Anyone experienced Staph infection?

[Hawkeye-X]

My mom has it, and has to go to the hospital tomorrow for IV.. how long does it usually last..

Short story: My mom has had sinus problems for the past 10-15 years, and finally underwent surgery on Friday. They took a culture of the sinus and found that she has staph, and asked her to come in for an IV with antibiotics...

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Yes.

A staph infection can last for years in a low-grade state. I've had one for years now. It comes and goes.

If she's on IV antibiotics, she will probably be staph-free within a month, though it can take as little as 5 days, or as long as 6 months.

There's a lot more information on it on the "internets"; even the word "staph" put in Google will turn up a lot of good technical articles that can be read by a lay person.

Good luck to your mother!

--p!

[ashling]

2. about 10 years ago I nearly died once

Actually I nearly died more than once, but one of the times it was from a staph infection.

Fortunately I was with a good HMO . . . at least, if you were persistent enough. And my wife is nothing if not persistent.

I came home from work at lunch one day feeling a little run down and achey. I had some lunch, took some ibuprofen and went back to work. I should have stayed home.

I developed a fever and went home to bed. By the time my wife got home I was somewhat delerious w/ a temp. of over 104. She took me to the clinic where the dotor pronounced me the host of a virus and sent me home to get some rest, fluids, etc.

Melodie had to take me back later the next day with the same result. To make a long story less long, Several visits later I needed an i.v. because I was so dehydrated, but by the time they got me ready to poke me, they determined that I had deteriorated so much that they sent me to the hospital in an ambulance.

By the time I got to the hospital, my blood sample showed that my potassium level was 0. They put me on a bsg of potassium and took my blood againin 15 minutes. Potassium level: 0. After another bag of potassium, not much better.

Obviously I got through this crisis, but I was in the hospitaal for 2 weeks, lost 25 lbs. while there, was on i.v. cocktail of antibiotics at home for 6 more weeks, during which time my veins collapsed so that they had to put a
groshan (sp?) into my chest.

When I got well enough to go back to work my employer said he didn't need me any more. Since then I have been unemployed or underemployed.

Staph can be hell.