes just draining it is enough. We learned this the hard way. There were many times where the girls were off antibiotics for just a couple days before new spots appeared. Both girls have had candida (too much yeast overgrowth from a lack of good bacteria to keep it under control) from all the antibiotics and that can cause lot of other issues. They were on antibiotics more than 12 times in a year! There are times where antibiotics are necessary. If you really need antibiotics, use Clindamyacin if your MRSA responds to it. The microbiologist I spoke to about MRSA said it's one of the very few antibiotics that enter human cells to get the infection there. I also take Milk Thistle with the antibiotics that helps it enter the cell better (from what my alternative doc tells me). If you can't use Clindamyacin (it is more expensive), take Bactrim or Septra with the milk thistle. It will help it get into the cell and work there.
5) Turmeric really helps with the inflammation and seems to help the pus dry up...one of the best results we've seen. For young children, have them look down when swallowing instead of up. The pills float so looking down makes them go to the back of the throat for when you swallow). When they had any spots I'll give them up to 6 pills twice a day (Hey, in India they use it like we use salt!). You may be able to find this as a liquid or add it to juice or chocolate milk or something if you can't swallow pills.
6) Probiotics - This is basically good bacteria that lives in your gut. Especially important if you are taking antibiotics to help keep up the good bacteria since antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Don't take it at the same time as your antibiotics though because the antibiotics will just kill it. We usually take them right before lunch time. We rotate between Natren and Udo brand and both girls take these everyday.
7) Manuka Honey Ointment. We have been using this on any small spots and it really seems to help. The ointment is only 40% manuka honey, so it's not as sticky as the 100% stuff. If you have a large open wound, go with the 100% manuka honey, but for small spots the 40% seems to work well. We use the ointment found at www.manukahoneyusa.com We found out the hard way, by ordering from another company, that all manuka is NOT the same. Apparently, some companies pass of Tea Tree Oil as Manuka since they are in the same family, but they are different.
8) Manuka oil - This stuff is great! We still use it for many things. It helps with MRSA, bug bites, itchiness, fungal things. It's good stuff!
9) Tea Tree Oil and Colloidal Silver - We use the Manuka oil, but tea tree is helpful as well. Not as much as Manuka, but it's easier to find. Colloidal silver seems to really help, but it seems to need an open wound to get in there and do it's job.
10) Hibiclens. As much as I don't like the fact that this is a type of antibacterial, and I hesitate to include it, we have found it keeps us from having to use oral antibiotics. If we were getting to the point of thinking antibiotics would be necessary, we would spot treat with Hibiclens. We want to leave as much good bacteria on the skin as possible and it works just as well as a whole body Hibiclens rub down. We order this from www.drugstore.com and it comes with a pump top that makes it foamy and is much easier to apply. I would recommend showers instead of baths so you are not sitting in the bacteria, it can be washed off and down the drain in the shower.
In a nutshell:
- Manuka honey, ointment, and oil topically
- Tureric orally
- Keep wounds covered
- Clean clothes and towels daily
