Question I recently battled and enourmous boil diagnosed as M.R.S.A. Had to get it lance and have it rechecked in 2 days. When to get it rechecked. They saw that it wasn't getting any better so they gave me a Levaquin IV. No one ever came and checked on me while the iv dripped into me. HAD they done so they may have notice giant hives across my body and that I was sitting there itching my entire body. I finally yelled for a nurse. She then brough back and epi-pen and stabbed me with it and had to swallow a few benadryl. They gave me a script for Prednison as well. Said to take it and it would continue to help with the allergic reaction I had from the Levaquin. But the Prednisone will also delay the infection and healing process of this giant boil I had to have lance. Is this good advice from a doctor?? I am confused. I don't think he's thinking when he's giving me these drug orders. I get that he wants to completely irradicate the allergic reaction of the levaquin with the prednisone but won't that screw up and progress made by my new friend Boil aka MRSA? Wouldn't that be dangerous to hamper my immune system while still have this MRSA would on my body?????
Answer MRSA has become a real problem in clinics across the US. In the last month I have seen at least 15 patients with MRSA. If a patient come in with a boil then a culture and sensitivity should be done to determine the bacteria involved and which antibiotic is the most effective. With patients that I have seen, Bactrim DS is usually effective.
In some patients they need two drugs as in Rifampin and Bactrim. The reason they gave you prednisone is to stop the drug reaction you had to Levaquin. You are correct in that prednisone does decrease the ability of your immune system to fight infections. However, you should have been given another antibiotic to fight the MRSA. Was a culture done to determine the most effective antibiotic? If you continue to have trouble with MRSA, I would make an appointment with an Infectious Disease Doctor as they treat serious infections all of the time.
