 | Pam Pirotte was raised in Wichita and received her Masters in Nursing from WSU. She was a nursing educator as well as a bedside nurse until 1986, when care in the home became her focus. Pam considers this the most rewarding field available to nursing personnel. The relationships are positive and precious. “People appreciate us for keeping them in their own homes.” Pam lives with her husband, donkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, goats, dogs and cats, near Leon, Kansas. Saint Raphael Home Care is located at 903 West 18th, Wichita, KS 67203, and Pam can be reached at 316-269-5400. |
Senior Living
2007-12-01 09:11:00
Wash your hands!
What is MRSA?
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Answer: MRSA stands for a drug resistant staph infection, which can kill. It can attack skin, deeper tissues, blood and the respiratory system.
The Associated Press reported that 90,000 Americans get infected each year by this bacteria, MRSA. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this past week (November 2007), the incidence or frequency of infection is astonishing.
Researchers found the worst
infections were contracted by patients
in the hospital, those who had recently had surgery, and those on kidney dialysis. Deaths tied to these infections exceed AIDS deaths, according to a public health expert commenting on the study (17,000/year for AIDS, nearly 19,000 for MRSA). Contaminated medical equipment was identified as a major source of infection. In addition, the germs are now found in the community, prisons, everywhere. Healthcare workers who are not ill themselves may be carriers of the staph bug (on their skin and in their nasal passages). This can be true of anyone who has been in contact with the bacteria, from doorknobs, handrails, countertops, etc. Non-institutional cases (contracted at school or in the neighborhood) are usually manifested by skin eruptions. Some infected persons experience a progression into their blood and even their bones. Most life threatening cases occur in surgical or on-going health care consuming patients. A 17 year old Virginia High School Senior died Monday, November 5, 2007. Doctors said the germ had spread to his kidneys, liver, lungs, and the muscles around his heart. The article did not state how it began. Once a person is infected, the chance that any antibiotic will cure the problem is dramatically reduced. The germ enters through broken skin, or mucous membranes (eye, nose, mouth, etc.). Prevention is essential. If you are hospitalized, insist that everyone who touches you washes their hands first. The gloves healthcare workers wear to provide your care are not sterile. At least insist that they put on new gloves in front of you. (Don’t allow them to enter your room with “old gloves” on.
Wash your hands immediately upon entering your home. If you get a breakout on your skin, immediately apply milk of magnesia. The germs cannot live in the presence of alkalinity. If your rash isn’t MRSA it won’t hurt to do this. If it is MRSA, it should resolve quickly.
