Worried sick that I may have caught MRSA?

Nurses General Nursing

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I love nursing but I'm a bit OCD and a germaphobic. While at work tonight, I was visiting one of my favorite clients and so a bump on his arm that was a little open but barely. I asked what was that and he rubbed his hand acrossed it and said he forgot. When I got ready to leave He then told me his remote wasn't working. I took the remote with bare hands and fixed it. Then I saw cream on his chest and it was Mupirocin so I was like omg he has MRSA and the. Soon as I got ready to leave he told me he had MRSA. They was no sign on his door. I checked his records and sure enough he was confirmed to have it in the 17th. Now I'm so nervous and afraid. What do I do?

A quick consult with Dr Google ;) shows that medication is used for a few different bacterial infections, not just Staph.

It is used for other things as well but most commonly staph

You are going to love the day you come to work and discover your patient from the day before is now on airborne precautions to rule out TB. Good times.

Has this happened to you?

Dude - I'm pretty sure we're all colonized with MRSA ������

Yeah.

Anyone raise your hand if your hospital has swabbed your nose to test? I didn't think so.

It is used for other things as well but most commonly staph

You're making a few pretty questionable assumptions.

Most staph aureus isnt MRSA. I was prescribed mupirocin last time I got stitches, and that was jist prophylactic.

And if you work with in-patient populations, youre exposed to MRSA. If you go out and about in society, you are exposed to MRSA. It doesn't spread that easily, and at any rate colonization and infection arent the same thing.

You're making a few pretty questionable assumptions.

Most staph aureus isnt MRSA. I was prescribed mupirocin last time I got stitches, and that was jist prophylactic.

And if you work with in-patient populations, youre exposed to MRSA. If you go out and about in society, you are exposed to MRSA. It doesn't spread that easily, and at any rate colonization and infection arent the same thing.

No most staph isn't MRSA only when it's resistant to antibiotics.

I know we are constantly exposed to mrsa without knowing.

But the part of knowing is different, you were in the room touching the tv remote and little things without gloves. Like he actually rub the area when I asked what happened there and it was uncovered. A few minutes laters he handed me the remote.

Dude - I'm pretty sure we're all colonized with MRSA ������

Yeah.

Anyone raise your hand if your hospital has swabbed your nose to test? I didn't think so.

After nursing 10,000 MRSA patients for seven(ish) years, I though I'd be positive for it. I'd always heard they don't test nurses because we'd all be positive.

I did get swabbed when I had a scheduled c-section and came back negative, though. I was surprised and happy.

Has this happened to you?

Many times, with vented patients. Still TB free. Tb is pretty hard to catch though, you need to be breathing their air for many hours

Specializes in Pedi.
After nursing 10,000 MRSA patients for seven(ish) years, I though I'd be positive for it. I'd always heard they don't test nurses because we'd all be positive.

I did get swabbed when I had a scheduled c-section and came back negative, though. I was surprised and happy.

I was surprised I was negative for both MRSA and VRE the last time I was hospitalized. That was 8 years ago, though, so I may very well be colonized with both by now.

While we're on the subject of exposure, though, I do remember one the NPs I worked with when I worked in the hospital said that most healthcare workers will screen positive for CMV if tested and I did once take care of a baby with congenital CMV which was attributed to her mother being an occupational therapist. That baby needed a liver transplant rather emergently by a few months old. When I asked her medical team if her condition was because her mother worked in healthcare they said "yes, but don't think about it."

Specializes in Psychiatry, Forensics, Addictions.

Yes, and I have been colonized for years. They successfully decolonized me once, and I was re-colonized within a matter of weeks.

I agree that all healthcare workers probably have MRSA.

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Oh bull.

Well ever sense MRSA went wild it's estimated that about 10% if the population is colonized. I'll cite my source later but proper hand hygiene is the ticket.

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Yeah.

Anyone raise your hand if your hospital has swabbed your nose to test? I didn't think so.

They don't swab because they don't want to know.

Hppy

Well ever sense MRSA went wild it's estimated that about 10% if the population is colonized. I'll cite my source later but proper hand hygiene is the ticket.

The numbers vary by the source, but overview is from 2016 by the CDC:

Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) refers to types of staph that are resistant to a type of antibiotic methicillin. MRSA is often resistant to other antibiotics, as well. While 33% of the population is colonized with staph (meaning that bacteria are present, but not causing an infection with staph), approximately 1% is colonized with MRSA.

CDC - MRSA and the Workplace - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic

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