MRSA

We had a note to our comments site .. viewer asking if 'green' cleaning products are to blame for MRSA. The short answer is no.

The reason we have the MRSA problem is because we've used too many antibiotics - for stuff we really didn't need antibiotics .. and we didn't take them as prescribed. How many times have you or someone you known stopped taking their meds before the prescription had been used up? If you stop taking the drug when you feel good, you may not have killed the bug . .so when it comes back it's stronger - in that the bugs that survived the round of treatment were stronger to begin with. Wwhen only the tough bugs survive we begin creating a new generation of only tough bugs.

While that sounds simple, that's the basic science behind this problem. Why it happened to explode so fast in the community the research brains are puzzling that out.

MRSA has been in hospital settings for more than 5 years. It would hit he elderly or others whose immune system was diminished. When it gets into the bloodstream, it's tenacious and the potential to be deadly is great. While less likely to get into the bloodstream if you've got skin infected with MRSA (which is what most of the kids have presented with) it can happen.


A bleach solution left to air dry is a great way to kill germs on surfaces - and it's also a green solution... no complicated chemicals here.

As the infection control manager at St. Peter's Hospital told me: we've had a free ride for years - we had drugs that treated infections that in past eras would have been deadly - so we came to take it for granted that whatever came our we we could beat.

Well, it's back to the laboratory to find more of those drugs. In the meantime we have to be vigilant: wash those hands, cover cuts, protect abraded skin, don't share personal items and when it doubt - check with your doctor.

There are a couple of good websites loaded with MRSA info - we've got them posted on our homepage.