So, what's with this Staph infection thing going around?

Seems borderline pandemic. Ohio, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina. In schools and now prisons. Has it always been around and not reported as much or is this something new?

It's all over your skin, actually. One of the very most common bacteria on you.

Now the problem is that there are some truly nasty strains of staph--usually seen only in hospitals where really anti-biotic strains have arisen.

for surgery because you might get infected. Now places where they pass towels or those places, gyms, schools etc it is becoming more prevalent.

And I thought it was called "Staff infections" because it was spread by the hospital workers not washing their hands between patients.

Got it at the hospital.

Scary, scary shit.

It was real touch and go for several days.

It is just is uncommon for MRSA to be found in the school locker rooms. I guess they cut down on janitorial staff....Routine cleaning with a good disinfectant is a must. Plus, good hand-washing has always been an essential "basic".

http://tahilla.typepad.com/mrsawatch/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

Staph bacteria are generally harmless unless they enter the body through a cut or other wound, and even then they often cause only minor skin problems in healthy people. But in older adults and people who are ill or have weakened immune systems, ordinary staph infections can cause serious illness called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.

In the 1990s, a type of MRSA began showing up in the wider community. Today, that form of staph, known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, is responsible for many serious skin and soft tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia.

Vancomycin is one of the few antibiotics still effective against hospital strains of MRSA infection, although the drug is no longer effective in every case. Several drugs continue to work against CA-MRSA, but CA-MRSA is a rapidly evolving bacterium, and it may be a matter of time before it, too, becomes resistant to most antibiotics.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735/DSECTION=8

Prevention

Still, the best way to prevent the spread of germs is for health care workers to wash their hands frequently, to properly disinfect hospital surfaces and to take other precautions such as wearing a mask when working with people with weakened immune systems.

Preventing CA-MRSA
Protecting yourself from CA-MRSA — which might be just about anywhere — may seem daunting, but these common-sense precautions can help reduce your risk:

Keep personal items personal.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, sheets, razors, clothing and athletic equipment. MRSA spreads on contaminated objects as well as through direct contact.

Keep wounds covered.

Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages until they heal. The pus from infected sores often contains MRSA, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading.

Sanitize linens.

If you have a cut or sore, wash towels and bed linens in hot water with added bleach and dry them in a hot dryer. Wash gym and athletic clothes after each wearing.

Wash your hands.

In or out of the hospital, careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 62 percent alcohol for times when you don't have access to soap and water.

Get tested.

If you have a skin infection that requires treatment, ask your doctor if you should be tested for MRSA. Many doctors prescribe drugs that aren't effective against antibiotic-resistant staph, which delays treatment and creates more resistant germs.

Students at the junior high, high school and college level used to take showers after gym classes and athletic events. They don't do that anymore for the most part. They use body sprays and various deodorants to mask smells. But they keep the germs they get from being in close contact with others on their body. Thus we now have more infections. Not only staph but all sorts of hygiene related infections and diseases.

ago. It is not uncommon around here.

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been found in at least two high school locker rooms within 10 miles of where I live.

The school system and teachers tried to keep it quiet. My granddaughter and her friend had heard that some students had this so they asked several teachers about it. Most of the teachers said they didn't know anything about it but one teacher told them she couldn't say anything or she could lose her job. The girls emailed channel 5 news and a reporter called them back and told them they investigated and found out that 3 students had it and one student had the kind that was resistant to antibiotics. I'm proud of these 2 girls for getting to the bottoms of this when the THOUGHT or SENSED something was not right. They thought they had a right to know about the students having this since they could end up sick themselves if they were exposed to it.

County jail has it BAD; a local teen got it in his lungs a few months ago and DIED, his dad caught it and had to be hospitalized....then there was the story not too long ago about a Dallas woman who caught it from her nail salon after getting a pedicure (foot whirlpool not cleaned properly?). MRSA cases have been around a while all over and maybe got put in the paper as a blurb buried in the local section. But now the national media is running with it making MRSA seems like a NEW problem.

My old hospital started testing all patients who are transferred from long term care facilty as soon as they are admitted to a floor. Needless to say, the number of isolation patients went thru the roof after the "on admission" testing started.

MRSA stays on hard surfaces for a ***very long time*** if not cleaned a certain way..and it's safe to say that the everyday kind of places you frequent don't clean their hard surfaces. I can just imagine what grows on a grocery cart handle, fast food tables, school desks, department store floors/doors/counters/merchandise.

She had surgery and contracted it then. If not for that infection, she would have completely recovered. I will never stop missing her.

My dad died after contracting a staph infection in the hospital after a heart valve transplant. God I miss him!

MRSA infection

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

snip-->

In the 1990s, a type of MRSA began showing up in the wider community. Today, that form of staph,
known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, is responsible for many serious skin and soft
tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia.

Signs and symptoms

Staph infections, including MRSA, generally start as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils
or spider bites. These can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses that require surgical draining.
Sometimes the bacteria remain confined to the skin. But they can also burrow deep into the body,
causing potentially life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream,
heart valves and lungs.

Vancomycin is one of the few antibiotics still effective against hospital strains of MRSA infection,
although the drug is no longer effective in every case. Several drugs continue to work against CA-MRSA, but CA-MRSA is a rapidly evolving bacterium, and it may be a matter of time before it,
too, becomes resistant to most antibiotics.


MRSA infections start out as small red bumps
that can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses.

Causes

Unnecessary antibiotic use in humans.
more....

Antibiotics in food and water.
more...

Germ mutation
more....

Risk factors

A current or recent hospitalization.
Residing in a long-term care facility.
Invasive devices
Recent antibiotic use

These are the main risk factors for community-acquired (CA) MRSA:

* Young age.
* Participating in contact sports.
* Sharing towels or athletic equipment.
* Having a weakened immune system.
* Living in crowded or unsanitary conditions.
* Association with health care workers.

When to seek medical advice

Keep an eye on minor skin problems — pimples, insect bites, cuts and scrapes — especially in children. If wounds become infected, see your doctor. Ask to have any skin infection tested for MRSA before starting antibiotic therapy. Drugs that treat ordinary staph aren't effective against MRSA, and their use could lead to serious illness and more resistant bacteria.

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