need some advice, i'm a sick girl today

[kibskix]

I think i've got a staph infection Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, technically.
I have a re-occuring infection that looks kind of like a spider bite i guess. it's come and gone in the same spot for ages, i just assumed i had an infected hair follicle and never thought anything of it. The last time it showed up I actually made an appointment w/ a doc but ended up canceling it because it had started to clear up and I couldn't justify spending over 100 bucks (i'm poor if you hadnt noticed) on something that was healing by itself.
well that was a month ago, and its back. this time instead of a little red bump i've got a nickel sized red/blue/purple abscess thats annoying the crap outta me. I probably wouldn't think much of it this time either (what can i say, i wasnt brought up going to the doctor for every little thing) except that since it showed up yesterday or the day before i've felt like i got hit by a truck. lethargic, no energy at all, sore throat, achey muscles, headaches etc etc. I had planned on cleaning house yesterday, and found myself cleaning for 10 minutes, then laying down and resting for 15. I ended up just staying in bed 90% of the day. thats totally uncharacteristic of me, i havent been sick in over 2 years.
i've also had two other symptoms that are bizzare that i can't really account for. 1. my hair is falling out. i'm getting huge blobs of hair out of the shower and every time i try to brush it. thank god I already have a lot of hair or i'd probably be bald lol. I tend to shed since I have lots of long hair, but this is about 4 times more than normal. 2. when I get out of the shower and towel dry off, the skin on my arms and legs just rolls and flakes right off just by touching it. I've tried scrubbing harder, I've tried changing soap, i've tried changing loofah scrubby things, i've tried different water temps... its really weird. if I exfoliate any harder i'll make myself bleed, so wtf is the deal here! Even after i get out of the shower, lotion doesn't work, it just makes the flakey rolly skin stick together as it comes off. I've never had dry skin problems in my entire life, and it doesnt -feel- dry. its almost like making too much skin, or not shedding skin fast enough... i dont know. but its only been doing this for about 2 weeks.

anyway... I have to wait till i get paid to go to the doc. meh. i hate the doctor. so probably early next week. But if anyones got any "oh yeah I've had that before" stories that'd make me feel better while I just lay around and wait.

[not2late]

I hope you're feeling better now, kib! Just take it easy and relax. Drink some soup/broth and stay well.

[Gottabringmeback]

For the infection (sounds like a boil) the easiest thing is clean it with rubbing alchool often and keep a few pieces of raw onion on there. It'll drain and heal. Just use neosporin and aloe after so you don't scar. About the skin, I am not sure what the cause is, but exfoliating it more in not going to help. Try a less harsh soap and keep it don't towel off, rather put on cocoa butter. Keep it well moisturied at all times. Seeing a doctor would be best. As far as the hair, I have long hair too and have the same issue but mine is because of PCOS.

[MrsChesterDogg]

If you have MRSA you DEFINITELY need to see your doc. That is some nasty stuff and yes it can stay in the body inactive for long periods of time. Ya need some antibiotics my friend! Former medical professional here...;o)

[ziggy]

have you changed anything in your diet recently?

make sure your eating foods that have vitamin C like broccoli

and your dry skin is maybe caused by overdoseing on Vitamin A
Extremely high doses (>9000 mg) can cause dry, scaly skin, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, bone and joint pains and headaches

the only ways i think to get that high of Vitamin A are with cod liver oil or vitamins so check what you have been takeing

[planetclaire]

I second Mrs.ChesterDogg, if you think its MRSA get to your doctor asap! A friend of mine had it and it spread very quickly to all over her face and neck, she spent a night in the hospital.

[carlae]

Kibs, my daughter has the same problem as you She's has these boils pop up on different parts of her body. They don't go away until they finally pop. A lot of infection comes out of them. She's afraid to go to the doctor, so if you do go, please let me know what he says. She's had these for years.

As far as your hair coming out, some people on Atkins has reported the same thing.
Hopefully, it will stop! Sorry I couldn't be more help!!

carlae
SW/206
CW/170
GW/145
Restarted Atkins 01/01/09
Female/53 yrs/5'4"

[imagood1]

my husband's family all have boils and we deal with them from time to time. We went to an infectious disease doctor but they could never get a good enough sample for a diagnosis of what type of antibiotic he should be on. The problem with being on an antibiotic for long periods of time is they stop working and if you get another infection you have to have a stronger antibiotic which doesn't work as well. You also run the chance of re-occuring yeast infections from taking antibiotics for long periods of time.

When he has an eruption we start putting alcohol on it but if it doesn't go away we wait until it is ready to "pop" - drain the infection out of it, clean it with alcohol and apply neosporin and a bandaid. His usually come between his legs or under his arms. He has had some on his back but normally they like warm areas. His mother and sister had them underneath their breasts, underarms & between their legs.

We have never gotten a good enough answer as to what causes them, how to keep from getting them or exactly how to treat them once he has them. After 16 months of going to the specialist we grew tired of not getting any answers and stopped going.

[lowell]

Not sure why you think it's MRSA, but if it is, you definitely need to get to the Doc. Every once in a while I get a red bump like what you've described on my hip along my waistline where my pants fit. It hurts, and it's annoying as **** but it goes away after a few days and that's it till it comes back later. I've always figured it was just a reaction to my tight pants. What ever the situation, don't be afraid to ask your doctor if he has any samples of whatever medication he puts you on. They get loads of that stuff FREE from the drug companies and will give it to you free if you ask and they have it. I had pneumonia three weeks ago and my doc handed me 7 days of Avelox 400mg. Saved a TON of cash!! Anyway, get checked out and get healthy!!

[boonie stomper]

Definitely get someone to check it out - you might find out if there's an "ask a nurse" type number you can call for a free screening

Nurse Hotlines - Insurance