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Mrsa

30A Skunkape avatar
Skunky
4,873 views
It is raining cats and dogs right now, so the old clinic is a little quiet. On the commute I heard a number of sensational stories on 'MRSA', so I thought I would throw out a few points on the topic. MRSA stands for methicillin resistant Staph aureus. Staph aureus is a bacteria (NOT a virus as was reported on a radio news story I heard!) that is literally everywhere in our environment, including your skin! Don't be alarmed, it is supposed to be there. Not all Staph aureus is created equal, however. At some point in the 1960s IV drug abusers were noted to have 'staph infections' in the skin and bloodstream, and the staph was noted to be resistant to many of the antibiotics in use at that time. That was the beginning of MRSA. Continued skin and bloodborne infection treated with antibiotics in the drug abusers led to mutation in the bacteria's genes which made them 'resist' the antibiotics...unlike your friendly nurse, addicts usually do not take the time to cleanse their skin with alcohol or dispose of needles following injection, hence, the Staph that was on their skin was literally injected into deeper tissue and the blood along with their heroin.

Fast forward to today. Carrying MRSA is no longer an honor for pockets of IV drug abusers. The bacteria is everywhere. True, it is still concentrated in population pockets, but it is safe to say a swabbing of random surfaces in a 'clean' place like SOWAL (say swabbing ATM buttons, door handles, etc) would yield plenty of MRSA. Am I trying to scare you? No. My point is that you are living with MRSA as we speak and you are managing to survive. When I was a resident at the hospital, we drained skin abscesses (boils) all day and night that were full of MRSA...we didn't even bother to culture the stuff anymore.

So what should you do? Simple, use common sense and don't panic. Wash your hands frequently when out in public. If you have a recurrent issue with boils, you may very well be carrying MRSA and should go to your doctor's office and discuss it with her as there are therapies. A MRSA infection is not a death sentence, we do have antibiotics that can eradicate the bug. Finally, and this is HUGE, if you or somebody in your family has an infection (cold, flu, sore throat) and your provider opines that antibiotics are not needed, PLEASE don't take it personally and get bent out of shape. Unwarranted antibiotic therapy just makes this problem worse. :wave:

Replies

62
30A Skunkape avatar
SkunkyAuthor
#27
I'm just thinking that if they do it with hospitals, they will do it with us too.

I don't know because the aim is to decrease hospital inpatient stays. Seems to me like somebody going to a nursing facility is an anticipated long term project.
Miss Kitty avatar
Meow
#28
Was this thread started because of what happened to the boy in the news? I haven't seen all the details yet, but sounds so sad.
30A Skunkape avatar
SkunkyAuthor
#29
Was this thread started because of what happened to the boy in the news? I haven't seen all the details yet, but sounds so sad.

Yes.
SoWal Insider
#30
I just KNEW I shouldn't have opened this thread to read. I need to go put on my hazmat suit before I even finish reading this. :eek:

That's all they've been talking about on our news. A couple of high school kids have it in a nearby suburb.

And the first person I thought of was Beachrunner and that student!!

Thanks Dr. Skunky for your info. :clap:
SoWal Insider
#31
I sent you a PM.
Hey, I want to know too. :blink:
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#32
So what do I do when my employer doesn't respond to my questions regarding the issue regarding my student with the carbuncle? Johnrudy, you "get" what I'm asking.

Edited

Mango avatar
SoWal Insider
#33
So what do I do when my employer doesn't respond to my questions regarding the issue regarding my student with the carbuncle? Johnrudy, you "get" what I'm asking.

BR, don't worry so much. It's easy, you get rid of MRS.A with Mr. Clean.
Beach Fanatic
#34
Those portable Lysol disinfecting wipes are the bomb. :biggrin: I take those when we stay in a hotel. :D
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#35
BR, don't worry so much. It's easy, you get rid of MRS.A with Mr. Clean.
LOL. Gull, you know I'm a worry wart.
scooterbug44 avatar
SoWal Expert
#36
MRSA infections acquired in hospitals are a huge problem. An issue you can watch for in the near future is that the feds plan to stop paying for extended hospital stays and procedures related to conditions which look to be the hospital's fault, ie, line infections, bed sores, fall trauma, etc. It is envisioned as a way to cut back on medicare spending.

Great idea............except the poor patient then has to pay for those items! And they are QUITE common.

Drug-Resistant Staph Widespread

A study from the Centers for Disease Control found that potentially deadly drug-resistant staph infections were more prevalent than originally believed. What do you think?

JoAnn Ways,
Systems Analyst
"Yeah, well, I bet they're not fist-resistant."


Jason Weintraub,
Deli Clerk
"If things keep going the way they're going, I might actually get to blast a zombie with a shotgun."


Ralph Barnes,
Consultant
"And you don't even get to have sex with the person in order to catch this disease? Sometimes I really hate nature."
Miss Kitty avatar
Meow
#37
So what do I do when my employer doesn't respond to my questions regarding the issue regarding my student with the carbuncle? Johnrudy, you "get" what I'm asking.

I have thought about this. What do the other students say, if anything? Unfortunately (I know, I was a teacher) sometimes the kids or their parents have to say something for the administration to take any action. One winter, after teaching first graders in coats, hats and gloves...INSIDE! and our protests went unanswered, we finally asked the parents to compain and all of a sudden we had heat. :roll:
Ocean Lover avatar
bean
#38
I have thought about this. What do the other students say, if anything? Unfortunately (I know, I was a teacher) sometimes the kids or their parents have to say something for the administration to take any action. One winter, after teaching first graders in coats, hats and gloves...INSIDE! and our protests went unanswered, we finally asked the parents to compain and all of a sudden we had heat. :roll:

At the beginning of the school year we met with the teachers at the middle school. Sam plays the viola so we went in to meet her instructor. We basically met in the kitchen of the family studies room. I was flabbergasted that they were playing near stoves, refridgerators and sinks! What kind of atmosphere is that to play in! Her teacher urged us all to complainto the principal b/c whatever she was doing wasn't working! They're having a major space issue and apparently a scheduling problem. The band is playing across the hall in the music room at the same time. Ugh. Needless to say, they're still in the kitchen.

Sorry for the tangent/rant. Kitty's post reminded me that I need to make another call.
scooterbug44 avatar
SoWal Expert
#39
To put the latest "scare" in perspective:
Beach Fanatic
#40
Now that's a scary one. Is that a strain of staph too? A few years back it attacked a Nashville teenaged girl basketball player. She lost 3 limbs to it. God :wub: her. What a brave young gull. It was a miracle she lived. :eek: :wub:
makeitagreatday avatar
Beach Comber
#41
Skunky, I carry antibacteria baby wipes everywhere,have for years I used to wipe those horrible pay phones with them before cells and door knobs etc, Do they really kill germs?? Does Purell?? It would be hard to carry alcohol around. I hate public restrooms period from the door on but my granddaughters have to "go" everywhere I take them..
My wife and I ahave used a 50/50 solution of grain alchohol (from liquor store) /water in a travel size pump bottle for restaurants, shopping carts etc. It comes in handy with the kids and is easy to carry around and when we need a shot we just open the bottle :). The highest content I have been able to find her is 151 proof.
seaside2 avatar
Beach Fanatic
#42
My wife and I ahave used a 50/50 solution of grain alchohol (from liquor store) /water in a travel size pump bottle for restaurants, shopping carts etc. It comes in handy with the kids and is easy to carry around and when we need a shot we just open the bottle :). The highest content I have been able to find her is 151 proof.


Trouble is, 151 proof is 75.5% alcohol, cut it 505 with water and you've got less than 38%.

Take a look at some of the 90+% isopropoyl in the pharmacies. Kind of hard on the hands, but boy does it kill!!!
scooterbug44 avatar
SoWal Expert
#43
Now that's a scary one. Is that a strain of staph too? A few years back it attacked a Nashville teenaged girl basketball player. She lost 3 limbs to it. God :wub: her. What a brave young gull. It was a miracle she lived. :eek: :wub:

No, it was a political cartoon making fun of the scare du jour! The whole point of the thread is that while it is an issue to be aware of, the media is blowing it WAY out of proportion.

Wash your hands w/ soap & water and use basic sanitary precautions, see your doctor if you get a skin infection or irritation and you'll be fine!
makeitagreatday avatar
Beach Comber
#44
thanks, good point about the 90% alcohol.
Poodleone avatar
Beach Fanatic
#45
I would love to see hospitals discourage visitors. I know that sounds mean but there is absolutely no reason for so many people (especially children) to be trapsing through hospitals. I work in a laboratory and find it amazing to see visitors of all ages wandering the halls as if it was a mall or amusement park! GO HOME! Let the patient heal in peace- quit bringing in YOUR germs and exposing yourself to OUR germs.

Sorry- pet peeve......
Beach Fanatic
#46
Visitors help healing sometimes. :wub: Not to mention provide much needed care that is not always available with a call button. :idontno: Hospitals need to clean up their act with handwashing, accountable housekeeping and disinfecting, and using isolation appropriately. They need to hire adequate staff in the trenches to clean up their act.
NoHall avatar
hmmmm......can't remember
#47
I gotta say that although I agree that a hospital isn't an amusement park, I appreciate the visitor aspect, too. I had some emergency surgery a few years ago and had to stay 3 days, and it still touches me to remember the stream of people who came to see me--some came by before I even was awake enough to realize they were there.

My mother works as a transcriptionist in the pathology lab at the hospital here, and they have even made a big deal out of having her department wash/sanitize their hands frequently. They don't want to send anything bad home with them.
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#48
I have thought about this. What do the other students say, if anything? Unfortunately (I know, I was a teacher) sometimes the kids or their parents have to say something for the administration to take any action. One winter, after teaching first graders in coats, hats and gloves...INSIDE! and our protests went unanswered, we finally asked the parents to compain and all of a sudden we had heat. :roll:
The other students have not complained because they are clueless -- they are invincible at that age. This student has a bacterial infection oozing from his neck. He wipes it with his hand, and he has to leave class at least once during the one-hour class to take care of it.

I have been told by my employer that they can't ask him to bandage the open sore. So my only choice is to go on prophylactic antibiotics which is not healthy for me. And think of how many people who are clueless that when he wipes the lesion and touches a doorknob that they are exposing themselves to an MRSA? I asked my employer to email all employees and students regarding ways to avoid MRSAs -- the same email that was sent to everyone at my husband's huge corporation.

Edited

NoHall avatar
hmmmm......can't remember
#49
The other students have not complained because they are clueless -- they are invincible at that age. This student has a bacterial infection oozing from his neck. He wipes it with his hand, and he has to leave class at least once during the one-hour class to take care of it.

I have been told by my employer that they can't ask him to bandage the open sore. So my only choice is to go on prophylactic antibiotics which is not healthy for me. And think of how many people who are clueless that when he wipes the lesion and touches a doorknob that they are exposing themselves to an MRSA? I asked my employer to email all employees and students regarding ways to avoid MRSAs -- the same email that was sent to everyone at my husband's huge corporation.

This will probably be shot down as a violation of HEPA.

Why can they not ask him to bandage it? The dude who flew with TB was arrested, for heaven's sake. Call the CDC--? Good grief. I had professors asking me if it was ethical for me to come to class when I thought I had mono! (And I went straight to my doctor to find out if I was dangerous.)

I'm about to fall into a rant. Grrrr...
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#50
This will probably be shot down as a violation of HEPA.

Why can they not ask him to bandage it? The dude who flew with TB was arrested, for heaven's sake. Call the CDC--? Good grief. I had professors asking me if it was ethical for me to come to class when I thought I had mono! (And I went straight to my doctor to find out if I was dangerous.)

I'm about to fall into a rant. Grrrr...
I hear ya. I don't want to harm the institution to which I have a great fondness, yet on the other hand, they are choosing to put me, as well as other people who are clueless about their risks, in jeopardy.:bang:
NoHall avatar
hmmmm......can't remember
#51
I hear ya. I don't want to harm the institution to which I have a great fondness, yet on the other hand, they are choosing to put me, as well as other people who are clueless about their risks, in jeopardy.:bang:

An anonymous call to the CDC, then. Or shall you get one of your SoWal friends to do it for you?

I teach at a fine arts camp in the summer, and last year we had an outbreak of staph. They sent one of my students home because of the threat of infection. I know that the school where the camp was held has regulations about wiping down equipment and the floors in the dance studio--why is your school different?

Edited

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