Contact with Mrsa, now I'm so afraid?

[mzsuccess]

I work at an nursing home and I'm a CNA there until I finished school for nursing. I was working with a patient and she was on Precautions. Well stupid me, I made a few mistakes. Ok, when I went in her room, I used a gown and gloves. I had to help with her dressings and she has so many. It takes to nurses and so I had to hold/ support her on one side of the bed while they took care of her dressings. And her body was pressing against me. Mistake. Thats when I learned she was on contact for mrsa- she said it was in her foot only. But doesn't it affect the whole body and she said that it had healed and she waiting to be retested.

Now before that, i wasn't as careful as I should have been, once while I was getting her ready for bed, I put my soiled gown in a bag and had an emergency put the bag down ( a patient was having a heart attack) then came back to the bag and picked it up with no gloves. Prior to knowing she had mrsa. She was on our rehab unit. And I set up her food and touch her without gloves because I didn't know she was even on contact until she was on our side and I have a daughter and I'm so scared and paranoid and I'm going to the doctor tomorrow and asking to be tested, but I'm so afraid thinking back on how I wasn't careful enough. Any advice?

[ktwlpn, LPN]

The Department of Health,CDC and NIH all have good info on their sites,easy to navigate and it's written for the general public so anyone can understand it..

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Surprisingly, after 5 various surgeries, and after working in the field for 9 years, I do not have MRSA. They tested me each time nasally prior to the surgery.

Don't forget also, that it's more of an opportunistic infection also- someone who's immunity is low, or elderly, etc,might be moreprone to it.

I always thought the gowns were so we didn't spread it to the other pts. I'd be more worried about that aspect.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Ok, I understand a little bit. But I was reading that it could contacted, from skin to wound contact and from even touching someone, bed rails and etc.

Contacted, yes. Contracted, as in developing an illness, no, unless you have an open skin lesion and don't have a normal immune system.

We used to be able to tell the difference between an MRSA type contracted in a hospital or care facility and a different type contracted in the community (you see it a lot in contact sports where there are skin abrasions and damp locker rooms-- people just bring it with them). No longer. They are both everywhere. Basic cleanliness is your friend.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Also, as an interesting point- as someone said, it's very much out in the community too. I have horses, and one of the horses had a foot abscess that just would not go away( like 3 mos of tx) Vet suspected it may have been Mrsa- she told me that 50 percent of Veterinarians were colonized with Mrsa!!

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

There is staph absolutely everywhere. We do random swabs all the time in our micro class and everyone who looks under the microscope have it on something. Most every bacteria these days is developing some type of resistance to antibiotics. I found out amazing things about what I carry in my throat a couple of weeks ago. If your immune system is compromised that's when it has the chance to infect you. I think I am a carrier of staph, strep, meningitis, and pneumonia. It's crazy what we carry in our systems, on our cellphones, table tops. I was shocked at first when I looked at my cheek swabs and throat cultures but as my professor explained it's not a problem unless my immune system goes down.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Ahhh micro class!I remember we swabbed our kitchen sink drains at home! YUK! I use bleach down the drain all the time now. Yep , bacteria is everywhere. They say all the antibacterial soaps are not helping anymore either- they make the bacteria resistant

[mzsuccess]

So if you touch a person or something of a person with mrsa can you get it? like I was stating, I've read that you can get it from skin to skin contact. When does the symptoms and signs show up and my immune system isn't the best. I easily get sick.

[Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN]

OP, like many folks, you are confusing the presence of the organism with disease. This is rarely the case. A wonderful professor once taught me the concept of the infectious disease triangle. That is, 3 things must be in alignment for disease to occur.

1- a virulent pathogen (many kinds of bacteria, MRSA being but one)

2- a favorable environment for disease to occur (say a wound or a malfunctioning organ system)

3- a susceptible host

( good example is a weakened patient or a compromised immune system)

If you think of disease in this way you can understand why most individuals, including yourself and most health care workers, are free from disease even though they may carry the offending organism.

[workingharder]

For perspective. The flu kills twice as many people as does MRSA in the U.S.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

So if you touch a person or something of a person with mrsa can you get it? like I was stating, I've read that you can get it from skin to skin contact. When does the symptoms and signs show up and my immune system isn't the best. I easily get sick.

Yes, MRSA is spread by contact which is why people with MRSA are placed on contact precautions. Just because you easily catch a cold doesn't mean your immune system isn't the best. If you're not immunocompromised (as in, you have HIV, are on chemotherapy, have a primary immunodeficient or take medication to suppress your immune system because of autoimmune diseases or transplants) you are probably fine. You will contact MRSA thousands of times throughout your career. As Esme says, MRSA is everywhere... I was just thinking that when I was wiping my spin bike off today. You can be colonized for years with MRSA without knowing it. I was shocked that I was negative when I got tested a few years ago.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Vet suspected it may have been Mrsa- she told me that 50 percent of Veterinarians were colonized with Mrsa!!

Apparently rampant use of antibiotics in cattle/swine is having a nasty little side effect. We've observed mysterious MRSA colonization crop up in relatives of veterinarians.

I was always sure I was colonized after 20 years of practice (first ten with med/surg patients). I remember having a yucky infected earring site and asking the MD to give me bactroban as I was sure it was MRSA. Interestingly I had the nasal screening recently and I was negative.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

We don't even isolate for MRSA!!