Staph infections...

kathy_79 · Oct 4, 2004

i just have had my clinical pt with on staph isolation. it is mostly mrsa infection: methicillin-resistance staphylococcus aureus. the type of nosocomial infection, one that is required at hospital or healthcare facilities. because most of bacteria are treated with antibiotics, some of them developed resistance to it. one of them mostly known are resistance to penicillin and related to pencillin. you can find out more going to http://cdc.gov and search for mrsa,

you will find good explaination of it.

bacteria develop on skin and are not infected untill person has factors that predispose to infection: ICU and BURN unit patients, open-wounds, immunosupression,

there are no symptoms except those that predispose for infection: fever 103-104. F, swelling, rash, the doc order tests for cultures in blood, urine, feces, if there are any they will look for specific bacteria, so doc can choose proper treatment for this infection. my pt has open-wound and she was treated with cefazolin (ancef) + ointment to affected area. it is contact isolation so just follow standard precaution and you will be fine.

take care, :)

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2004

Handwashing. Handwashing. Handwashing. The best prevention.

The elderly and those with lowered immunity (i.e. most every one in the hospital or nursing homes) are a high risk population. This is why nursing homes are high risk environments.

This is also why the isolation procedures and good handwashing are so important. You aren't as much at risk of a staph infection as the residents (presuming you to be of normal health and working age) is who gets it from your hands your your uniform. So gown and glove up! :)

merricat · Oct 4, 2004

I was wondering why there has been alot of staph infections in nursing homes? What kinds of symptoms do you have with staph? What does the medical abbreviation for staph stand for? I work in a nursing home as a CNA and we have 5 people in isolation with staph. Thanks,
Steph:)

staph is a bacterium that lives on skin. normal people have staph on their skin. the full name is staphylococcous. there are different kinds of it, like staphylococcus aureus. there are ven different kinds of staphylococcus aureus-- like mrsa, that is a kind of staph aureus. there may be some good websites for microbiology and many community colleges offer a class. you can be colonized with staph or even mrsa and not get sick-- it just lives on your skin. and you cant tell without testing, and i do not know how good the testing is. symptoms with staph infection would be similar to any ohter kind of infection-- poss. reddened skin, poss. irritaion, poss. discharge, blah blah blah. it is important to know the difference between contact precautions and stnadard precautions, blah blah blah. a good class helps. i know there are a lot of aides out there who wont even hold an ungloved hand of a dying resident because they are afraid. i have seen it.