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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

for thinking my 80 odd year old Grandmother should be able to.......

32 replies

Gingermonkey · 26/05/2007 16:54

.....go into hospital and not come home with MRSA?????
Apparently she has it in her nose which is much better than in an open wound but I'm still seething (and am now worried I'll get it, the kids will get it and we'll all end up in hospital or worse). What is it with our NHS FFS??????

OP posts:

elsieanjoanne · 26/05/2007 17:13

you can get it at any time but only really notice if you go hosp or have wound thats not healling! tbh your kids could get it off the bus or in drs surgery! my sis has cf an she has it on her lungs at the moment it is stopping her cough from getting better she asked me if i was going to stop her seeing dd (1soon) i told her instantly no because she taking her meds an dd not unwell! it your choice though but remember you dont know who has it whilst your out of the house etc shopping drs on bus!

misdee · 26/05/2007 17:18

errr most people have it. she may have even gone i nwith it.

SaintGeorge · 26/05/2007 17:18

Was she swabbed before the went in? It is quite possible that she had it already and it was only picked up because of a routine swab on the ward.

tissy · 26/05/2007 17:20

probably did go in with it- they usually swab you as soon as you get through the door, to prevent you passing it on to other more vulnerable people.

Does she live in her own home or in a care home? I only ask, because it is pretty much endemic in care homes.

tissy · 26/05/2007 17:24

for all I know, I've got it! We've had it on our wards a few times, and no-one has swabbed me for ages!

mummytosteven · 26/05/2007 17:26

If you and the kids are fit and healthy, I really wouldn't worry about "catching" it.

Smurfgirl · 26/05/2007 17:52

loads of people have mrsa in their nose - its only an issue in open wounds - if you are fine you will be fine

FlossALump · 26/05/2007 17:54

FFS. Another example of when the meida circus means people completely over-react to something.

ruddynorah · 26/05/2007 17:54

what the others said. lots of people, yes healthy people, carry MRSA in their nose.

misdee · 26/05/2007 18:39

dh gets swabbed for mrsa when in hospital in his nose and groin, sometimes armpits andf also on his open wound.

so far he is fine.

he does have VRE though.

kimi · 26/05/2007 18:54

Oh GM I'm so sorry, hope your gran is ok.
xx

Sixofone · 26/05/2007 19:28

YAB utterly U !!! There's plenty wrong with the NHS, but you surely can't hold it responsible for giving your gran MRSA in her NOSE when something like 30% of people carry it anyway and she probably had it beforehand! It isn't airbourne so someone would have had to have stuck their MRSA laden finger up her nose to give it to her!!

I don't blame you for misunderstanding MRSA tho - I get sooo pissed off with the media circus that hypes things up without giving people all the facts

Take it out on them, not the NHS and its staff! You should see my poor chapped hands, having to wash them up to 26 times on a bad day and THEN slap on alcohol gel even though I always wear gloves to touch a patient! I feel like I'm OC!!

Do you and all your family wash your hands before AND after you visited your gran AND put alcohol gel on? Hmmm? If yes, brilliant, because most visitors don't and then whinge when their rellies get bugs and stuff! Aaargh!

jj131 · 26/05/2007 19:39

does not inspire confidence to hear a health care provider complain about having to wash her hands in between patients in a hospital.

Sixofone · 26/05/2007 19:45

Actually, trying to demonstrate that I take my responsibilities seriously.....

FlossALump · 26/05/2007 19:45

perhaps not inspire confidence but then you probably don't have the hands of a 50 yr old when you are only 26!!! Personally I wash my hands almost constantly at work, to the extent that they are red raw. Which ironically, probably makes them more likely to carry infection (in cracks of skin etc).

misdee · 26/05/2007 19:49

jj131 i DONT work in a hospital but my hands are wreaked from the alochol gel and constant handwashing in hospitals when visiting my husband. It has to be done and constantly see nurses doing their hands but so many visitors go through those double doors and dont use the gel provided on either side of the doors.

vixma · 26/05/2007 19:53

if it is in her nose you should be okay as others have outlined we all can show signs of this, just make sure you take as many precausions to be as clean as possible around her if she has any open wounds (drips etc). Don't be afraid and ask questions about her and her health to medical staff. Keep an eye on her looking more unwell than normal. It is tough handing over responsablity of a loved one to others, however this doesn't mean you have no rights to question the care she is been given....good luck.

vixma · 26/05/2007 19:54

also as misdee suggests....use the alchohol gel everytime you visit.

tortoiseSHELL · 26/05/2007 19:57

Hope she's ok. I've heard that MRSA is one of the most common bugs and people often have it on their hands, in their noses etc. It's only really in hospital when people have open wounds that it becomes a problem.

Original poster

Gingermonkey · 26/05/2007 20:05

So is it not as awful as the hype??? She lives in her own home, alone and was swabbed when she went in and was clear. Apparently one of the other old ladies on the ward had it (and is very poorly, or was when she was moved out into isolation - don't know how she is now because Gran has been discharged). My Gran was moved into isolation too for the last few days of stay. She such a frail old thing and has had an absolute nightmare time lately (Grandad passed away 2 months ago, they were together for 63 yrs so she's very heartbroken). I just want her last few days to be uneventful and now she is panicking about MRSA. I am not a nurse so I know nothing about it (except that the hospital she was in has had a lot of very bad press for it - a baby died from MRSA there not so long ago). Maybe I am overreacting but it just seems to be one thing after another at the minute . Kimi thank you - TBH I hope she pases away herself soon, she is poorly and is so sad it breaks my heart, she has told me she wants to be with my Grandad. Can't blame her, they spent every day together I think I'd feel the same>

OP posts:

FlossALump · 26/05/2007 20:16

have a look at this link www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=252&sectionId=34205

currantbunmum · 26/05/2007 20:21

Staph Aureus (SA) is present on everybody. Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) is a particullar strain that many people carry without knowing it. It is only a problem if you require an operartion or are ill in some other way. You may then develop an MRSA infection that is difficult to treat.

MRSA is a bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics and that is why it is difficult to treat.

Hope this isn't too ott

Original poster

Gingermonkey · 26/05/2007 20:41

Thank you both of you. That does make it clearer. I'm still paranoid about it though. So, can I catch it off her if she's just got it up her nose? I have chronic eczema on my hands and my dermatologist tells me not to go swimming because of infection (my hands would make yours look like the ones on nail adverts, Floss!!! ). (I do tend to ignore my dermatolgist TBH, despite her scare tactics of hospitalisation and drips). And if I did catch it would a course of antibiotics do the trick?

OP posts:

FioFio · 26/05/2007 20:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Gingermonkey · 26/05/2007 20:54

Oh god, I'm going to turn OCD Make my poor feeble hands even worse!!!! I wear bloody gloves permanently as it is to prevent everything in the world touching my scabby skin and making my eczema worse! - the neighbours all think I'm a bit odd. I'll be spraying my Gran with dettol and stepping in a sheep dip when I come out of the house next week after I spend the day with her . I do feel better now, it was my mum that told me (who to be fair to her is having a pretty shitty time after losing her dad and now being a carer for her mum whilst trying to hold down a job and have a life too) and when my mum phoned she was crying about it all, and obviously overreacted somewhat because the way she was talking my Gran was being eaten alive by bacteria and was going to drop down dead any minute. I suppose I just got wound up because my Gran has MS and can't do anything for herself but won't move into a home because she expects my mum to look after her (despite my Mum begging her to go into a home), I live 200 miles away and have my kids and DH to look after so I can't just nip down for a bit every other day like I would if she was closer (I go down and spend the day with my Gran every couple of weeks). All of that is completely by the by of course, I just need a bit of a rant

OP posts:

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