How To Prevent Re-Infection of MAC/MAI

How To Prevent Re-Infection

Causes in the home can be curtailed to some extent. Turn your hot water heater temperature up to 130 degrees (use caution with children in the house as this is a scalding temperature).Take a bath instead of a shower. The splashes and steam from the shower get inhaled. Remember your hot water tank and the shower head are the biggest offenders for harboring mac and/or other dangerous mycobacteriums. Your shower head should be soaked in vinegar every 6 months or less. It can be removed (ideally) and soaked, or a baggie with vinegar in it wire-tied over the shower head while still in place. It should be left soaking for at least thirty minutes.

Change water filters every two months or boil your drinking water. Do not use ice cubes that your freezer makes or drink the water from the door. That water sits in a bladder inside your refrigerator next to warming elements and breeds mac.

Avoid swimming pools, steam rooms, and hot tubs, and facials using steam. (I know, I just sucked all of the joy out of your life - I‘m sorry.) Avoid unnecessary visits to people in the hospital or nursing homes. These two places tend to harbor some of the very bad infectious bacterias like: m. abscessus, serratia marcescens, and most notoriously klebsiella pneumonia. These last three are particularly bad because they are hard to treat and are famous for being antibiotic resistant. There are new drugs on the horizon that seem to be promising for combating these, but have not been released by the FDA yet.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

@colleenyoung

Terri,
Thanks for listing the prevention precautions people with MAC can take. It helps to at least take back some control. Here are links to further discussion on Connect where members talk about some of these topics.

- Bacteria and water filter https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bacteria-and-water-filter/
- Swimming in chlorinated swimming pools https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/swimming-in-chlorinated-swimming-pools/
- Water Sample Testing https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/water-sample-testing/
- Aerobika/nebulizer cleaning question https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cleaning-question/

Also see the partner discussion called:
- Possible causes of MAC/MAI Re-Infections https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/possible-causes-of-macmai-re-infections/

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@windwalker Terri
here is a posting from NJH
Link to JH web page: https://www.nationaljewish.org/health-insights/health-infographics/is-your- shower-head-making-you-sick-ntm-nontuberculous-mycobacteria
tdrell

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@colleenyoung

Terri,
Thanks for listing the prevention precautions people with MAC can take. It helps to at least take back some control. Here are links to further discussion on Connect where members talk about some of these topics.

- Bacteria and water filter https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bacteria-and-water-filter/
- Swimming in chlorinated swimming pools https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/swimming-in-chlorinated-swimming-pools/
- Water Sample Testing https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/water-sample-testing/
- Aerobika/nebulizer cleaning question https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cleaning-question/

Also see the partner discussion called:
- Possible causes of MAC/MAI Re-Infections https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/possible-causes-of-macmai-re-infections/

Jump to this post

@tdrell Thanks for the link. There is a space between "is-your-" and "shower..." in the URL that will give you a page not found error. This should fix it: https://www.nationaljewish.org/health-insights/health-infographics/is-your-shower-head-making-you-sick-ntm-nontuberculous-mycobacteria

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@ling123 and @tdrell Thank you ladies!

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I purchased a medical grade water filter from AquaMedix for my kitchen faucet. I live in California where the company says the water has a lot of particles and clogs the filters faster than in other parts of the country. I need to install a 1.5 micrometer pre-filter. Has anyone done this and what brand and company did you buy it from?
lora jo

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@ljfoo

I purchased a medical grade water filter from AquaMedix for my kitchen faucet. I live in California where the company says the water has a lot of particles and clogs the filters faster than in other parts of the country. I need to install a 1.5 micrometer pre-filter. Has anyone done this and what brand and company did you buy it from?
lora jo

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Correction: I meant I need to install at 1-5 micrometer pre-filter. Anyone know where I can purchase one?

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@ljfoo

Correction: I meant I need to install at 1-5 micrometer pre-filter. Anyone know where I can purchase one?

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Pall filters for shower and faucets. Pam Jenkins pamela_jenkins@pall.com

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