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Can MRSA Be Contracted By Coughing And Sneezing?

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Posted on Tue, 21 Jun 2016
Question: Hi. I have a cardiology question. I feel dumb asking but i know nothing about medical stuff. I went and visited my grandpa at a long-term care nursing facility on a Friday. I had just been around a couple of little kids that were coughing all over me and had runny noses with green snot. I gave my grandpa a hug and shook his hand before I left. The reason he is in the facility is because he just had his toe cut off due to MRSA I believeā€¦ he was 87 years old. Anyway about two Fridays after I had visited he ended up going into the hospital because he was coughing a lot and felt like he had something stuck in his throat and eventually he started coughing up blood. I guess after a bunch of tests were run it ended up that he had and and aortic aneurysm with dissection I believe? Apparently you could see the aneurysm through his chest it was so big. With a long story short he passed away the next day. I have just been so scared that I got him sick from being around those little kids and hugging him shortly afterwards. I haven't been able to sleep because I'm afraid that I somehow passed something on to him. So I guess my main questions are did I have anything to do with what happened to my grandpa? Did I cause him to cough or get pneumonia which somehow caused this problem? Can coughing too hard cause the aneurysm to break or anything like that? Or was that something that just happened due to his age and condition? Please let me know. I have been just worried sick.
Thank you so much.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (45 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!

I am sorry for the loss of your beloved grandfather!

After carefully passing to your question, I would explain that his clinical situation has probably nothing to do with the fact that you met those children with probably a flue infection.

His situation may have aggravated for any other infection like the MRSA which lead to the cut of his toe.

You should know that people who live in nursing houses, are more prone to infections of skin, respiratory ways and urinary tract like MRSA.

From the other hand the period of time from the moment you meat him to the time he was diagnoses is a long time, which exceeds the incubation time for any flue infection (which is a couple of time since the day of contact with the infectious agent).

Regarding the aortal aneurysm, I would like to explain that these disorders are usually caused by chronic degeneration of the vessels from atherosclerosis.

Yes, an infection, physical activity including coughing, an infection or uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to rupture of the aortic aneurysm leading to a high degree of mortality, but no one can predict that.

Usually bigger the aneurysm dimensions, bigger the risk for rupture.

And, I would like also to remind you his age, which is certainly a risk factor for these complications.

I would advise not to think about this history with gilt, but try to remember him with love and hold him in your heart.

I can assure you that it was not your fault!

Hope you will find this answer helpful!

Kind regards,

Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Ilir Sharka

Cardiologist

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 9541 Questions

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Can MRSA Be Contracted By Coughing And Sneezing?

Brief Answer: I would explain as follows: Detailed Answer: Hello! Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM! I am sorry for the loss of your beloved grandfather! After carefully passing to your question, I would explain that his clinical situation has probably nothing to do with the fact that you met those children with probably a flue infection. His situation may have aggravated for any other infection like the MRSA which lead to the cut of his toe. You should know that people who live in nursing houses, are more prone to infections of skin, respiratory ways and urinary tract like MRSA. From the other hand the period of time from the moment you meat him to the time he was diagnoses is a long time, which exceeds the incubation time for any flue infection (which is a couple of time since the day of contact with the infectious agent). Regarding the aortal aneurysm, I would like to explain that these disorders are usually caused by chronic degeneration of the vessels from atherosclerosis. Yes, an infection, physical activity including coughing, an infection or uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to rupture of the aortic aneurysm leading to a high degree of mortality, but no one can predict that. Usually bigger the aneurysm dimensions, bigger the risk for rupture. And, I would like also to remind you his age, which is certainly a risk factor for these complications. I would advise not to think about this history with gilt, but try to remember him with love and hold him in your heart. I can assure you that it was not your fault! Hope you will find this answer helpful! Kind regards, Dr. Iliri