I am interested in what if anything you learned about "VRE" When I was in, they moved me to another room because it was found that the guy next to me was "colonized" with it. I was more than a little upset but, since I was in during a weekend, they didnt find out till monday when the labs came back...My surgeon also told me when he came in thats its nothing to worry about and that the odds were That I was also colonized due to the hospitalizations and constant anti-biotics I was on...He siad it really wouldent do anything and that even if you do have it , it usually goes away after a few months out of the hospital..He basically told me to eat yogurt and relax!
He also told me if you swabed half the staff at that or any hospital, they would also be colonized with all that stuff but that in healthy people it causes no harm?? It has been in the back of my mind, what have you learned since you do have it? I assume your clonized right? and what did thay tell you to do?
I never metioned it here becaue I trust my doctor is right and its no big deal but, it freaked me out!
Thanks
Last edited by billfisher01; 02-15-2008 at 03:01 PM.
I was told by my doctor that VRE is a bacteria that lives in your intestines. It is harmless unless it is released into the body. In my case, I had an abscess that ruptured into my abdomen which released the VRE. They drained the abscess and tested the (icky looking) fluid. Since I was drained on a Friday, the results didn't come back until Monday morning when I was notified and an infectious disease specialist came by to see me. They put me on a special antibiotic (something that started with a "V") and I took that for 2 weeks. I was told that the only reason I did not become extremely sick was because the abscess was drained, lessening the chances of the bacteria spreading. See, I was hospitalized for 4 days with an attack, had a CT scan which showed the abscess but I was told it was not that bad and sent home. The next morning the abscess ruptured and I had to go back to the hospital. That rupture was the worst pain of my life and I'm including giving birth with no anesthesia. I read up on VRE and learned that every single case reported in the US was contracted in a hospital. I was also told that my son most likely carries it (since I carried him in me) but as long as it is not released out of the intestines he would be fine. So far (thank God) he is healthy and well.
Hope this answers some of your questions! PS: since coming off the antibiotics I have been fine & have had no effects from the VRE.
Acually, It could not be Vancomycin Because, "VRE" Means "Vancomycin Resitant Entrococcus" So they must have used dome other Antibiotic to clear her infection up.
It was some 2 syllable antibiotic that started with a "V". I want to say Vortex but of course that's not it. Really, it's not as scary as it sounds. They found it and treated it and I have been well ever since. As long as I don't have any other leakage from my intestines I will be ok. And it's not like I'm walking around infecting the rest of the world because unless someone gets inside my intestines, or I don't clean my home well enough and I leave something gross on my toilet, no one will catch it from me. At least that's what my surgeon told me. And Bill is right, I was told most health care workers in hospitals are carriers as well, which started this whole mess to begin with. There are all kinds of nasty things you can pick up in a hospital, which is why it's a good idea to go home as soon as it is safe, recovery-wise. PS: Just to be on the safe side, I made my son line our toilet with guards and I sterilized our toilet with bacteria killers for a month after I got home. Can't hurt!!
Most drug resistant bacteria infections are hospital or nursing home related. When I was in for my re-section (and hip replacements for that matter), I watched carefully who and who did not wash their hands before touching me. There were dispensers with bacterial hand cleaner inside each room and most personnel used them when entering and leaving.
My daughter works on a floor in a hospital where 90% of her patients are extremely compromised, very sick, elderly patients....so many with MRSA and C-diff. Most of them are residents of nursing or personal care facilities...where such bacterial infections are rampant. It's a vicious cycle....spreading amongst the residents of such facilities who eventually are hospitalized....eventually infecting others.
Hospitals are NOT where one wants to spend much time! That said, we all have some sort of staph living inside our noses!
Your VRE is unique to you....confined as it were. I wasn't familiar with it at all until I did some reading. I never meant to suggest that you were infecting the rest of the world...LOL! Catching a cold virus maybe....but not that!
However, what is scary are these outbreaks of MRSA in high school football /soccer teams. What seems like a pimple/boil or spider bite turns out to be MRSA infection and these kids are spreading it to one another by sharing towels, etc. It's been all over the news. And, every doctor interviewed about that and hospital acquired infections say the single most important factor to prevent spreading such infections is hand washing!
I am sure there are tons of carriers with thses things, Like you said, its all over the schools etc...MRSA is bad also...The reading I have done said that we all have bacteria that are bad on us, nothing we can do about it In healthy people it does not cause problems but in the very ill or elderly it poses a risk
No offense taken Linda! I was really referring to some of the hospital staff who acted like they couldn't touch me, and those who insisted my son wear the yellow gear, as opposed to those who said it was silly and marched right on in. They all seemed to have good hand washing practices, although there were a couple who did not wear gloves. That was strange, but I always questioned what they were doing because after all, it's my health they are dealing with! I'm also angry that they sent me home with the abscess, telling me that it didn't look that bad (the technician thought it was serious enough to be treated immediately, but some doctor who reviewed the pictures said it wasn't) and it ruptured the very next day. Incredibly painful and dangerous too! My doctor told me I was 2 days away from going into septic shock. I'm all about aggressive medical care and this "wait and see" attitude is what led to the abscess rupture and this giant scar on my abdomen...but it's done now and honestly, I am feeling pretty darn good and relieved to have it over with!
And please kids, stop sharing towels and drinks and whatever else you are sharing. It's too dangerous!
