The Truth about MRSA

Wow, just finished a great week at the clinic here in Seeley Lake, Montana! What a great place to live and what a great place to work. With the advent of spring, we've seen the typical springtime ailments, allergies, tendon problems from track and we are already seeing some springtime trauma-let's be careful out there this season.

This week, we've heard from a lot of people concerned about catching MRSA (methicillin resistant staph aureus). This is not just a springtime problem. It's a yearlong problem.

You probably have heard a lot of scary things about MRSA. In fact it is often referred to as a "super bug." You may have already googled it-and have been rewarded with lots of nasty looking images and horror stories.

This is one of cases where a tiny bit of education can alleviate a ton of fears.

To understand MRSA, you need to know about normal skin bacteria. There are about 1,000 different kinds of bacteria that hang out on the human body. Sounds kind of gross, huh? Well, these bacteria fulfill an important function on the skin-they can actually help with our defense.

One of the more common of these bacteria is called Staphylococcus (or staph, for short). Everybody has this type of bacteria on their skin. These bacteria love a nutrient-rich environment like a cut or scrape and often grow unchecked in a wound (what we would refer to as a staph infection). It is often treated with antibiotics.

Because antibiotics were often overused or used inappropriately, some of these staph mutated and became resistant to certain antibiotics-hence the emergence of MRSA. Today, some have "normal staph" on their skin and others have "resistant staph" (MRSA) on theirs.

You may not know this, but you come in contact with both kinds of people every day and there is no way to tell the difference. I've seen some studies that suggest as many as 20 percent of the population carries MRSA on their skin, while others suggest only about one percent are carriers.

I tend to believe it is somewhere closer to 10-12 percent. So, if you're thinking ahead, there is a pretty good chance YOU might be a carrier of MRSA and not even know it.

People that carry MRSA may NEVER know it. So why even worry about it? Just remember those nasty google images and you will know why. Its because infections with MRSA are harder to treat-the typical antibiotics are ineffective and they generally are more aggressive (like forming abscesses). Thankfully, we now have pretty good antibiotics that work (at least for now) on MRSA.

Generally, you need to have close frequent contact with a carrier (rather than casual contact at the grocery store) to acquire MRSA on your own skin. However, a wound infected with MRSA is often teaming with these bacteria and the transmission will be easier.

That's why when you are taking care of an infected wound you should wear gloves, avoid contact with these wounds when possible and above all, always WASH YOUR HANDS.

Now we come to the question we've heard all week, if you've been exposed to MRSA, should you be tested? It's certainly easy enough to do (sending a little swab to the lab), but it may not change what you do.

Healthcare providers today are keenly aware of the possibility of MRSA infection and generally culture and treat appropriately. I personally have not been tested but am aware that I have been exposed on a number of occasions and will take appropriate actions should the need arise.

That said, we are all human and can't help but to obsess over these things. So if you are really concerned, or just want to know-go see your provider to get tested.

All that said, there are a million more things to know about MRSA (not to mention some of the other superbugs out there). You can find a ton of reliable information by going to the CDC's website and searching for MRSA.

Stay healthy, and as always, see you at the clinic.