Pseudomonas aeruginosa positive

[SteveOL]

Ok. So I did a deep purge and clean with an Ahh-Some equivalent here in Australia and still had a skin reaction after my first use. I have a contact at a laboratory and had the hot tub water tested professionally for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It was positive.

16 orgs/100mL.

Fabulous.

What am I to do? My wife and kids have no issue in the hot tub but I clearly do and have had since April. I need to get this sorted out.

I also continue to have skin itching without even getting in the hot tub. I’m guessing there’s a chronic skin infection there.

Please help Only had the hot tub for 12 months and had I have known this issue would have cropped up I’d have never bothered.

 

[sande005]

Contact your doctor.

General googling seems to indicate that you have an active skin infection, which will take antibiotics to clear. It may be difficult as that bacteria has been known to exhibit antibiotic resistance. You can pass it easily to other family members, especially via the hot tub. So stay out until medically cleared. Your doctor can advise on other modes of transmission to others that you may want to be aware of. A couple of items I saw noted that adequate chlorine in the hot tub water will kill it. But no specifics on how much, for how long. Some people harbor colonies on their skin with no effects. Others it proceeds to a full blown infection with itching, etc. And can be worse if it spreads internally or to other organs So no real smoking gun as to where you "caught" it.

 

[SteveOL]

Contact your doctor.

General googling seems to indicate that you have an active skin infection, which will take antibiotics to clear. It may be difficult as that bacteria has been known to exhibit antibiotic resistance. You can pass it easily to other family members, especially via the hot tub. So stay out until medically cleared. Your doctor can advise on other modes of transmission to others that you may want to be aware of. A couple of items I saw noted that adequate chlorine in the hot tub water will kill it. But no specifics on how much, for how long. Some people harbor colonies on their skin with no effects. Others it proceeds to a full blown infection with itching, etc. And can be worse if it spreads internally or to other organs So no real smoking gun as to where you "caught" it.

Thanks for that. Yes I’ve been on the old Google machine for months. Doctor first said to use vinegar on the skin. Next doctor said use chlorhexidrine wash. It’s in isolated locations and comes and goes but drives me crazy.

 

[Mdragger88]

I’m no doc but I would ask for oral antibiotics and definitely use the chlorhexidine soap.
Hibicleanse is the name brand here in the us. It remains antibacterial on your skin for hours if used as directed unlike other antibacterial soaps which are simply washed away & their effects are over.
When my husband had staph which presented as boils we all had to use the hibicleanse soap and i had to bleach my showers every day along with changing towels daily and linens every couple days.
It took months for him to get rid of it after getting on the appropriate treatment plan. We also had to swab all our noses with bactroban (antibiotic ointment) daily and he used it topically on affected areas. (Not sure if that’s something that applies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa- large numbers of staph lives in your nose so that’s the reasoning behind the swabbing).
Note* no one else in our household had symptoms but we all had to follow the protocols to reduce the presence of the bacteria in our household. I guess his immune system just wasn’t as resistant as ours.
He had to go to an infectious disease specialist after dealing with his gp for months with no relief. They actually cultured things and found the appropriate medication along with imparting alot of education about infectious disease transmission.
Now, if anyone presents with what appears to be a boil in our household we initiate this protocol immediately. We also use our own pens & don’t touch public magazines lol

About the hot tub…
I would do another purge with slam level fc then refill & maintain slam fc for 48 hours.
You shouldn’t return to the tub until you have completed your course of antibiotics AND you have no symptoms.

Also, have you tested your tap water for the bacteria?

 

[RDspaguy]

Benadryl might help relieve symptoms.