MRSA in the nares

[ilovemicrobiology]

I am a new nursing student and was wondering how you get a colonization of mrsa in the nose? I know it's not airborn, is it from putting dirty fingers in/ near your nose? As a carrier does that make it easier to get an infection elsewhere on your body?

Any input appreciated!

[pockunit, ADN, RN]

I read an article maybe last year that said that coffee drinkers have lower rates of MRSA in their nares.

Also: rectum? damn near killed him!

[Zookeeper3]

umn, what most nurses do NOT do is wash their hands BEFORE going to use the bathroom, I mean after opening the door, and contaminating their hands with locking a stall. Many MRSA UTI's are very common with nurses. After 16 years as an ICU nurse, I know, if you swab my nares, I'm positive and colonized. That means you can't catch it from me, but' I've had it.

Forget MRSA and aids, it's hep B that scares the crap out of me, it lasts forever, kills quickly and isn't easily or comfortably cured. I'll take my positive nare swap any day, you have bigger worries. (BTW, I'm a negative swab), it's just the point of it that I easily can be positive as the nurse working next to me. Bigger fish to fry out there.

[rn_nxt_dr]

Staph. aureus is a normal flora of the nares.

MRSA is a highly virulent strain of S. aureus. Colonization of such bacteria if there is open/abraded skin. Hand washing is surely helpful but it also eliminate the normal flora that occupies there normal spot only to be invaded by a virulent form. It works both ways.

But remember that Staph. aureus has several virulent factors; toxic shock syndrome toxin that causes TSS, enterotoxin that causes food poisoning, exfoliatin that causes scalded skin synd., and the pyogenic medicated by enzymes causing inflammation and necrosis.

The best prevention is diligence in all the things that you do and how you will react when you see someone who just touched or picked there nose. What do you do next?

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

We'd probably get better results from swabbing the taint, but I'd rather just swab the nose.

[pockunit, ADN, RN]

But remember that Staph. aureus has several virulent factors; toxic shock syndrome toxin that causes TSS,

Whoa, flashback. I remember the TSS outbreak in 1980 and how the public health depts noticed the cases were popping up by zip codes. Free samples of super absorbant tampons = TSS clusters. Crazy. Not at all related to MRSA, but still. Pretty cool detective work. And now back to your regular programming.

[wilsonra]

Stapholococcus Aureus (methicillin-resistant Staph A) hangs out near the nares region. Probably because it is warm there and you don't wash your nose 50 times a day like you do your hands. Plus, that particular bacteria hides in the fingerprint indents which is why physicians scrub scrub scrub b4 a surgery. So therefore, it is easier to get a good sample from your nose. You'd have an easier time getting Staph Epidermis from your hands. Most of the population carries that.

[rn_nxt_dr]

Correction on previous posting;

1. Staph. aureus is not a normal flora but a COLONIZER.

2. Pyogenic MEDIATED.......

3. THEIR instead of there (not thinking....).