Have a somewhat medical quetion?!


Question: Have a somewhat medical quetion!?
Ok, my son asked me a really good question today!. See his grandpa tested positive for MRSA a really bad staff infection, which he got from his open heart surgery!. They let him come home with it!. We know the ONLY way to kill it is useing bleach all over the house, which we did thoughout the house ,& his car!. But, we cant really use bleach on our hands due to being allergic to the bleach!. We had to use gloves when cleaning the places!. Anyways, we are useing the hand sanitiser, but the soap is a question, due the fact the doctors only told us, that antibacterial soaps wont cut is, & that only bleach will kill it!. Now, heres the question my son asked, can we use antiseptic soap, & if so what is the diffrence between antibacterial & antiseptic soap if any!? My soon to be 11 year old son asked my this, & I couldnt answer it!. Also how long does the MRSA last, & what else should we know, his doctors wont tell us much about it!. He has a home nurse that told us, she couldnt belive they sent himWww@Answer-Health@Com


Answers:
MRSA is not as scary as people make it sound!. Over 60% of the population have it already colonized on their bodies somewhere (meaning it lives on them but doesn't make them sick)!. It is not just something people catch in the hospital, and having it is no reason to keep a person in the hospital!. Many people are at home when diagnosed, and stay home during the entire treatment!. MRSA is only lifethreatening when it is left untreated, but that is also true with so many other infections!.

Most commonly, an MRSA infection can be found in a pimple (or boil), a wound, or in a respiratory infection!. It is found rarely in other types of infections and those happen usually only to a person with a depressed immune system (as in cancer or AIDS) so I won't go into that!. There are antibiotics that will kill MRSA, but it usually takes a combination of antibiotics and the person needs to take them for a longer length of time than normal!.

The only way to catch MRSA is direct contact with the MRSA drainage from a person!. If the MRSA was in grandpa's wound, you would have to come in direct contact with his wound drainage to get infected!. The infection in you would show up at the site where the wound drainage touched you!.

The only areas of your house that needed to be scrubbed were the areas that grandpa's wound had direct contact with (or that his dressings had direct contact with), places like the chair he sat on, the bathtub, etc!.!.!. It would not become airborne from a wound and travel elsewhere in your house!. Use gloves when you wash anything that has come in contact with his wound, and wash all of his bedding, linen and clothes separate from everone elses stuff (use gloves when handling his linen and clothes too)!. Make sure to bag any wound dressings well when you place them in the trash!.

There is not a huge difference between antibacterial soap and antiseptic soap, and the small difference doesn't make one or the other better for use for handwashing!. Good handwashing technique is what is the most important and all that is essential to keep your hands free of MRSA!. Studies have shown that it is not the type of soap or the temperature of the water that kills the most germs with handwashing (all though they do help some), but the length of time you have your hands actually rubbing together under the water and the amount of friction used while rubbing!. Use an antibacterial or antiseptic PUMP soap (not a bar of soap, because bacteria can actually live on a bar of soap)!. Wet your hands, apply some soap then rub your hands really well for atleast 15 seconds (before putting them under the warmest water you can stand) until you have created quite a lather on them!. Then rub them well for atleast another 15 seconds under the running water!. Get a little tool for cleaning under the nails and do this once a day when you are washing your hands as the nails tend to trap bacteria under them!. Do not use your wet hand to shut off the faucet!. Use a disposible paper towel to completely dry your hands and then use it to shut off the water before throwing it out!. Make sure you dry your hands really well after washing, because bacteria can multiply more rapidly on damp hands!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Antibacterial, as the name implies, kills or retards the growth of bacteria!. Antiseptic works not only on bacteria but on other microorganisms as well, like protozoans (amoeba), fungi, etc!. In your case, though, since MRSA is a species of bacteria, antibacterial and antiseptic would be the same!.

Unfortunately, bleach is the only household item that can kill it, and not completely!. MRSA is an extremely resistant strain of staph, and even most antibiotics won't kill it!.

I'm not sure why your doctors sent him home, it is very irresponsible!. If I was his attending, I wouldn't have!. Maybe it wasn't up to them, like your insurance would only cover a certain number of days in the hospital!. In any case, he should get antibiotics that would kill MRSA, like vancomycin!. Theres a good chance that you and your son could get infected, then you'll be in a whole load of trouble!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I too am surprised he was sent home, I surfed the web and found a site called MayoClinic!.com, it answers all your questions about MSRA, I recommend you visit the site, I think you will be not only well informed but surprised by what you find out!. Hope this helps!.Www@Answer-Health@Com





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