What You Need to Know Now about MRSA
Friday, October 26, 2007
JC Jones MA RN
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hosted today an important clinician update about community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). School closures and student deaths due to the so called Superbug are dominating the news. How do we protect our loved ones and ourselves?
The main thing the CDC wants us to be aware of is that 80% of these infections are skin infections. Staphylococcus aureus is a very common organism - 60% of us have it in our nose right now. Otherwise healthy people are getting extremely sick due to this infection as it becomes invasive. Why?
The infection presents as a common skin infection. It looks like a skin abscess or is commonly mistaken for a spider bite. It starts as a painful red bump that becomes necrotic (tissue dies). Clinicians assessing it may mistake it for a furuncle, boil or abscess. In newborns it may appear a breakdown of the skin under the diaper. MRSA now belongs in the differential diagnosis of every soft tissue infection. It is one of the most common causes of osteomyelitis after it becomes invasive.
MRSA infection will need to be treated with incision and drainage and antibiotics. If severe and recurrent, the infection will need to be treated aggressively with IV antibiotics and hospitalization.
Risk factors in the community are:
- Crowded living conditions (military barracks, boarding school)
- Frequent skin to skin contact (e.g. football)
- Compromised skin surfaces (e.g. turf burns - football)
- Sharing contaminated items (e.g. towels - football)
- Good personal hygiene and cleanliness
- Keep all cuts and scrapes clean and covered
- Clean all common surfaces with commercially available disinfectants
- Alcohol based hand sanitizers are as effective as hand washing for MRSA per CDC
- Shower immediately after contact sports
- Wear uniforms and practice clothes only one time
- Wash uniforms and practice clothes in hot water and soap
- Do not share soap, towels, deodorant or razors
- Clean and disinfect athletic gear, equipment and gym areas
- Report any infections to school nurse and coach
- Avoid contact with other people's infections
Thank you dan wandery for use of photo: Priceless.
Labels: CA-MRSA, CDC, prevention
12 Comments:
At Tue Oct 30, 12:44:00 PM 2007,
Anonymous said…
im a 15 year old sophomore in kentucky. i have just recently gotten out of the hospital. i was in the hospital for a week and a half. mrsa has put my entire life to a hault. im a dancer, i also teach dance; ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hip, and pointe. an d now i can barely move my leg. my school is 3 stories and i cant get up the steps. i always feel sick and i cant walk because of the dizziness. reading this helps me to inform my friends so that they dont have to go through what i have been through.
At Wed Oct 31, 10:54:00 AM 2007,
JC Jones MA RN said…
Dear Anonymous: Your story really affects me personally because my daughter is a 14 year old dancer. As parents we want so much to protect our children from everything - yet here is an invisible threat that has devastated the life of a beautiful young girl like yourself with so much promise. I will research rehabilation & recovery & write another post that I hope is helpful to you. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. And please know how much our thoughts are with you and your family.
At Thu Nov 01, 07:59:00 PM 2007,
Anonymous said…
I am a 34 yr old mother working as a receptionist. At my job I was bitten by a spider and now I have opened wounds all over my body. The physician thinks it is a sign of MRSA.
My question is: Can a spider bite cause MRSA? And how delicate can this bacteria be?
At Fri Nov 02, 10:42:00 AM 2007,
JC Jones MA RN said…
Dear Anonymous 34 yr old mother:
At this point it doesn't matter what the mechanism of injury was. Now it is urgent that the wounds be cultured and determined what, if anything, they are infected with, and treated accordingly. Ask your doctor for a referral to an Infectious Disease specialist if you have any doubts about anything at all. Ask for patient education about wound care and decontamination of surfaces at home and at work, should your cultures be positive.
At Wed Feb 06, 05:54:00 PM 2008,
Dave said…
I'm a 40 yo man living in Los Angeles. I was diagnosed as HIV positive in September 2005. I was healthy and asymptomatic. In October of 2006 I scratched what I thought was a pimple. Three days later it had grown to the size of a tennis ball and then branched out like a banana stretching up my inner thigh to the lymph node in my groin. When I was finally able to get an appointment with my clinic I was told that it was unlikely that I would survive into the next week if I wasn't admitted immediately to the hospital. Even with that dire prognosis it was a week before they diagnosed me with MRSA. Within 3 months of my diagnosis and my employer being informed of my diagnosis I was fired.
Over the last 14 months I have had 8 additional MRSA infection outbreaks. I've been unemployed for 12 months now. I am unemployable because no company wants to take on the liability of hiring me on the off-chance that if one of their other employees is diagnosed with MRSA that they might face litigation for putting their other employees at-risk.
When I have discussed my MRSA with various doctors and medical industry personnel I get contradicting opinions regarding the seriousness and tranmisability of this infection. Some have said that it is an epidemic and could be worse than the Black Plague. While others have espoused the opinion that it is no big deal. So, after doing a lot of research on my own and learning how easy it is to pass this bacterial infection to others I have had to isolate myself from my family and take extra precautions any time that I leave my home in order to protect those that I come into contact with as best as I can. I carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere as well as vinyl/latex gloves. I wear long-sleeved shirts or jackets as well as long pants and a hat in order to prevent any skin-to-skin contact or any direct skin contact with any object that someone else might touch with their bare skin which could very likely cause them to become infected with any MRSA bacteria that may have been transferred from my skin to that object.
Some of my doctors think that I'm over-reacting, while others agree with my precautions whole-heartedly. There is no cure for this infection. The CDC guidelines for dealing with/treating this call for isolation and to treat the current active infection (outbreak) site until it is no longer life-threatening and then releasing the patient back into their normal living environment which is most likely thoroughly contaminated with the same bacteria that caused their hospitalization in the first place. I can't really blame the hospital or the CDC for their course of action since there isn't any treatment currently available that is capable of erradicating this bacteria completely from our bodies or that can be used to disinfect every single surface in our homes, cars, workplaces, gyms or anywhere else we might face the possibility of our skin making contact with the surface of an object upon which there might be bacteria like MRSA.
As long as I have MRSA, and I will until they discover a cure, I will remain unemployable. I am currently on Temporary Disability. I have exhausted my savings trying to support myself while I have been unemployed. My Temporary Disability will run out soon and I'm not sure how I will be able to support myself then. Social Security says that my condition does not meet their standards in order for me to qualify for their disability benefits.
I am left with few options, none of which are very appealing. Right now all I can do is hope that they come up with a cure before this bug beats me.
At Thu Feb 07, 04:39:00 PM 2008,
jc@healthline.com said…
Thank you for sharing your story Dave. There are a few things that perhaps a good labor law attorney could help you with.
How was your diagnosis disclosed to your employer? Your diagnosis should be protected by confidentiality laws.
No employer can terminate an employee due to a medical diagnosis, as far as I know, but I am not an attorney. And an attorney could plead your case to Social Security, if your medical doctors are confirming that you are unemployable due to ongoing medical problems. Your concern for protecting others from contracting MRSA is admirable. Ask your health care providers for referrals to support groups so that you do not get too isolated. I hope that everything gets turned around for you.
At Thu Mar 06, 04:27:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
Hello all, I have a few question about mrsa. Once you have been diagnosied mrsa, how often can it occur again? When are you contagious? What is the medication that you have to put in your nose twice a day? How should you sanatize the bathroom area after using it at your job? Please advise.
At Thu Mar 13, 01:26:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
My daughter is almost 3 years she has been getting boils for almost 2 years and I'm very worried. One doctor kept telling me she was getting them from being in her car seat all the time, but she was hardly ever in it. She was treated with antibotics but they always return. We recently moved to another state and again I took her to the doctor and he said he shouldn't even be getting them at her age (she is home with me all day) he also put her on antibotics and soon after she got more and was put on another antibotic. This time it worked for about 2 months but in the past 2 weeks she has gotten 3 boils one being on vaginal area. this concerns me greatly because what if it spreads inside her. I took her to the doctor again today and now he is tested her for MRSA but he said he already gave her the antibotic for MRSA so why is she getting it again? Why aren't the antibiotics working? There are six people in my household and she is the only one getting it. I don't know what else to do and I feel so bad for her, my 2 year old should know the word OW my boild hurts, don't touch my boil. Its heart breaking. Should I be concerned and what do I do if the antibiotics don't work? The doctor doesn't seem to know what to do about it and gave the same antibiotic again. Any help I can get I apperciate.
At Fri Mar 14, 11:03:00 AM 2008,
JC Jones MA RN said…
Dear Anonymous:
You don't say what type of doctor you are seeing. Is your doctor a pediatrician? If not, perhaps you should see one. If so, perhaps you could ask for a referral to a Board Certified Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist. They usually work within a Children's Hospital setting. Good luck.
At Fri Mar 14, 07:08:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
i have red spots on the inside of my cheeks thickening and change in tongue appearance is this staph? neither my MD nor my DDs knOw what it is. It does not hurt but my mouth feels like it is thick and sloughing itself. HELP
At Tue Mar 25, 12:43:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
yea i live in ohio and my mom has been treated twice for mrsa both times she got it a health facilty well she is being treated for it again only this time it is in her blood they call a blood infection can this be serouse
At Sun Jun 15, 03:27:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
I am a 28 year old single mother of one. My son who will be 2 this coming September was diagnosed with MRSA back in late Febuary. He had what looked like a diaper rash and a small pimple near the top end of his bottom. We went in on a Friday and on Monday they did surgery to remove the infection. He has now been on and off of antibiotics since he was diagnosed. I am trying to find out all the infomation I can because our family doctor won't really tell us much. Will he have this the rest of his life??? How do I get this cured so my 2 year old doesn't have to suffer forever??? Please if anyone knows anything that could be of some help please email me at sz8060@yahoo.com thank you everyone for taking time to look at this and possiably help out.
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