[Irishgirl]

I had a nurse tell me that all healthcare workers are probably colonized with MRSA in their noses, just not enough to make us sick. Is this true? If I get immunocompromised one day, can I get deathly ill with respiratory MRSA? I'm a little frightened.

[scarryann]

i've heard the same thing . that infection control would not want to swab all the nursing staff as we would all be positive. good question can't wait to find out if this is true

[augigi]

Depends where you are - some states in Australia do not have MRSA at all. Patients and workers all get nasal/groin/axilla/mouth swabbing and have to shower with chlorhexidine and apply bactroban ointment to their noses before attending surgery there.

[youngatheart]

I have a lot of nursing home patients on my floor, One nurse told me that if each nursing home patient was swabbed at least 90% would show up with MRSA, Worried about this

[jrhyle]

Well you just have to be aware that MRSA does not usually harm healthy people, but it can affect people with certain long-term health problems, especially those who have chronic skin conditions and open wounds. People who are ill are vulnerable to infections.

The only way to prevent its spread is thru simple hygiene measures,like washing hands before and after touching patients, wearing apron and gloves, and doing isolation measures. These are commonly the kind of patients we get where I work (Infectious Diseases Unit).

[JEKA]

Actually, I think the numbers are more like 30% of us are colonized with staph and of that number, 1 - 2 % are MRSA.

[NurseNathan]

Yes
I have a patient in my setting that has been diagnosed with active MRSA. I contacted an MD from the CDC as well as the infectious control nurse at the Arizona department of health services. I was told that most people do have MRSA in their noses but that it is not in what they consider the active stage as there is no flare up of infection. The trouble is when it is transfered to other areas through droplet or direct contact . Nurses would most likely have cultures as they are in constant contact with many sick patients, and MRSA is being seen more often in our health offices.

[grannyNan]

Yes, it is true most PEOPLE are colonized with at least Staph. Aureus and nowdays with his cousin MRSA. It is important to know that there are two strains of MRSA. Hospital accquired and community accquired. In this day of IV drug use/abuse and poor hand hygiene, you are likely to come in contact with one or the other. To be colonized means that you have the germ living on or in you. This is okay as long as you are a healthy person and practice hand hygiene. The problem comes when we touch items that others have touched and do not wash properly. For example, Say you go to the local grocery store to do the weekly shopping. You grab a shopping cart that say 15-20 other people have used that day,(you don't know what they have done with their hands), and you have a small open area on your hand. If by chance, that other person has an active infection, let's say a boil in their armpit, that they have been scratching, and you come in contact with that part of the cart they touched you have a likely chance of winning the microb lottery.
I don't want to scare people but each of us carry around a ton of germs some helpful some not. The way people most commonly become infected with any organism is a open area in our best defense. (Our skin) Keep your skin healthy and your fingers out of your mouths and eyes and you will side step most of the buggers. Common sense should tell you to wash your hands even if they look clean before you eat. As I often say when teaching "If it's wet, purulent, bloody, or sticky and it's not yours, wear gloves then wash your hands."

[dolphine]

I have a question abour mrsa. How long can it live out side of the body before it dies. I really need to know this asap. How long do regular germs live outside th e body before they die?

[Yin Yang]

It can live for quite a while. My husband got a hospital acquired MRSA while having a nasal/sinus surgery. It takes great diligence to keep a home environment clean with an MRSA patient in the house. My daughter wound up getting it from him. My step-father got a hopsital acquired MRSA as well while in being treated for diabetes. It took a year of IV meds to resolve it, and the family washing with chlorhex scrub, continually cleaning surfaces, etc. It's a tough bacteria to get rid of! By the way, dogs can also carry colonies in their nares, but they virtually never will break with an active infection.

Kathy