Good hygiene can help prevent staph infections

By now you have probably heard something about MRSA, the so-called "superbug" that has lately been making the rounds in the news media.Should you be concerned?MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, isn't something new like SARS or bird flu. It's been a serious problem since the 1960s for hospitalized patients and others having medical procedures.What's new about MRSA today is that distinct strains of it are turning up more often outside of hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care settings. Otherwise healthy people are picking up MRSA in schools, locker rooms, playgrounds - just about anywhere they come in direct contact with infected people or with contaminated surfaces.Fortunately most cases of community-acquired MRSA are confined to relatively mild skin infections. They typically appear as small boils or abscesses that can look and feel like swollen spider bites. Nearly all of these infections can be treated successfully, with incision and drainage of the wound, although sometimes antibiotics that target MRSA are also needed. But up to 7 percent of MRSA infections acquired in community settings can invade the bloodstream, sometimes leading to pneumonia, bone infections or occasionally death from septic shock. Serious or not, MRSA infections are well worth avoiding and not spreading to others. How can you improve your odds against infection?Staphylococcus bacteria, including MRSA, surround us every day. They are part of the normal microscopic vegetation carried on the skin or in the nose of one-third of the healthy population at any given time.All that is needed is a break in the skin, like a cut or a scrape, to give bacteria already on the skin an entry point to cause infection.Likewise, MRSA can gain a foothold when an unwashed hand or a shared locker room towel touches broken skin.Your best defense against MRSA is old-fashioned hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and warm water often throughout the day, but especially after using the bathroom, before you eat or prepare food, after sneezing or coughing or touching the nose - and certainly after touching other people's wounds or bandages. When you wash your hands do it gently and thoroughly, for about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song.Other steps to prevent community-acquired MRSA are equally simple:n Clean cuts and scrapes, and cover them with a bandage until they heal.n Don't share towels, clothing, razors and other personal items that touch the skin.n Bathe regularly, and routinely clean equipment and environmental surfaces that multiple people touch with their bare skin. This includes athletic gear used in team sports and shared equipment such as weight-training benches at the gym.n Recognize possible MRSA infections early and see your health care provider promptly for evaluation and treatment.Most MRSA infections are preventable. Now that these bacteria are widely prevalent in the community, a little extra attention to basic hygiene can make a big difference in reducing your risk.Dr. Eberhart-Phillips is the El Dorado County Health Officer. He can be reached at jeberhart-phillips@edcgov.us.