My b.f. is at Chuckawalla in Blythe,CA. We just off the phone and he told me that many in his unit have come down with staph infections, to the point where one inmate had a hole in his cheek, and another had a hole in his neck, and there was this one that had a "bump" the size of a chicken egg on the back of his neck. :eek:

The inmates walk around with bottles of some kind of disinfectent to ward off this when they use the bathroom and sinks.

They are not doing anything about this. One medical staff person said it's from all the overcrowding, and somehow this got back to his supervisor and he was brought in front of his supervisor, and recanted.:angry:

Is there anything we can do, on the outside, to help? :help:

Let me hear from the rest of you ladies if your loved ones have complained about this. Apparently, most of those that my b.f. has been in contact with said they just thought it was part of the prison life. IT IS NOT! He was in before, and before the overcrowding, and this just didn't happen.

I really would appreciate hearing from everyone.

Generally. people will only get staph infections if they have a cut in their skin. That's why it's so rampant in hospitals. The biggest culprit for staph infections is unsanitary conditions. The best way to keep from getting most types of infection is to wash your hands before eating, after using the bathroom, etc. Is the situation yucky? Yes. Is it life threatening? Probably not. If your boyfriend is worried about it, tell him about the hand washing thing. The disinfectant probably isn't such a bad idea either.

Come to All Things Avenal...........Look there

you can call the warden him or herself, ombudsman for that prison. good luck ! i know my son said he has seen alot of this where he is at. tell your man to wash his hands like sherriqtgrl said and to keep all his things clean as possible. make sure that the toliet and sink gets cleaned as much as possible. so it doesnt spead.

Tell him to wash everything down with bleach, which is available to most inmates (tables,counters,chairs,bunks,etc.)

I've posted several messages on PTO regarding the influx of Staph infections at Chuckawalla State Prison. My bf told me about a man who has a hole in cheek because of the infection, and another has a hole in his neck, :eek: and still another has a bump on the back of his neck the size of an egg. Someone from the medical staff said it was due to overcrowding, but later recanted his statement. From what I hear the inmates are clean and careful, but it keeps happening. :angry: :blah:

From what I understand, the overcrowding is so bad that they have had since around July, an air condition system that they can't install because they have no where to put the inmates, and it gets so hot there The "joke" is that they turn against the wall, if they have a wall when they sleep otherwise they are in each other's faces. The distance between the triple bunk beds, which I think are illegal, is about 18". :yuck:

I think another issue is that the number of guards have been increased and are pulling double time ($$$) due to the large number of inmates, and were the driving force behind the failure of Prop 66.

Overcrowding in the prison system in a State wide problem. I know the three strikes program will release some prisoners, but it's not the answer, and it may come too late due to this disfiguring and deadly infection.

On other sites there are stories about how their men can't get medical help, and this strain is especially resistent to antibiotics (not sure of the spelling). and the medical staff is not interested. Apparently many believe that this is just part of prison life, BUT IT IS NOT. Some of them don't even complain because "that's just the way it goes". We have to change this attitude. :banghead:

I'm thinking if Chucky has it, so does Ironwood, and probably every where.

Sorry this is so long, but it is very very important that we "girls" do something about this. Any suggestions? :help: Let's get behind this and get our guys the help they need. They can't do it from in there.

Thanks for reading and helping.:thumbsup:

Linda from San Diego

Thanks to all for your advice. :) I've done some looking around, and apparently this is called In medical terms, the bug is community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA . Even though disinfecting all areas, and keeping clean is helpful, (my b.f. is a clean freak), there are other issues to consider:

Close skin-to-skin contact, skin openings such as cuts or scrapes, contaminated surfaces, crowded living conditions and poor hygiene have been linked to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections

In medical terms, the bug is community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

In simple terms, it's a highly contagious, aggressive bug that causes painful skin infections, and it's often mistaken (even by doctors) for a spider bite.

"Staphylococcus aureus -- staph -- is a common bacterium, found on the skin or in the nose of many healthy people. Some staph bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

In health-care settings, drug-resistant staph cause wound infections after surgery, pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

The bacteria have mutated again, and now drug-resistant skin infections are showing up in otherwise healthy people. These "community-associated" infections started about five years ago on the coasts, said Mansoor Tahir, senior epidemiologist for the Sedgwick County Health Department.

Many states, including Kansas, don't require the infections to be reported, so no one knows how many cases there are. "

I'm concerned for all these guys, not only by b.f. We need some type of "grass roots" program. Any ideas?

Sorry...Not bleach. That's NOT available to inmates.The only soaps my son has is the standard bar soap and laundry detergent they get at canteen. I've told him to use whatever they have and wipe down everything and wash his hands alot!

My boyfriend is currently at Adelanto Community Correctional Facility and they have even had an outbreak of staph infections there. :eek:

you need to get in touch with the state health department. They have to have inspectors who inspect the prison. The only number that I have is 916-445-2263. Good luck

That number is disconnected, no further information is available.

The only other numbers I have is to State Dept. of Health for schools but they should be able to direct you. The numbers are (916) 322-5116 or (916) 445-4171. I hope these help

I realy wasnt aware of all these kind of infections, my fiance is about to be transfered to Ironwood and will tell him about this stuff. About getting the state health department's # wouldnt OSHA have some kind of # to call since they be making health/safety inspections?

OSHA might be a good place to call.

The thing is that it all comes down to overcrowding and lack of proper medical treatment. This is VERY common in prisons across CA - and it's only getting worse. My husband is at old folsom and I know that they have announcements on the TVs notifying the inmates to go in if they have any suspicious looking 'spider bite' type wounds - but I don't know that all prisons do this. Furthermore as we all know, it can take weeks to see a doctor, which only gives the infection time to strengthen and spread. No matter how clean they are, anyone can get it. Drug - resistant staph is a very scary thing, it is thriving and mutating in the unsanitary, unhealthy, overcrowded environments if they continue to ignore this problem it will continue to mutate and spread out into the community and affect everyone in the community. But I guess that's what it'll take. People in general have this ignorant attitude that what goes on in prison doesn't effect them - they couldnt be more in the dark.

Anyone who does not recieve proper and immediate medical treatment needs to contact the ombudsman. But, like everything else it's a neverending war.

Thats my rant for today.