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What to do if You have a Staph Skin Infection

What to do if You have a Staph Skin Infection

• Cover your wound. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph. So keeping the infection covered will help prevent the spread to others. Bandages or tape can be thrown away with the regular trash.
• Wash your hands. You, your family, and others in close contact should wash their hands often with soap and warm water. You can use an alcohol hand gel when soap and water are not available. This is especially important to do after changing the bandage or touching the infected wound.
• Do not share personal items. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, or uniforms that may have had contact with the infected wound or bandage. Wash soiled sheets, towels, and clothes with water and laundry detergent. Dry clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-drying. This also helps kill bacteria in clothes.
• Talk to your doctor. Tell any health care providers who treat you that you have or had a staph skin infection. If the type of staph infection you have is MRSA, be sure to tell them this as well.

The main thing to do is seek help from a professional if you think that you have a staph infection. Time is critical and it is important to seek help immediately.

MRSA Facts & Fiction

I found this interesting video on YouTube describing MRSA. Check it out.

Schools Battle Rise in Staph Infections

Schools Battle Rise in Staph Infections

(ARA) – Kids will be kids, and are likely to have skin contact with other children and get minor cuts while playing at home and at school. Bacteria can be spread easily from person to person, and children are at greater risk of contracting staph infection.

The words “staph infection” used to only be uttered in hospitals or healthcare facilities, but the increase in the number of recent cases reported in the general public are alarming. Bacteria can be spread easily from person to person, and children might be at the most risk. Parents and teachers alike need to learn prevention now.

Staphylococcus aureus, or simply staph, are bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the noses of healthy people. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph that is resistant to antibiotics including methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

Educate and protect yourself and your family today with these tips:

Treat and cover wounds

Any open wound is a potential entry point for MRSA. Treat wounds with StaphAseptic to kill germs that may cause infection and keep them covered for protection.

Don’t share personal items (like towels)

Germs can live on clothing and gear for over 24 hours. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, razors, soap, uniforms and any sports equipment that directly touches your body.

Shower after physical activity

If you participate in sports, shower after each event with soap. Close skin to skin contact is one of the main ways MRSA is being spread among athletes.

Properly clean gear and equipment

Germs can live on athletic mats, gym equipment, sports equipment and clothing. Clean and disinfect all objects before and after use, especially if it’s shared.

Keep hands clean

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to wash your hands.

Consult your physician for all active wounds

If you think you have an infection, be sure to contact your physician. In order to determine if an infection is MRSA, it must be cultured by a physician.

Understanding the importance of prevention at school, StaphAseptic is now donating MRSA education kits to schools nationwide that educate students and parents, and promote steps to staying healthy. Included is an educational DVD, a full color poster and samples of StaphAseptic to keep for the school nurse, administrators, coaches and more.

“MRSA really is a ticking time bomb,” says Dr. Mark Christensen, a registered pharmacist in Utah and Oregon and associate professor at the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy. “We have great fears that community acquired MRSA staph infections will increase dramatically — because of what we’ve seen in the hospitals (MRSA infections). There is an overwhelming fear for some of the clinicians out there.”

Commonly mistaken as spider bites, staph and MRSA infections look like a pimple, boil or ingrown hair and can be red, swollen, painful, or have drainage. Many occur in the armpits, neck, groin and buttocks where bacteria grow. More serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections, or even death.

“If kids are in sports I have a real concern. Parents should be doing preventive measures immediately if there are any kinds of cuts or scrapes. It should be automatic. You really don’t know what you’re going to come in contact with out there. So even if they come in with a little owie they should try and do preventive measures like washing with a good soap and applying StaphAseptic. I think that should be basic care for kids now days,” says Dr. Christensen.

If you want a complimentary MRSA educational kit to be sent to your community school, have your school administrator or coach call (800) 482-4464 and press “0”. To learn more about staph and StaphAseptic visit www. StaphAseptic.com. StaphAseptic is available at most retail pharmacy stores.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Why Hand Hygiene is So Important

Why Hand Hygiene is So Important

(ARA) – When your kids come back to the dinner table from the bathroom, what is the first thing you always ask them? “Did you wash your hands?” If the answer is “no” you, of course, send them back to do it.

So why is it that many parents, and non parents for that matter, don’t always take the time to practice what they preach? Among the most common answers are “I forgot,” “I didn’t feel like it,” and “I don’t know.”

Well, just take a moment to think about the ramifications of your actions, or lack thereof. Throughout the day you accumulate germs on your hands from a variety of sources, such as direct contact with people, contaminated surfaces, foods, even animals and animal waste. Despite the proven health benefits of hand washing, many people don’t practice this habit as often as they should — even after using the toilet.

* The dangers of not washing your hands

According to MayoClinic.com, if you don’t wash your hands frequently enough, you can infect yourself with germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. And you can spread these germs to others by touching them or by touching surfaces that they also touch, such as computer keyboards, telephones and doorknobs.

Think there are a lot of germs at home, school and work? It’s nothing when compared to what you’ll find at a doctor’s office or in a hospital setting — places where sick people congregate. Everything is a potential source of germs, including doorknobs, chair arms, bathrooms and even the pen and check-in register.

*The healthcare community is fighting back by educating the public and patients about preventing infection.

Healthcare workers are doing more today than ever before to combat infection. With heightened awareness and concern over MRSA and other drug-resistant super bugs, hospitals are applying the latest technology to prevent the spread of infection. Hospitals are installing wall-mounted dispensers throughout the hospital and outside of patient rooms to make hand hygiene convenient. They are reviewing their hand hygiene procedures and implementing training programs to prevent deadly viruses. Visitors, patients and family members are encouraged to use the hand hygiene products just as nurses, doctors and other personnel do.

If your health care professional doesn’t wash their hands in front of you, make a point of asking them if they would. And don’t be surprised if instead of turning on the faucet, they put their hands under a dispenser for an alcohol-based antiseptic rub.

Some of the more popular products showing up in doctor’s offices, hospitals, nursing homes and hospital operating rooms these days are Sterillium Rub and Sterillium Comfort Gel by Medline Industries. These brushless, waterless alcohol rub products contain ethanol and a well balanced blend of emollients that the user rubs into the skin to ward off germs. Health care professionals say they prefer using rubs like this one to simply washing with soap and water because they are faster to use, more accessible because no sinks are required, more gentle on the hands and because they leave hands soft and smooth, rather than chaffed and dry.  In fact, alcohol rub products are preferred to soap and water because they also provide better protection against germs.

In the wintertime, dry, itchy, irritated skin is a big problem not just for healthcare professionals, but for just about everyone. When it’s not enough to just clean the skin, you can moisturize, protect and nourish it with the help of Remedy advanced skin care products, also by Medline Industries.

All Remedy products contain Olivamine, a proprietary blend of amino acids, antioxidants vitamins and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). This patent pending blend represents a well-balanced meal for skin cells. The Remedy products also deliver natural oils to help bind the water and maintain the barrier properties of the skin. Keeping the skin in good shape is necessary to avoid excessive loss of moisture, which leads to cracked, itchy and painful hands.

The Remedy line includes cleansers, moisturizers and skin protectants that help deliver vital nutrients to the skin in an all natural way. Consumers can purchase the products in the first aid aisles of CVS stores.

Hand washing, or using alcohol-based hand disinfectants like Sterillium, doesn’t take much time or effort, but it offers great rewards in terms of preventing illness. Adopting this simple habit can play a major role in protecting your health. To learn more about the benefits of proper hand care, log on to www.medline.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Copyright © 2008 MRSA Diagnosis

By using this site you agree to and understand the following: Information contained within this site is intended solely for general educational purposes and is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific medical condition or question. Always seek the advice of your physician or other health provider for any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.