Michael Jackson’s health is one of the most fascinating things to speculate about, because anything could be wrong with him at any given moment. Ever since the fake tip of his nose fell off in public, it’s been a sort of no-holds-barred public frenzy about what’s wrong with him. I mean if your nose can just fall off your face… anything can happen, right?
According to the Sun, Jacko is now suffering from a MRSA-like skin infection which is actually flesh-eating.
MICHAEL JACKSON is suffering from an acute MRSA-type skin infection which threatens to EAT his flesh. The singer has been receiving antibiotics via a drip in a bid to beat the superbug, which sources say has spread throughout his body… The stricken pop legend may have contracted the infection following plastic surgery on his NOSE, it was feared last night.
The 50-year-old Billie Jean singer is said to have a severe “staph” infection, resistant to conventional antibiotics. Experts warned it threatened to develop into a terrifying flesh-eating disorder which could kill off areas of the superstar’s skin and leave him in need of major reconstructive surgery. Jacko has been receiving antibiotics via an IV drip in a bid to beat the condition.
But the skin on his face and hands looked inflamed when he was snapped on his way to a Beverly Hills clinic during another week of intense treatment. A source revealed last night: “Michael Jackson has a severe staph infection that he contracted during work to reconstruct his nose… The disease is an MRSA-style infection because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics, so he has been visiting a clinic to get antibiotics via an IV drip.
“The infection has spread throughout his face and body and is being aggressively treated by doctors… There’s a chance it could turn into a flesh-eating disorder where it begins to kill off his skin so he’s being very carefully monitored.”
[From the Sun]
The Sun consulted with American plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn, who runs the website Celebrity Plastic Surgery. I’ve read his site for years and he’s always struck me as very fair, careful, and kind in his assessments. He definitely doesn’t seem like one of those Hollywood doctors that is just trying to get his own reality show. Dr. Youn agreed it looked like Jackson might be suffering from either a staph infection or MRSA.
US celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn, who has not treated Jacko but has viewed the shocking photos of the star, said: “It is possible that Mr Jackson has a staph infection or MRSA. “This is called a ‘super-infection’ because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics. It does look like his skin is red and inflamed and has become infected.
“Staph infection or MRSA is extremely worrying because it is an aggressive infection that is resistant to most conventional antibiotics… In some worse cases surgeons will have to remove the infected tissue if it dies — leaving the patient needing major reconstructive surgery. It is particularly worrying if it is on the face.”
Dr Youn, who runs The Hills Plastic Surgery and Laser Centre and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said: “Many people in the health-care system can contract this disease via cuts to the skin…But it is possible Mr Jackson contracted it through surgery on his nose. There are occasions where patients contract the infection during plastic surgery procedures.
[From the Sun]
Would someone with MRSA be allowed to just walk around? I realize Jackson doesn’t mingle with the general public like a lot of people do, but he could still easily infect someone. I really, truly hope that he’s just got something that’s MRSA-like. Otherwise he should be in a hospital.
As many health issues as the man seems to have, he’s managed to stick around a lot longer than most tabloid reports would have anticipated. He’s been on some version of death’s door for the better part of the last 25 years. Still, he does appear to be getting sicker and sicker, so it’s not impossible. My sister contracted some kind of exotic, unknown infection in Thailand several years ago and went through many of the things the Sun describes here, and it was tremendously frightening. Luckily she recovered and is completely healthy now, but it’s not something to take lightly. If Jackson really is sick, hopefully he’ll get himself to a hospital and stay put until he’s better.
Here’s Jacko trying to sneak out the back door of a medical building in Beverly Hills on January 14th. Images thanks to Fame.
Probably plenty of Demerol in those IV drips. Who does he think he is kidding?
I was going to make a comment about him being able to be one of his own decayed background zombies in the Broadway version of Thriller if this is true but then I changed my mind.
GROSS
So, if he were to keel over dead from this super-bug, will the children get shipped to the weird ex-wife?
To clear up a few things: MRSA is not a “flesh-eating bacteria.” It is a drug-resistant cousin to the staph bacteria that we all carry in our noses most of the time; it is not particularly contagious with person-to-person contact, and can be treated with clindamycin. My daughter is currently fighting a MRSA infection on her leg, and is recovering quite nicely at home with oral medications. Necrotizing fasciitis, a.k.a. “flesh eating bacteria,” is a completely different beast that attacks the outer covering of the muscles, and can cause the death of surrounding tissue, leading to blood poisoning, organ failure, and death. If Michael Jackson actually had NF, he would be in ICU on IV antibiotics, fighting for his life. The Sun reporter really screwed up on this one.
Yes, that’s the flesh eating disease known as bleach. What a dope.
Anon – you are right. I’m actually a pharmacist who specializes in kinetics, the dosing of certain antibiotics – esp vancomycin. Vancomycin is one of the main drugs used to treat MRSA. MRSA is commomly seen in diabetics, dialysis patients and smokers (smoking ccauses vascular disease and reduced blood flow to extremities – leaving toes esp susceptible). There are some oral drugs – a lot of the older drugs work – Bactrim, doxycycline.
And he may not be in the hospital. MRSA is *everywhere*. We swab noses to see if a person is a carrier. They get on their hands and touch the nose, where it grows.
Patients are often sent home on home health and someone comes to hang the IV.
Nah, he’s just going through another one of his full strength skin stripping bleaching process. He hates his natural skin color, among other issues.
Oh, the next story will be that he’s morphing into a pony. Right after he comes out of his cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.
Michael jackson has vitiligo a skin disease, i have a friend who has it and her skin is just as pale as his.
I am confused. I thought Michael was a skin eating virus.
“Michael Jackson Has a Flesh Eating Skin Infection”
Yeah, and it’s called C R A Z Y …
*Dry heaving and throwing away lunch*
The systemic backlash from his years of surgical addiction?
along with two prev. commentors, i want to affirm that the flesh eating virus is definitely not mrsa! mrsa is an antibiotic resistant strain of staph, or pretty resistant at least and is a lot more hype than hit.
i had it in my arm last year after a necrosing spider bite became infected. i was only in the hospital over night to lance and drain the abscess and to determine what bug it was, and was put on antibiotics.
luckily two courses did it, bactrim didn’t work for me completely but after i took all of it and took very good care of the wound, re-packing it and cleaning it with sodium chloride (it was a huge hole, so gross!)
i was at the point where things were looking up and a final course of rifampin and clindamycin did it for me. i think i was at the docs for like 3 visits total and unable to work for a few weeks, definitely not what i read about mrsa on the net prior to my having it!
from what i have heard, the flesh eating virus is not a virus but a bacteria, often called necrotising fasciitis or more colloquially, gangrene, spreads dangerously fast and is basically a systemic bacterial infection which can lead to a really bad sepsis where a person has internal abscesses, purpura, other vascular damage, pneumonia, heart damage and other nasty things .
it starts in a wound and can begin as a regular staph, strep, or mrsa infection, and it’s common course is to eat away at your muscle while progressing throughout your body into a multisystem infection in as little as 24 hours.
it is also known as being one of the most antibiotic resistant bacterial infections out there, and often the infected area must be amputated to save the patient, unlike staph/mrsa where abscesses can be lanced, infections cut, and as much skin as possible, saved.
the key here is the latter can be halted simply by controlling what one might call the ‘acute’ area, ‘immediate’ area, etc–ie, the vicinity surrounding the focal point of infection. the former, however, cannot in many cases as shock and sepsis have set in.
Due to the rapid fire course of nf, by the time a person reaches a doc, he or she is often critically ill and must be treated as such for shock, organ failure, high fever, heart damage, etc. rather than waiting for test results.
this is why it is smart for doctors these days to take precautions and assume an infection that could go either way will be resistant to most antibiotics, thus making the decision to give newer and stronger antibiotics, or a certain cocktail that may have undesireable side-effects rather than risk life and limb.
thus, if jackson had nf, he probably wouldn’t know for sure until he was stabilized and i’m pretty sure we’d know if mj was on deaths door recently. and no, he certainly wouldn’t be walking around with nf! staph or mrsa? after wound care and coverage, pain meds and antibiotics, happens all the time so why not michael?
i’m sure his doctors were as vigilant as can be with him considering recent talk of him sleeping in a hyperbaric o2 chamber (a known treatment for severe infection) and his perpetually masked face. wonder if the mask has to do with his nose or immune system or both?
anyway, i hope he gets better, it’s gotta suck to have an infected face after all that plastic surgery, eeks!
c’mon ppl give him a break and pray 4 him instead!if he’s sufferin from a disease we shud pray 4 him not have fun of him,plz,think abt his parents and his family!they must be very worried abt him,and plz stop makin fun bcoz it’snot funny rite now!
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