Anyone have problems with staph infections?

I have chronic staph infections on my skin about 5-6 times a year and have had for quite a few years. I am imune compromised and they (docs) blame the infections on that as staph is everywhere. Does anyone here have problems with chronic infections on your skin? I know rashes are common in Lyme, but these are more than that. Just wondering of its Lyme related somehow.  Thanks  D

Yes. I've had a staph infection under the skin of my abdomen and it isn't going away nicely. I don't go to church or out & about much anymore because I catch everything that's going around, too. My immune system is toast from Chronic Lyme and who knows what else. I'm sure Lyme is partly responsible for the poor immune system and subsequent increased susceptibility to infections.

Take care,

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-Razzle

Thanks Razzle. May I ask you what you have used to try and clear it up? This one is just not going away this time. I dont go out either, my big trip of the week is to the grocery store. (: D

My doctor first started me on Bactroban Cream, but that just made the discharge worse, and consequently the abnormal granulation tissue around the feeding tube got a lot worse (the infection is under the skin right next to the stoma through which the feeding tube is, and the infection seems to drain into the stoma - cultures of the drainage are what we've used to track the progress of the infection). So he tried me on IV Cipro for 2 weeks. It helped initially, but now the infection seems to be holding steady and not getting better (i.e., a treatment plateau). He then tried me on Oxacillin, but I had bad side-effects from that (severe nausea), so back to Cipro for 2 weeks. Then yesterday, he wanted me to try Vancomycin and that was a disaster...I had some kind of reaction - a die-off issue, a drug reaction, or some combination (itchy skin, flushing, light-headed feeling, felt like my head was larger than it really is, severe bladder pain, bad leg pain) and the doctor said I was not to take the second dose of Vanco. Back to Cipro for now, and we'll figure out something else to try. I emailed him asking if there could be another bug in with the staph (such as yeast) causing trouble and making it harder to fight off, haven't gotten his response yet.

Since your infection is on the skin surface, you may be able to gain control over it with antibacterial cream such as Bactroban. You might also try iodine or clove oil (strong - may need to dilute with vegetable oil) to see if that helps. Has your doctor done cultures with sensitivity testing to determine which antibiotics may be effective?

I hope this helps - take care,

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-Razzle