What Can You Do To Protect Yourself From MRSA?

Question

Is it the scare justified? It's scary that people are dying from Methyllin resistant staphylococcus! Opinions?

Answer 1

Yes, it is justified...to an extent. But keep in mind that MRSA has been around for years without it ever hitting the news. It is very prevalent in hospitals and nursing homes. Have you ever been in a hospital and seen a "contact precautions" sign on someone's door? If so, chances are that person had MRSA. The news has blown it way out of proportion for sensationalistic purposes in my opinion. Yes, you need to take precautions, but they are basic everyday precautions that everyone should be doing anyway - washing hands frequently (before eating, after using the bathroom, after being in places where you know there have been a lot of sick people, or just a lot of people in general, like crowds), cleaning and covering open wounds, not sharing towels with other people, etc. The staph infection that causes MRSA exists on virtually everyone's skin. Like I said, people need to take precautions but there's no need to worry excessively because the news is blowing it out of proportion.

Answer 2

I'm a nurse and MRSA has been around for as long as I can remember....I've been in nursing since 1990. It comes and goes in the news. The safest thing you can do is wash your hands before you eat, after you use the bathroom, before and after contact with a sick and/or elderly person and do not hang out in hospitals. If you have to have surgery, do whatever it is you have to do to get the heck out of there ASAP. The hospital is the dirtiest place you want to be. Oh, and this is coming from a previous hospital nurse - PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR CHILDREN INTO THE HOSPITAL TO VISIT!!!! It's a filthy place - despite what you think, it's not "hospital clean." It's full of disgusting germs and I've seen people bring their kids into a isolation room where the patient had a very contagious "germ" and the 18 month out is crawling around on the floor....UGH! Keep your kids at home. Don't visit too often and if you do visit, keep your visits short. Send flowers, cards and lots of phone calls. Your loved one will be home soon - trust me, insurance doesn't want them there anymore than you do =)

Answer 3

Very scary! When I visit clients in hospitals or nursing homes I wash my hands when I get there, I touch nothing, and wash again before I leave. If there is a chance they may have MRSA I wear a gown, mask and gloves.
What scares me the most is how many people in health care facilities are catching this. Infectious disease control should be inforced stringently by the staff and I don't think they are watched closely enough.

Answer 4

Strengthen your immune system, and do not get cut. I just got over having the first kind of staph, and lucky for me that the medication they gave me worked and killed the infection. I was freaking out, because you can die from mrsa as it goes into the blood stream and then into the organs. I got staph from a very deep cut on my leg, went to the Dr. the next day, and they gave me antibiotics, but they did not work like the sulfa drugs they ended up giving me. Now, I am almost healed, and my wound is almost gone. Did you know that we all carry staph on or skin, in the linings of our nose and in our mouths, so anybody can get it. Having a strong immune system will prevent from getting mrsa. Yup, that is bad stuff.

Answer 5

MRSA is mainly spread in locker rooms. The easiest way to protect yourself is through proper hygiene. Shower after play any contact sports and use antibacterial soap. Use only your own sports equipment and towel. You can do a google search to see what it looks like so you know it when you see it. They usually come as blisters and worsen very rapidly. If you have a blister that is doing this, immediately contact a doctor. If you do not treat it, you can die or have body parts amputated.

Answer 6

If you're in the states, then I think yes, the scare is justified since it's spreading wildly through poverty-stricken areas in US cities, at least according to all the medical blogs. Ditto UK hospitals.

You can protect yourself by washing wounds you get with salt and water, and by always, always, always finishing antibiotic courses, unless you're allergic. I like to wash wounds with salt water. If a wound goes septic, get it looked at, and the same for any 'spots' that turn into boils, or 'spider bites' when you're in the north of the US and nowhere near where the brown recluse actually lives.

Other countries, no clue at all.

Answer 7

Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. Clean any abrasions with same.
The hype is overblown at this point, but it could become worse. There are antibiotic regemens that will kill MRSA, but as these bugs evolve those cocktails will also become ineffective. Thats the real danger.

Answer 8

Just wash hands a lot and dont use other peoples sheets or towels stay away from people with boils etc. Its scary thats for sure Here in my town 4 people have died from it. I think they are dying from it because they are not treating it serious and not getting treatment for it.

Answer 9

I have seen other answer I agree with other responses. Wash your hands If you work in health care use universal precautions. If you don't and are just concerned there is also hand cleanser you can buy to use if you can't wash your hands. Use this also. Also clean your counters with bleach at home become a label reader.

Answer 10

MRSA is hardly the most important killer of humans, and simple thorough hand-washing and staying out of hospitals will prevent most of it. More teenagers die from stupid driving moves than from MRSA. How many are going to stop driving?