MRSA gets right up your nose

Yes I literally mean what I say. The MRSA bacteria can be up your nose and in your armpits and crotch. Some hospitals in USA and UK have begun to swab patients noses on admission so they can be tested to see if they carry any of the variants of MRSA. Until the result of this test is received they are keeping the patient isolated and doctors, nurses and visitors are asked to wash their hands every time they move from one patient to another.

Please remember that you cannot catch MRSA by someone sneezing near you. It is not that type of infection. You can get it on your hands when you blow your nose or have a cold. You can then transfer the bacteria from your hands into an open wound. So wash your hands if you get them covered in mucus (the liquid that comes out of your nose). Especially wash your hands before you touch your pet.

MRSA is normally treatable either by a doctor draining the puss out of a wound surgically or giving an antibiotic that MRSA has not been able to overcome. It is only on rare occasions that the bacteria gets into a wound and causes problems. These problems can be amputation of a limb or limbs, cutting out of an infection from the torso or death. There are still too many deaths from this bacteria to let up on the fight with it. 19,000 deaths in one year is far too many. Some were older and caught MRSA as a result of surgical operations. Others were younger and caught MRSA in the community. We need to realize that the threat to our health from infections that no longer respond to antibiotics has to make us consider our own hygiene and the hygiene environment in our homes, schools, shopping malls, places of worship, sports clubs, and parks. We cannot afford to slip up. The trauma of a child in pain is not worth it.

So get the bleach out on those handkerchiefs or get them to use paper ones and throw them away. Wash your hands. Shower after getting sweaty. Most of all take care of any wound that is open. Cover it and if possible bandage it. At least put a plaster over it so it does not get infected, or infect someone else. It may be that children will take time to respond if you have been lax but better to start now and avoid the pain, than to watch your child go through an MRSA infection. Don't forget your pet can carry and can catch MRSA as well. There has been a case of someone who was thought to be free from MRSA but she had caused her dog to be colonized with the bacteria and she was reinfected by the dog.

Stay clean. Stay free from MRSA in the community.