staph question

[V.]

The GBS thread got me thinking...Last year DH got a couple boils. Then it
was my turn (ugh). At my insistence (!), his Dr. tested DH for staph and he
came back a staph carrier (nasal swab). We both went on antibiotics and
both tested negative afterward. No boils since, but my understanding is
that once you are a carrier, you're likely to be re-colonized (another ugh).
If Group B Strep is a "big deal", wouldn't staph be even worse? Is it
routinely tested for, and if not should I request testing given the history?
Can't find much info on the net about staph carriers and pregnancy. Seems
like staph would be an even bigger reason to avoid C-section, but I'd rather
not get a perineal staph infection either.
Any experiences/info?
Thx,
Amy

[Ericka Kammerer]

V. wrote:

> The GBS thread got me thinking...Last year DH got a couple boils. Then it
> was my turn (ugh). At my insistence (!), his Dr. tested DH for staph and he
> came back a staph carrier (nasal swab). We both went on antibiotics and
> both tested negative afterward. No boils since, but my understanding is
> that once you are a carrier, you're likely to be re-colonized (another ugh).
> If Group B Strep is a "big deal", wouldn't staph be even worse? Is it
> routinely tested for, and if not should I request testing given the history?
> Can't find much info on the net about staph carriers and pregnancy. Seems
> like staph would be an even bigger reason to avoid C-section, but I'd rather
> not get a perineal staph infection either.
> Any experiences/info?

I did some looking, and it appears that the majority of
staph infections in newborns are from hospital acquired infections,
not from maternal-fetal transmission. I did find a few case
studies of maternal-fetal transmission, and they involved active
infection in the mother (fever, etc.). Maybe staph carriers
don't tend to have staph where it would likely be transmitted to
the baby during birth or don't have it in sufficient quantities
to make it likely that the baby would get it? I don't know, but
it doesn't sound like it's a hot button issue from what I could
find. I'd ask about it if I were you, but I'm not sure that it
is necessarily a big deal as long as you don't have fever/
prolonged membrane rupture/etc.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[V.]

"Ericka Kammerer" > wrote in message
...
> V. wrote:
>
>> The GBS thread got me thinking...Last year DH got a couple boils. Then
>> it was my turn (ugh). At my insistence (!), his Dr. tested DH for staph
>> and he came back a staph carrier (nasal swab). We both went on
>> antibiotics and both tested negative afterward. No boils since, but my
>> understanding is that once you are a carrier, you're likely to be
>> re-colonized (another ugh). If Group B Strep is a "big deal", wouldn't
>> staph be even worse? Is it routinely tested for, and if not should I
>> request testing given the history? Can't find much info on the net about
>> staph carriers and pregnancy. Seems like staph would be an even bigger
>> reason to avoid C-section, but I'd rather not get a perineal staph
>> infection either.
>> Any experiences/info?
>
> I did some looking, and it appears that the majority of
> staph infections in newborns are from hospital acquired infections,
> not from maternal-fetal transmission. I did find a few case
> studies of maternal-fetal transmission, and they involved active
> infection in the mother (fever, etc.). Maybe staph carriers
> don't tend to have staph where it would likely be transmitted to
> the baby during birth or don't have it in sufficient quantities
> to make it likely that the baby would get it? I don't know, but
> it doesn't sound like it's a hot button issue from what I could
> find. I'd ask about it if I were you, but I'm not sure that it
> is necessarily a big deal as long as you don't have fever/
> prolonged membrane rupture/etc.
>
> Best wishes,
> Ericka
>

Thanks Ericka! That's pretty much what I found too, it just seemed like
there should be *something* out there about just carriers, although if it's
not a big deal it probably doesn't need to be discussed.
All good then!
Amy