by J. Gean

Created on: February 16, 2010

Preventing MRSA Infection

Lately, there has been an increase in news stories about something called MRSA (pronounced “mersa”) that is said to be a potentially life threatening skin infection. 

In the past, hospital patients (especially older patients or young children) whose immunity may have been weakened would acquire staph infections during their hospital stays.  These infections were caused by a bacteria known as staphylococcus aureus (SA) and  would be treated typically with a penicillin-type antibiotic called methicillin.

The majority of MRSA infections (85%)  still occur in hospital or health care settings (3). Starting in the early 1990s, however, a new strain of SA began to emerge in school students, day care centers, and athletes.  This new bacterial strain was referred to by media as a “super bug” because it was found to be resistant to the antibiotics normally used to treat it.  That was how it came to be called MRSA or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus.  This new strain, although not related to the hospital version, does not need a weakened host to survive.  In fact, it can live on the surface of healthy skin for up to 24 hours. Neglected personal hygiene or improper wound care can lead to circumstances allowing the organism to multiply and cause a serious infection – even in healthy individuals.

Whenever we hear of some contagious or infectious disease going around, we usually hear the mantra “Wash your hands frequently”.  While it may sound over simplified, washing your hands goes a  long way toward preventing all kinds of communicable diseases.  It is a very effective way to diminish the population of bacteria and other microorganisms living on the surface of our skin.

Proper wound care is also very important in preventing MRSA.  Many germs love warm moist conditions and a fresh wound provides them an ideal  environment for reproduction.  Therefore, wounds should always be washed with warm soapy water, dried, and kept covered.  Additionally, it is also a good idea to use an over-the-counter skin disinfectant to reduce the chance of infection.  Studies have shown the best agents for preventing MRSA are those containing Benzethonium Chloride (2).  One such antiseptic is called StaphAseptic® (1).

Skin-to-skin contact is one of the major risk factors in contracting MRSA (3).  It is therefore strongly

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