MRSA "superbug" warning

[AlethiaSi]

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), also known as oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA), multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, CA-MRSA (community-acquired MRSA) and HA-MRSA (hospital-acquired MRSA),[1] is a biological agent responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans. (MSSA is Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.) MRSA is a variation of Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium, which has evolved the ability to survive treatment with beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillin and methicillin.[2] The organism is especially troublesome in hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. In hospitals, patients may be found who have open wounds and weakened immune systems and who are therefore at great risk for infection. Hospital staff who do not follow proper sanitary procedures may inadvertently transfer bacterial colonies from patient to patient.

from MRSA wiki

CDC info


Staph screening said may wipe out germ

this is from an email that my school's health services sent out:
I had a misquito bite, so I had it checked out b/c i'm a spaz... but its worth it b/c this stuff could really spread

Recently there has been a surge of publicity surrounding MRSA
(methacillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) in the community
setting. Infections related to this bacterium have been occurring in
hospitals for several decades but they have become prevalent in
non-hospital settings more recently. There are several methods that
anyone can use to help prevent contracting an infection:

1) Frequent hand washing with soap and water or using an alcohol
based hand cleaner (like Purell). Hands should be washed before
eating, after using the bathroom and after using athletic equipment,
weights, etc.
2) Nothing should be shared. This includes water or other bottles or
cups, towels, razors, washclothes, bar soap, clothing and athletic
equipment.
3) All wounds, cuts, scrapes, etc. should be kept covered and all
bandaids and gauze disposed of in a closed bag.
4) Showers should be taken immediately after using the gym, weight
room or participating in any sports practice or game.
5) Maintain good general hygiene with regular bathing, regular
laundering of clothes and bedding and keeping all bathrooms, kitchens
and other shared areas clean.

If you have a draining wound or a cut or infection that looks like a
"spider bite" or worsens rapidly please come in to Health Services or
see your regular doctor. MRSA is treatable!

[REE1993]

As someone with a chronic condition (and who is very suseptible to scary bugs), I wanted to put my thoughts about MRSA out there.

MRSA has been around for a long time. It's nothing new. It's been lurking around hospitals forever. The reason it is getting so much news coverage now is that there are more reported cases in people who have not been in the hospital, nor who have a chronic illness.

People do NOT need to panic.

The NUMBER ONE prevention is hand washing. If you DO get MRSA, it is very treatable. But again, prevention is the best "cure".

It's scary, yes, but not an epidemic. Just be careful.

[AlethiaSi]

Originally Posted by REE1993

As someone with a chronic condition (and who is very suseptible to scary bugs), I wanted to put my thoughts about MRSA out there.

MRSA has been around for a long time. It's nothing new. It's been lurking around hospitals forever. The reason it is getting so much news coverage now is that there are more reported cases in people who have not been in the hospital, nor who have a chronic illness.

People do NOT need to panic.

The NUMBER ONE prevention is hand washing. If you DO get MRSA, it is very treatable. But again, prevention is the best "cure".

It's scary, yes, but not an epidemic. Just be careful.

REE- thanks, yes this is true, i shouldn't have been so quick to post in a "omg freak out" way, i sorry.
everyone in my office was spazzing b/c of htis stupid misquito bite so i figured i'd pass along the info

[Kevin]

Put it on the shelf next to bird flu, the hantavirus, west nile, etc. Just another overblown, media driven scare tactic trying to bring in ratings. It's just another manufactured crisis.

[REE1993]

Originally Posted by AlethiaSi

REE- thanks, yes this is true, i shouldn't have been so quick to post in a "omg freak out" way, i sorry.
everyone in my office was spazzing b/c of htis stupid misquito bite so i figured i'd pass along the info

Oh, no problem. I didn't mean you specifically. The newscasters would have you believe that it's the plague of the 21st century.

[srmom]

Not to be an alarmist, but it isn't just a hospital bug.

6 years ago, my son had been sailing all weekend long and when we were heading back into town, he mentioned that his knee hurt. He had, what looked to be, an ingrown hair, or pimple on his knee. I told him that we'd clean it and that it would be fine.

The next morning when I got him up to go to school, it had swollen and was red. I (have to admit, begrudgingly) took him to the pediatrician, who took a look at it and said that he wanted to admit him to the hospital just in case. He said that it was probably just an ordinary staph infection, but that they were seeing more of this weird antibiotic resistant strain and it would be prudent just to check it out.

Well, it turned out to be MRSA, and it was a huge ordeal consisting of 7 days in the hospital, surgery to remove the infected tissue, bone scans, echo cardigrams, and 2 more weeks on an IV of a medicine of last resort called Vancomycin, that my husband and I had to administer. It was scary as hell.

Since then, besides becoming a clean freak, I am much more aware of skin issues. At my kids' high school, there have been numerous incidents of staph (the treatable kind) and a couple of cases of MRSA.

It is much more common than you think

Don't mean that meanie face about any posts, just the bug - it SUCKS!

[Fawn Liebowitz]

I am currently taking vancomycin intravenously due to an MRSA infection. It's good that your pediatrician was cautious - it is, indeed, a dangerous and sometimes fatal infection. The times (yes...more than once) I have had it, I never exhibited any external symptoms, but I have gotten so violently ill so quickly that I can't imagine anyone letting it go untreated long enough for it to progress enough to affect the heart, bones or other organs.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Put it on the shelf next to bird flu, the hantavirus, west nile, etc. Just another overblown, media driven scare tactic trying to bring in ratings. It's just another manufactured crisis.

I suppose that could turn out to be true, but the University of Colorado health services just put out an alert on the situation after seeing many more cases than usual in the student body.

When something like that happens, it's likely to be reported.

[REE1993]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Put it on the shelf next to bird flu, the hantavirus, west nile, etc. Just another overblown, media driven scare tactic trying to bring in ratings. It's just another manufactured crisis.

Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, there is nothing manufactured about the increased reportings of MRSA in the general population.

My point was that its existence is nothing new... and that it is not an epidemic. That being said, all procautions (all of which are common sense) should be taken.

If nothing else, the sudden "awareness" of MRSA will be a wakeup call to people that there are these scary bugs out there (and you DON'T want to have them), but like so many other infections, they are largely preventable.

To those of you who have cultured MRSA, you know how hard it is to get rid of it. Good luck in your treatments!!!!

[PM_Mama00]

In the Detroit area, we've been hearing about MRSA for about a month now. There were a few outbreaks in surrounding schools. They basically had to close the schools down and do a total cleanup with bleach and all that other stuff.

[Xylochick216]

It's been going around in Virginia, too. They closed a few schools after a kid died from it two weeks ago and deep cleaned. The other cases haven't been nearly that severe, but this kid was left untreated by his doctors and ended up dead. It's an eye-opener.

[amycat412]

my exboyfriend had it in his knee.

my former boss in a finger.

i had it in my torso this spring.

all of us recovered fine. yeah super sick--especially my ex--who had to have surgery and me--i was out of work for nearly 3 weeks and on heavy drugs -- but we are all fine today.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by srmom

Not to be an alarmist, but it isn't just a hospital bug.

6 years ago, my son had been sailing all weekend long and when we were heading back into town, he mentioned that his knee hurt. He had, what looked to be, an ingrown hair, or pimple on his knee. I told him that we'd clean it and that it would be fine.

The next morning when I got him up to go to school, it had swollen and was red. I (have to admit, begrudgingly) took him to the pediatrician, who took a look at it and said that he wanted to admit him to the hospital just in case. He said that it was probably just an ordinary staph infection, but that they were seeing more of this weird antibiotic resistant strain and it would be prudent just to check it out.

Well, it turned out to be MRSA, and it was a huge ordeal consisting of 7 days in the hospital, surgery to remove the infected tissue, bone scans, echo cardigrams, and 2 more weeks on an IV of a medicine of last resort called Vancomycin, that my husband and I had to administer. It was scary as hell.

Since then, besides becoming a clean freak, I am much more aware of skin issues. At my kids' high school, there have been numerous incidents of staph (the treatable kind) and a couple of cases of MRSA.

It is much more common than you think

Don't mean that meanie face about any posts, just the bug - it SUCKS!

Originally Posted by amycat412

my exboyfriend had it in his knee.

Lol any connection?

[honeychile]

Pretty much all of us have or have had staph on our skin at some point in time, it's just a matter of how it's treated, if it becomes infected, and how good your immune system is. Once it hits your blood stream, you have major problems.

Since I visit nursing homes as part of my job, I have always carried Purell with me, but I admit that I've become even more careful at this point. In the last two weeks, two of our clients were hospitalized with one ailment, but ended up with MRSA, which contributed to their deaths. I'm not planning to become a statistic.

[carnation]

In 1995, we almost lost one of our children to this. She was 5 months old and had come to us from Vietnam not long before.

She probably got it here..thank God she got it here and not in Vietnam because she surely wouldn't have made it. As it was, she spent 2 weeks in Egleston in Atlanta and it was horrible. She too had to have surgery to remove the infected tissue.

The same year, we knew of several people who contracted it--a woman whose sweater had rubbed on her skin, a guy who was playing golf and some dirt hit him in the eye, and a woman who was cutting up chicken (she died within a day). Our doctor told us that at the same time our daughter was in the hospital, another of his patients had it: a little boy who had fallen and cut his head on a stereo. Within 24 hours, a huge red mask had swollen around his eyes and they thought he would lose his eyesight or even die. He got through it okay.