@kaystrand Hi Kay. I had heard of mycobacteriums being on raw vegetables. That is why it is recommended to eat mainly cooked veggies. I had not heard of pseudomonas being added to the soil for organic growing. Where did you see this?

Terri
I was on several websites reading and don't even recall. I guess more cooked veggies. Fruit grows off the ground primarily. We should be safe there. I eat a lot of salads but will cut back. Like we always say, we can't live in a bubble....these dang Mycobacterium!!
:-/
Kay Strand

Terri
My doctor at Mayo (pulmonary) says that stomach acid kills Mycobacterium. She said I should be concerned about vaporized water and inhaling it, and doesn't even think boiled drinking water is necessary.
She said avoid showers, hot tubs, humidifiers, mists of any kind (my facial person used a steam machine on my face! No more!) She said avoid breathing in any kind of water or dust to your lungs.
I do not have reflux, (she tested me with the 24 hr impedence test) but possibly reflux can be aspirated I guess is the thought.
If I listen to her, I don't have to be concerned about water filters and just need to be cautious of inhaling water and dust as much as possible. Not sure that's enough!

What do your docs tell you about this subject?

Thanks
Kay

@kaystrand Hi Kay, My doctor told me nothing at all on how to avoid re-infection. (but I still adore the guy, he was just all about treating) I learned everything I know from Google searches, this forum, and attending the NTM Conference. I had never heard that stomach acid kills mac. I have heard that you can get mac infection from inhaling stomach acid from reflux that may contain mac from drinking water. Arrggg! Sigh, I used to enjoy a good facial with steam. Like you said, we can't do that any longer. Another thing we must avoid is foot pedicure baths at a salon. No matter what kind of disinfectants they use, they still test positive for billions of mycobacteriums that include mac and pseudomonas. Bummer!

@kaystrand Funny, I was always more germ conscious than most, even when I was little. Now, I am borderline germaphobe! I don't even want to kiss my own husband on the mouth. That is mainly because he always has some kind of non-serious lung thing going on, but it may likely make me sick.

Unfortunately, if we are on proton pump inhibitors for GERD, stomach acid won't be killing anything because these meds reduce stomach acid. I think that's why so many of us have the question, " Which came first, GERD or MAC?"

But Terri, we are not inhaling or drinking the pedicure water as it has no vapor right? How would it get to your lung? Not through our feet!

I guess the stomach acid question is one for a microbiologist. I might try to contact one with some of these questions. There are some at NJ.

KayS

Kay, I was just thinking the same thing about the pedicure water. But I wouldn't think it was close enough to our face to worry about inhaling the vapor! I keep saying this disease is like a science fiction movie and the more I learn about it the more I think THAT! It's just too crazy! We could drive ourselves insane worrying about all of this! Terri I, also, was a bit of a germaphobe and now my sister makes fun of me and says "see where it got you"! Oh well, we can just do the best we can!

Terri, thank you so much for your advice and encouragement. It was a big help, I needed that. It seems as I go through this treatment process I'll be doing good staying positive and something happens and I get so upset. It takes me a while to get my positive attitude back. There is no one to talk to, to compare notes. There is next to nobody that's even heard of it.
You were right the 8 wks of 2 iv drugs was hell. And today the next bout started, the inhaled amikacin and the new oral antibiotic went great! So far so good. Hope it stays that way! Those bumps in the road are tuff. Thanks again you wrre a great help. God bless you! Big hug....Lisa

@tutti,Lisa I hear you too, getting our heads around all this is so difficult, you are not alone. We must all fight that nasty anxiety monster which is doing us harm. I hope the antibiotics and Amakacin go well for you, I found the inhaled amakacin worked well. Heather