I have a staph infection!!! From chapped hands!!! Yikes!

[tinker]

Hi all!

I have been diagnosed as having a staph infection on my THUMB! The skin by my thumbnail was cracked from dryness, and stupid me...I didn't wear gloves while dealing with my chickens.

I'm sure I'll be alright....taking tons of antibiotics, using ointment, etc... But be assured I won't go near the girls now without gloves!

Thought I'd pass this warning on.

Happy New Year!

tinker

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I hope it gets better. It doesn't sound to good.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

wow! I'm sorry. I never thought about it much. I know when I process birds my hands get a little messed up.

 

[Imp]

Make sure you take care if it completely.

Hope you heal up soon.

Imp

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

I think its the other way around. Usually the cracks are a sign of infection with yeast/fungus, or a sign of tissue instability related to Vitamin D deficiency. Then, any opportunistic germ can get in too.

You could be having yeasty nails from higher blood sugars which led to cracks, then opportunistic infection can set in. I have to treat a lot of MRSA infections because I'm lucky enough to have a job these days (I am a med-surg RN), and that's the way it usually goes. Since you're a fellow chicken enthusiast, I care about you and I'll encourage you to pay attention to the reason you had cracks in the first place. Chicken dirt is the least of your worries, until you get your skin integrity improved. MRSA is methicillin resistant staph aureus. Its everywhere and can become difficult to treat. Normally, it lives on top of our skin where it belongs. When it gets inside our skin it can cause painful infection.

Either way, you're right, we should be careful around dirty dirty life and wash hands after contacting anything (or anybody) which could be carrying risk. They tell us so in schools, in hospitals and in malls and grocery stores, "Wash Yer Hands

!!"

I wish you luck. If you're on antibiotics which cause diarrhea, here's a website of a funny company which sells probiotic food which can help return you to better recovery from antibiotics:

http://www.bubbies.com/

Its called Bubbies pickles. My, they're tasty. There's no good reason to go through life and its inherent dirty little infections without a little love and humor.

 

[EweSheep]

6chickens in St. Charles :

I think its the other way around. Usually the cracks are a sign of infection with yeast/fungus, or a sign of tissue instability related to Vitamin D deficiency. Then, any opportunistic germ can get in too.

You could be having yeasty nails from higher blood sugars which led to cracks, then opportunistic infection can set in. I have to treat a lot of MRSA infections because I'm lucky enough to have a job these days (I am a med-surg RN), and that's the way it usually goes. Since you're a fellow chicken enthusiast, I care about you and I'll encourage you to pay attention to the reason you had cracks in the first place. Chicken dirt is the least of your worries, until you get your skin integrity improved. MRSA is methicillin resistant staph aureus. Its everywhere and can become difficult to treat. Normally, it lives on top of our skin where it belongs. When it gets inside our skin it can cause painful infection.

Either way, you're right, we should be careful around dirty dirty life and wash hands after contacting anything (or anybody) which could be carrying risk. They tell us so in schools, in hospitals and in malls and grocery stores, "Wash Yer Hands

!!"

I wish you luck. If you're on antibiotics which cause diarrhea, here's a website of a funny company which sells probiotic food which can help return you to better recovery from antibiotics:

http://www.bubbies.com/

Its called Bubbies pickles. My, they're tasty. There's no good reason to go through life and its inherent dirty little infections without a little love and humor.

I agree with that. Yep wash your hands is the best tool to use in order to get the diseases and germs to a minimum.​

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
I agree with that. Yep wash your hands is the best tool to use in order to get the diseases and germs to a minimum.

Yes, unfortunately my husband gets skin cracks every winter, turns out he carries a gene for scleroderma, where the skin can become very hard and it actually cracks, especially if he consumes dairy or has his hands exposed to the cold. He has to treat me like "typhoid mary", being careful not to pick up anything I bring home accidentally from the hospital where I work.

For everybody, living life is a little bit different. It takes all kinds to make a world full of people. Cracked hands can be so many things, its important to figure out what is happening and how to return the skin to healthy. These days, infections are multiple-drug-resistant bacterial infections. They're very hard to treat, so it pays in the long run to protect ourselves with good old fashioned health and immunity.

 

[maizy'smom]

Quote:
I inherited my chronic allergic eczema from my mother. So did both my sisters and one of my three brothers. Dozens of my mother's 100+ cousins have similar issues, as well as psoriasis and other skin conditions. My point is, I am very familiar with the cracked skin and bleeding fingers that are not at all helped by winter's cold and drying tendencies. Peeling an orange can bring tears to my eyes. Once, at choir rehearsal, we were asked not to write on the music in case we had to return it, my immediate concern was how to turn the pages without getting blood on them.
I feel for you in your discomfort. I've been wearing gloves as a general rule any way, ever since wrestling with the hardware cloth during the coop build. I also wear a heavy duty particle mask when ever I clean the coop, since my asthma doesn't like either the DE or the pine shavings. It's quite a fashion statement, I can assure you. My kids are thoroughly embarrassed by it. But at least I can breathe and not add to the bleeding.
Be well.

mm

 

[tinker]

Thanks, everybody...for your kind responses and concern.

6chickens in St Charles: I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on establishing cause of cracking skin. I'm going back to the Doctor Monday for a followup, and will certainly mention your concerns. Thank You!

Tinker