[hurryinhoosier62]

Being an old dog mechanic, I have always resisted using gloves while working. My reasons: I couldn’t “feel” and I could find any that fit correctly ( 3XL glove size…not easy to find!). Nearly two weeks ago I developed pain in my right middle finger; nothing new, I’ve had moderate arthritis in my hands for years. This pain was different; it was in the joint accompanied by swelling. This started on Wednesday two weeks ago. By Friday my finger was double its normal size, so off to immediate care I go. The diagnosis: cellulitis. A prescription of Keflex and off I go, except my finger was getting worse, not better. By Sunday, I couldn’t sleep due to the pain, so off to immediate care I go again. The APNP on duty x-rayed my finger to make sure there were no foreign bodies in my finger, examines the finger and tells me he needs to take a culture sample because he’s certain I have pickup MRSA. He lanced the finger ( which actually felt good because of the swelling) with a little puss but a copious amount of blood comes flying out of the finger. He gives me a shot of Bactim, a sulfa based antibiotic that kills MRSA, a bit of hydrocodone for the pain and orders to see my PCP soon( I had an appointment for the following day). My PCP looked at my finger on Monday. His diagnosis: MRSA. He told me to finish my prescription of bactim; he also set up an appointment with a ortho to examine my finger for joint damage for May 20. At this point, my finger is pretty much back to normal; it still swollen at the tip and the skin looks scalded from the edema, but I have no pain and can use the finger. The lesson I learned? WEAR GLOVES! I found a brand of exam gloves that comes in 2XL ( a bit snug but loosen up enough for me to wear), so gloves WILL be the order of the day in garage. According to my PCP, had I waited a day or two later to go to immediate care the probability is I would have lost that finger due to necrosis.

[Keith Seymore]

So -

What precipitated all this? Had you been in the garage a couple days before the flare up? Anything significant happen while you were in the garage? Was there a foreign body in your finger? How do you get MRSA from a garage environment (rather than a hospital where there is an infected person)?

Thanks,

K

[jhein]

Yep. Gloves are mandatory for me now. When I was younger I never used gloves. Nobody did really. Now whenever I'm doing yard work or mechanical work I always wear gloves. I'm not as tough as I used to be.

[carcrazy]

MRSA is no joke! Gloves are a good idea where feasible.

[jabgolfcars]

Originally Posted by jhein

Yep. Gloves are mandatory for me now. When I was younger I never used gloves. Nobody did really. Now whenever I'm doing yard work or mechanical work I always wear gloves. I'm not as tough as I used to be.

X2. I'm not a tough guy anymore.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

So -

What precipitated all this? Had you been in the garage a couple days before the flare up? Anything significant happen while you were in the garage? Was there a foreign body in your finger? How do you get MRSA from a garage environment (rather than a hospital where there is an infected person)?

Thanks,

K

Keith, that is what’s crazy; nothing I had been doing would have had contact with MRSA contaminated surfaces. I know mice can carry MRSA; I fight mice in the garage constantly. This is the ONLY thing I can think of that COULD have had MRSA involved.

[59safaricat]

Went through this with my 75 year old father almost 2 months ago. Had a minor cut on this thumb from doing yard work. Swells up a few days later and goes to the doctor. They write it off as nothing and give him some antibiotics. Antibiotics do nothing and his thumb swells up like a balloon. I threw him in the car and off to the emergency. They cut out a bunch nasty junk and sew him back up. I threw away all of his gloves that were filled with holes and told him to wear new ones at all times.

Damn Vietnam veterans think they're still 20 and invisible to everything....