I am a clinical microbiologist, and I manage the
microbiology laboratory at a mid-sized hospital. I am part
of our Infection Control Team, and we are presently trying
our best to get a handle on the MRSA problem at our
hospital....just as every other hospital in America is
trying. There's a lot of misconceptions, and
misunderstandings about what MRSA is, and is not. MRSA is
Methicillin Resistant Staphlococcus aureus. It is a
patricular strain (actually it's more correct to say several
strains, now) of S. aureus that has aquired genes that allow
it to be resistant to a whole class of antibiotics...the
beta lactams (of which methicillin is one).This is
unfortunate, because this class of antibiotics is otherwise
quite useful.
S. aureus is a very common bacteria, and it resides on the
skin and/or in the nares of a large percentage of people.
It can live on intact skin or mucous membrane without
causing any problems at all. But when it's able to get
into a break in the skin, or find it's way into the lower
respiratory tract, it can be very invasive, and cause
severe infections. It can usually be treated successfully
with antibiotics. The problem with MRSA is, there's fewer
antibiotics available that will kill it, and those that
will kill it often must be given IV, which usually means
a hospital stay.
MRSA (and all S. aureus) is spread mostly by direct
contact, mostly by hands. You're a nurse or doctor, you
treat a patient, you get it on your hands. You hug your
grandma, or Uncle Bill, you get it on your hands. It lives
there to spread to anyone else you touch until you wash
your hands. Simple handwashing with soap and warm water
gets rid of almost all of it. There's also several lotions
widely available (and as far as I know, the FDA didn't send
anyone to jail for developing them) that do a good job of
killing MRSA.
So why the problem? Two things:
First, the development of "superbugs like" MRSA or
Vancomycim resistant enterococcus (VRE) is the direct result
of inappropriate use of antibiotics. Bacteria are very quick
to adapt to changes in order to survive. Expose them to an
antibiotic, and sooner or later, they will aquire some
mechnism of resistance to that antibiotic. We very often use
antibiotics when there's no clear cut reason to use
them...sort of just to make sure. But that just increases
their opportunity to develop resistance. Antibiotics are a
powerful tool, but the more we use them, the less affective
they become.
Second, it's really, really difficult to get people to
wash their hands between patients! If we would every time
without fail, we could nearly halt the spread of MRSA! So
why don't we do it? Most caregivers are so busy...so
very, very busy, they just don't take the time. They
think, "I didn't touch the site of the infection", not
realizing the bug is probably on the patient's intact
skin, bedside rails, covers, call button, bedside
tables...you get the picture...it's most every where the
patient may have touched.
The best thing we all can do is stay healthy longer, so we
don't have to spend time in a hospital setting, where we may
well pick up MRSA and other bugs like it. To do that, we
need to get plenty of physical activity, plenty of proper
sleep, and eat a healthy variety of plant foods to get what
we need to support our immune systems and other functions of
our bodies.
Herbal supplements are a good way to accomplish
this.....feel free to e-mail me with any questions, and/or
visit my website at:
geocities.comherbal.htmlOpen ↗
"Clifford Stern" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Deadly hospital superbug MRSA may have finally met its
match - a lotion developed by a humble trucker.
Brian Bennett, 64, has no medical or scientific training
and stumbled across the solution as he tried to develop a
hand cream for his 42-year-old wife.
Experts are convinced the cream will save many lives from
the bug, which killed 800 people in British hospitals in
2002, The Sun has reported.
_____________________________
Full story at:
sky.com0,,30100Open ↗
13075263,00.html
It's fortunate for Mr. Bennett that he isn't an American.
Otherwise, the FDA would have spent milions of dollars to
have him thrown in prison for the rest of his life.
Clifford Stern [email hidden]
