CA-MRSA stands for community associated - Methecillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Keep your hands clean. Washing with soap and warm water several times a day is the single best way to fight off staph. Teach kids to rub their hands briskly under running water for at least 15 seconds (about the amount of time it takes to recite the alphabet). Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer for times when soap and water are not available. It’s also helpful to keep kids’ fingernails short and please discourage nose picking.

Cover cuts and scrapes. Any would should be washed with soap and water, then covered with dry, sterile bandages until it heals. Apply a clean dressing daily. Pus from infected sores can contain CA-MRSA, so it’s also important to wash your hands after changing bandages to avoid spreading staph.

Don’t share personal items. Tell your kids not to use friend’s and teammates’ towels, washcloths, clothing, uniforms or razors. People who appear perfectly healthy can still be CA-MRSA carriers. Shared sports equipment, such as helmets and gym mats, should be cleaned with an antibacterial solution after every use.

Sanitarize gym clothing and linens. If anyone in the family has a cut, sore or infection, wash bedding and towels in hot water with added bleach. Wash sports clothing and washable athletic gear with laundry detergent after each use. Drying laundry in a hot dryer, not on a clothesline, also helps kill bacteria.

Remember flu shots. Since the flu lowers resistance to CA-MRSA, getting vaccinated every year helps protect against both diseases. Flu shots are approved for kids over six months of age.

Get tested. If you have skin infection that needs medical treatment, ask the doctor to check for CA-MRSA, which responds only to certain antibiotics. Many doctors prescribed the wrong drugs because they don’t do the test. That can worsen the infection. Normally it takes 48 hours to do the culture and the carrier can continue spreading the infection while waiting for lab results.

Luckily in some countries, they use the DNA technology that results will be available in an hour.

Be sure to take all your prescribed medication even if your skin heals. Bacteria you leave alive today can morph into tomrrow’s superbugs.

Source: RD August 2007
Story: Deadly Superbugs