Mrsa

[30A Skunkape]

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.

 

[Mango]

Bored Skunky? :roll: You can come help me clean and get rid of some Mrsa.

 

[30A Skunkape]

Bored Skunky? :roll: You can come help me clean and get rid of some Mrsa.

Nope, not bored, on tornado lockdown!

 

[seaside2]

Had one of these things pop up on my elbow a couple of years ago. It looked and felt for a week or so like a pimple (Yea, I know I'm way to old to have pimples). Got real bad on a Sunday morning, went to the ER, was immediately diagnosed as a staph infection and admitted. The ortho surgeon on call came looked at it and declared it to be a bad deal. Ms Seaside got to help him drain the thing (She likes blood, guts and gore). They cultured the stuff to find out how to treat it, stayed in for a week, had a central line put in and took twice daily doses of antibiotics for two more weeks. $18k to fix.

All this to support Skunky's comment about this being bad stuff. The ortho said a couple more days and there would have been bone damage. This stuff is everywhere and is just looking for a place to set up housekeeping and multiply.

 

[Beach Runner]

My nephew who is in the 8th grade currently is being treated for an MRSA. He got a sore on his heel, and it was an MRSA staph infection. He's an athlete, so they assume he got it in the locker room. The doctor had to cut out some tissue in his heel to get rid of it. He's on Doxycycline (sp?). After hearing about all of this on TV, I am trying to tell my brother not to allow him to visit Mom in the hospital.

Now, Skunky, I am really worried about the student of mine with the carbuncle. It has grown and covers from his ear all the way under his chin, and it's thicker now, too. He still has to leave class at least once to dry it off.

NOW I CARRY PURELL WITH ME EVERYWHERE. I'm not on prophylactic antibiotics, but maybe I should go back on them since he's in my class again and I have a heart valve problem.

 

[CPort]

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..

 

[Ocean Lover]

Thanks for the info Skunky but the replies following your post are making me a little nervous.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Thanks for the info Skunky but the replies following your post are making me a little nervous.

:roll:...Skunky gets bored and scares the cr*p out of sowallers. Oh man.

 

[30A Skunkape]

No, no, no. I am trying to do the opposite. I heard the radio news this morning and the topic of MRSA was being reported on in a fashion meant to whip-up hysteria. I was trying to point out that MRSA is everywhere and 99% of us don't have any problems with it. The news was making it sound like this was something like Ebola virus being released in Virginia.

BR-Why not giving the kid an 'A' and tell him to never show up again?;-)

CP-I am not too sure about the antibacterial ingredient in your wipes. There are different ingredients used in those products with varying potencies and mechanisms of action. But I can tell you that Purell, or any alcohol containing gel is a great product. Alcohol quickly KILLS just about anything you might encounter (in contrast to an 'antimicrobial' ingredient)...bacteria, microbes, fungi and many viruses succumb to alcohol...it destroys the organism's cell membrane. Obviously, you shouldn't use it on a kids face or anything, but for hands you can't beat it.

 

[seacrestkristi]

I'm just going to go wash my hands again. They're talking about E. Coli on the produce thread. Kinda funnE cuz SJ's 'tar is the nekkid pumpkin woman right now. ;-)How ironic? Handwashing is the bomb.