Help needed from: Lab technicians, Biologists, Medical Professionals

[LeftyFingerPop]

To mods: I'm not looking for medical advice here. I'm in voice mail hell trying to get a hold of my doc. In the meantime, I am just looking for some term definitions. Thanks.

Wound culture
2+ Staphylococcus species

Gram stain
3+ WBCS
3+ gram positive Cocci
3+ Gram positive bacilli

Can anyone tell me what the heck this means? Thank you.

[LynneSin]

1. Philboy - it was nice knowing you. Sorry to see your time is up

:hide:

Ok, just seriously kidding.

I do know you have an increase of White Blood Cells (WBCS) which are fighting off an infection - which those other 3 are cooties of some sort. Sounds like something got infected but I think an antibiotic could fix that up real nicely

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. They are cultures from 2 abcesses....

that anti-biotics are not touching.

Trying to figure out if it is MRSA.

Cooties....:scared: :rofl:

[LynneSin]

15. Well whatever it is - I hope it clears up quickly

Hoping the best for you

[LeftyFingerPop]

18. Thanks Lynne...

I appreciate your kindness.

[LynneSin]

20. Unless it's cooties - if it's cooties we don't want your type around here

Cooties free since 1979

:woohoo:

[LeftyFingerPop]

21. Hmmmmm....

What happened in 1979? :rofl: :popcorn:

[LynneSin]

22. Three Mile Island - I use to live 12 miles from the place

I figured TMI cleared up all those cooties!

[LeftyFingerPop]

24. Was thinking about you this weekend....

Was down in the Philly area. Saw lots of signs for Delaware. Stayed in Jersey....really nice area actually!

[TZ]

25. You realize that you almost got cooties last month

Had madinmaryland shown up at your party. I know he's just one BIG cootie!:D

[LynneSin]

28. That could have been an epidemic

We would have been sending cooties all thru Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Maryland

:scared:

[dropkickpa]

3. You have an infection

2 Staphylococcus species. There are lots of white blood cells (WBCS). You have lots of both gram positive cocci (the staph) and bacilli (an unidentified bacteria based on what you listed). Gram positive will help the doc decide which antibiotic to go with, as some work best on gram negative, others on gram positive bacteria. Now, if they did a culture AND a sensitivity, they'd be able to tell exactly which antibiotic will work best, as sensitivities test the actual antibiotic on the actual bacteria you have. Sounds like they did a quick smear and culture

[LeftyFingerPop]

4. Thank you....

Are culture results such as these comparable to what is found with the MRSA staph, or is there not enough info?

[SacredCow]

7. If I'm not mistaken,

further testing would be required to speciate the staph and determine if it's of the MRSA type.

Generally speaking, all a gram stain tells you is whether the bacteria falls into one of two types based on the response of the cell wall to the gram staining procedure. It's a start to suggest what antibiotic may work against the bacteria, but it's just a start.

[LeftyFingerPop]

8. Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[SacredCow]

12. Hoping it's not MRSA...

I have a friend who just spent a week in the hospital with MRSA infection. It started as an abcess or boil, and it ended up in his lungs since he was not really taking it seriously (though now he does). Scary stuff.

[LeftyFingerPop]

14. I'm pretty certain it is MRSA....

Without going into details....I have been fighting this shit for so long with no resolution.

Doctor said it "looked like MRSA".

The abscesses are on the left side of my stomach, and now I am essentially losing the use of my left arm, so I fear this infection has traveled to an elbow joint ala' septic arthritis.

I'm fucking scared, and I can't even get a hold of a doc.

What bullshit.

[SacredCow]

16. That sucks....

He ended up going to the ER, where they triaged him and eventually admitted him after 12 hours or so. Once they definitively determined it was MRSA, they hit him with several days worth of IV antibiotics which helped tremendously. He'll still be on orals for some time, though.

My best to you for some resolution to this!

[EstimatedProphet]

26. Speciate the staph?

So further testing will create new staph species?

[TZ]

27. no.

Speciate the bacterium in the lab. This is done ALL the time. Usally by different types of testing of bacterial DNA. It does NOT lead to new species.

[EstimatedProphet]

29. Speciate means creation of new species.

[SacredCow]

30. That's what I meant....

But technically speaking, I did misuse the term. I hear it used that way almost daily, and so it just slipped out.

EstimatedProphet gets 5 points for catching it. :)

[EstimatedProphet]

47. I'm sensitized to it

My Ph.D advisor used to use it in the same way all the time, even though we kept trying to correct her.

[dropkickpa]

11. Not enough info

A full blown culture with definitive species ID can take some time to complete, as they actually isolate and grow each species of the bacteria that you have. The results you have look like the result of a quick gram stain smear (takes less than 2 hours to do) and probably a 24-48 hour culture.

[LeftyFingerPop]

13. Thanks for your good input. I sure do appreciate it....

and I am still in voice mail hell with the doctor.

Oh how I miss the days when you could make a phone call and actually talk to a PERSON.

I had these things lanced at a walk-in, and tried to phone them this morning to have them fax the results to my doc. I was on-hold for 30 minutes, then I gave up and DROVE there to get a copy.

Then they said..."We can't do it right now". I just looked at her and said "Well, I'm not leaving until I know they are faxed and I have a copy in my hands". She just rolled her eyes and did it then.

Excellent customer service!! :banghead: :banghead:

[dropkickpa]

23. Ugh

What a pain. I have a sneaky way to get my doctor's office to dump me off of automated answer and talk to a real person. I work in a building which is on the same phone system as they are, so my calls come in as in-house calls. They get answered mighty quick!

[TZ]

5. Dropkickpa pretty well covered it.

You do have a Staph infection. MRSA--is Methylcillin Resistant Staph Aureus infection.
So technically, it could be MRSA..but as she said.they are trying to figure out what course of treatment is most likely going to work for you.
Edit: be prepared to be put on some powerful antibiotics. Sounds like you are gonna need maybe even an IV.

[LeftyFingerPop]

6. Thank you and....

How are you feeling? :pals:

[TZ]

9. not too bad today

Not so good yesterday..Indigestion was scaring me into thinking it might be something else.
Take care of yourself Philboy..I'm concerned about your results.
Let us know what your doctor says.
:hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

10. You take care of yourself too...

I have been reading your threads.

It sucks being sick.

You get yourself better...we need you around here.

:hug:

[Parche]

17. Pubes Infected

:rofl:

:hi:

:hug:

Get well soon, we need you on this board...

[LeftyFingerPop]

19. I don't have any pubes....

I....errrr....nevermind.

:hi: :hug:

Thanks Parche.

[siligut]

31. Can I offer some ideas on nutrition?

Please, get some vitamin C, 500 mgs if you don’t take a supplement now, and if you do take a supplement now, double that amount.

Also, get some Zinc and some garlic. Take the vitamin C twice a day and the Zinc once, eat the garlic on everything. Garlic comes in capsules if you don't like the taste.

These supplements will help strengthen your immune system. If you can expose any of the open areas to sunlight, do so.

Take care, good luck and let us know how things go, please.

[LeftyFingerPop]

32. Thank you....I will consider your recommendations...

and I will let you know how things go. :)

[TZ]

33. umm "exposing the open areas to sunlight"

is probably not a good idea...If he's indoors, its not gonna make a difference. And the last thing a septic wound (infection) needs is exposure to other potential pathogens.

[SacredCow]

34. Perhaps it's something to ask about....

It wasn't a MRSA staph infection, but some time back I had a boil that refused to go away completely. It was suggested that I expose it to UV rays, so I hit the tanning booth and after a few sessions it was drying up, never to be seen again.

[TZ]

35. Concentrated UV yes,

But not open air sunlight. God knows where he picked up his multiple infections. So much crap floating around these days...But Staph are pretty hardy. Even the non-drug resistant stuff is not likely to go away without antibiotics.

[SacredCow]

37. Oh, I certainly wasn't suggesting UV in lieu of antibiotics....

Just that it MIGHT help. But the dr would be the one to make that call.

[siligut]

38. I agree with you in a way.

I haven’t caught the threads on how you are doing, I will have to look.

I should have been more specific. I don’t know where he lives. However, UV light acts as an antibacterial and pathogens don’t live in the sunlight in still air. Maybe on a windy day, it would be a problem.

Also, MRSA can live for days, sometimes longer on a nonliving surface, so he doesn’t want drainage anywhere but in biohazard bags.

[lost-in-nj]

36. Sorry your going through this

phillboy..... :hug:

I hope you get it taken care of soon..

:hi:


lost

[LeftyFingerPop]

39. Still no call back from the doc...

and I have another abscess that is growing so fast that I swear I can see it get bigger.

What in the world has happened to our health care system?

Guess I will just have to go to the ER later if I don't get a call.

There is no work ethic these days, and there is no caring or customer service.

I'M SO MOTHERFUCKING PISSED OFF THAT I COULD FUCKING THROTTLE SOMEONE RIGHT NOW. I HOPE MY VOICE MAILS ARE NOT INTERRUPTING SOMEONE'S LUNCH HOUR. THAT WOULD BE HORRIBLE. FUCKERS.

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes lost, and I hope you are doing well today. :hug:

[RadiationTherapy]

40. Apply a paste of strong cayenne pepper...

That'll kill the bastards.

half-kidding...

I have no experience with serious wounds or infections, but cayenne always works for my cuts and wounds. Helps them heal really well.

[LeftyFingerPop]

41. Hmmmm....I've actually heard that is good for cuts, but....

I don't dare try it on this. :)

[RadiationTherapy]

42. Well, I have no doubts about the capsaicin...

but you never know about the fiber in the powder...could be superfood for a superbug, ya know?

[Midlodemocrat]

43. You have an infection; it's probably the result of the cut you have.

(However you got it)

the gram stain is going to help the doctor determine which antibiotic to use, more than likely something like Cipro, or another flouroquinolone, based on what you have posted here.

[LeftyFingerPop]

44. No cut, just abscesses forming on previously intact skin....

I've been through Cipro and about 20 others....nothing touches them.

[TZ]

45. Did you hear back from them?

If not I would seriously consider going to the ER.
It may be the place you went is so busy you got lost in the shuffle....

[LeftyFingerPop]

46. 2 pm tomorrow....

Thank you for asking....I will post what she says. :hi: