How do I know if I have MRSA????

weetziebat · Oct 31, 2004

Now there will surely be folks far more knowledgeable about MRSA than I am answering your question, but I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I believe it is contact isolation, so by feeling the steam with your face it is not going to pass it along to you. You wear the protective gear to protect patients who have compromised immune systems, rather than yourself. Many apparently healthy people have MRSA without any symptoms.

And moliuchick, you have a concern and are asking for info. No one is going to laugh at you. Guaranteed.

TracyB,RN, RN · Oct 31, 2004

Here is another tip.... don't bring any item OUT of an isolation room into a heavy traffic area, like the kitchen. Better to bring a styrofoam cup back into his room.

I guess a big part of this would depend where the patient's MRSA is.. a wound with drainage, sputum, in the blood.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2004

MRSA is transferred by contact, not through the air. So relax. If you aren't elderly, sick or immunocompromised in some way your body has good defenses to fight it off. We do the isolation to keep the MRSA in the room so we don't bring it to sick residents/patients from our clothes or skin.

The way to tell is through a culture. Kind of like a throat culture that we've all had at one time or another in our lives, they just swab your nares and see if it grows MRSA.

Probably at this point, some of us old timers have MRSA colonies all over us. :)

I agree that the proper MRSA isolation technique is to bring the hot water in a styrofoam cup to the patient. Don't bring anything out of the patient's room.

We live and learn in this world. Sounds like you're doing a good job!

oldfolksnurse · Oct 31, 2004

Probably at this point, some of us old timers have MRSA colonies all over us. :)

That is very true, especially if working LTC. I've been colonized since at least 1991/92. Never had an active MRSA infection and don't expect to have one.

moliuchick, RN · Oct 31, 2004

MRSA is transferred by contact, not through the air. So relax. If you aren't elderly, sick or immunocompromised in some way your body has good defenses to fight it off. We do the isolation to keep the MRSA in the room so we don't bring it to sick residents/patients from our clothes or skin.
The way to tell is through a culture. Kind of like a throat culture that we've all had at one time or another in our lives, they just swab your nares and see if it grows MRSA.
Probably at this point, some of us old timers have MRSA colonies all over us. :)
I agree that the proper MRSA isolation technique is to bring the hot water in a styrofoam cup to the patient. Don't bring anything out of the patient's room.
We live and learn in this world. Sounds like you're doing a good job!

Thanks for reassuring me. I am just not sure if MRSA can travel by droplets like TB that is why I worry so much.

So when you say," MRSA is transferred by CONTACT", does it mean if I put my finger in my patient's nose and then dig into my own, I will get it then?

or am I still wrong? (can you believe that I am a 2nd yr nursing student????):imbar

moliuchick, RN · Oct 31, 2004

Probably at this point, some of us old timers have MRSA colonies all over us. :)
That is very true, especially if working LTC. I've been colonized since at least 1991/92. Never had an active MRSA infection and don't expect to have one.

But if I have two little ones at home, do I have to worry?:uhoh21:

moliuchick, RN · Oct 31, 2004

Now there will surely be folks far more knowledgeable about MRSA than I am answering your question, but I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I believe it is contact isolation, so by feeling the steam with your face it is not going to pass it along to you. You wear the protective gear to protect patients who have compromised immune systems, rather than yourself. Many apparently healthy people have MRSA without any symptoms.
And moliuchick, you have a concern and are asking for info. No one is going to laugh at you. Guaranteed.

Thanks for making me feel better. Sometimes, I just wish that I could be as good as some RNs on our floor. They know so much and never forget stuff.

I hope I will be just like them after I graduate. (At this point, I still feel that there are many things that I have no clue of )

kathy_79 · Oct 31, 2004

first, do not take any items ever out of pt room who is on isolation, no matter what type of. you should go and get another cup or call for this but not taking out infected thing. i am nurse student too, recently, i had pt with MRSA too. this is contact isolation so you should be fine, at least, if you did not touch bare hands anything in pt room amd pt thmselves (wound, non-intact skin, equipment that they touched). we learn all the time, just remember no-no is to take anything out. on my unit we even have disposal silverwears, cups, plates, stethoscopes, so everything sttay with pt and is discard at room. later housekeeper need to desinfect what can be reused. besides, follow the policy at your work place, to prevent nosocomial infection and transmittion on others.

good luck, it gets better, :)

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Oct 31, 2004

...don't bring any item OUT of an isolation room into a heavy traffic area, like the kitchen. Better to bring a styrofoam cup back into his room...

My thoughts exactly.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2004

Thanks for reassuring me. I am just not sure if MRSA can travel by droplets like TB that is why I worry so much.
So when you say," MRSA is transferred by CONTACT", does it mean if I put my finger in my patient's nose and then dig into my own, I will get it then?
or am I still wrong? (can you believe that I am a 2nd yr nursing student????):imbar

Yes, you can get MRSA that way. You may or may not get any symptoms, depends on your overall health. Remember though your other patients/residents aren't in such good health, or may have open incisions, etc. that you can introduce the MRSA to. They are the ones likely to ill, not you. I'm not saying nurses don't get MRSA infections, unfortunately we do. But if it were horribly contageous we'd all be dropping like flies as MRSA is everywhere these days.

I worked with someone who cut his hand on some equipment in a MRSA infected patient's room and got a wicked infection that required skin grafts, etc. Nothing to play around with for sure.

About bringing it home to your kids. Again, if it were a major problem we'd be hearing much more about it. Lots of nurses have little kids at home. Heck even pregnant nurses can go into MRSA patient rooms. Be diligent in your isolation precuations 100% of the time and wash your hands before and after each patient contact. (I know some nurses who take their uniforms off in their garages when they get home and then run to the shower. :))

Good luck in school. Always ask your questions when in doubt as you're doing. :)

Trauma-tizedRN · Oct 31, 2004

This a true story and I hope no one will laugh at me.
I am a nursing student and I am currently working as a CNA in a hospital.
Today I just worked an evening shift and there were two patients on my floor that had MRSA. I was careful enough that each time when I entered their rooms, I would put my gown and gloves on. And I also washed my hands after working with them.
And here is the dumpest part of the story...:imbar
I went in to one of my MRSA patient's room and he said he wanted more "hot water" in his tea. So I took his cup (with the teabag in it) out and went to the kitchen to get some hot water. Since I was using tap water and wearing gloves, I was not able to tell if the water was "hot" enough. So what I did was put my nose and face "REAL" close to the cup to feel the steam.
Now, my question for all of you smart people out there is, do you think that I can get MRSA from sniffing his saliver (which was on the cup that he used)?
I am very worry now because I have two young sons at home and we sometimes share food and utensils.
How do I know if I have MRSA? Do I need to get a titer to find out?

Guess you know now not to bring stuff of isolation...I see it posted here several times.

WONDERING....any nurses here actually ever gotten a MRSA infection via patient contact?

I had bad winter hands one year and picked up a staph infection somehow...luckily not MRSA. Scary because I work in ICU and we have lotsa MRSA...and other yuckies. I am a major handwasher and gloves for everything I do...so it really freaked me out to still pick up a bug at work.