Essay On Mrsa

There are several important steps in preventing the spread of MRSA: washing hands before and after patient contact, using gloves appropriately, covering any cuts on the hands, maintaining healthy hands, avoiding overcrowding in hospital departments, maintaining a clean environment, and prudent antibiotic prescribing (3). Hand washing is the most effective way to keep from spreading infections. The CDC recommends that you spend 20 seconds scrubbing your hands with soap while washing your hands (1). You can sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice all the way through also (1). If soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol (1). This should not be used as a first line of defense. Hand washing is always the best way to get rid of harmful bacterium. Gloves and gowns are another great way to create a barrier between you and the bacteria. Proper removal of gloves and gown are vitally important. If your gloves are contaminated with MRSA, and you remove them improperly, you have completely defeated the point of even putting the gloves on. Once a surface is contaminated with MRSA, it can live prolonged periods of time unless removed through cleaning (5). For contaminated surfaces, you would want to use a disinfectant. Choosing the proper disinfectant, along with following the directions of use on the packaging, will rid the surface form microbes. It is extremely important to follow the directions on the packaging of the disinfectant because each disinfectant is different. One may need you to keep the surface wet for 2 minutes, while the other requires the surface to be kept wet for 10 minutes. If the surface isn’t kept wet for the allotted time, the surface will not be disinfected and will continue to contaminate

Anyone can get MRSA. Infections range from mild to very serious, even life-threatening. MRSA is contagious and can be spread to other people

The reason this disease has been able to infect more and more people over time is because MRSA is a strain of staph that has become resistant to certain antibiotics that would normally be used to treat normal staph infections.

Methicillin Staphylococcus aureus is defined as strains of bacteria that are resistant to beta-lactam agents, including the synthetic penicillins (eg, methicillin, oxacillin) and the cephalosporins. MRSA can resist the effects of many common antibiotics, so it is difficult to treat. If the infection spreads to the blood stream and becomes systemic may increases risk for life threatening complications. First sign of MRSA are small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils or spider bites. Next they may mature into deep and painful abscesses that require surgical draining. If the bacteria is not confined to the skin and infect the blood stream, causing potentially fatal infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs.

skin condition that staph is able to cause is cellulitis. It is more common in people who have a weakened immune system such as people who are immunocompromised, infants, and the elderly. Cellulitis is characterized by a red, warm patch on the skin paired with a fever. “The bacteria that cause cellulitis can spread rapidly, entering lymph nodes and your bloodstream. Recurrent episodes of cellulitis may cause chronic swelling of the affected limb” (Mayo, 2015). Cellulitis is spread extremely easily, and is a big issue within long term care facilities. The infection can be cured by antibiotics. However, there are cases reported stating that cellulitis is becoming resistant to some antibiotics. The doctor can order a culture to send to pathology.

Currently it is resistant to, or rather unaffected by, commonly used antibiotics such as methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and many others, and is consequently much more challenging to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus—or staph. Some antibiotics still work, but MRSA is constantly adapting, and researchers and developers are having a difficult time keeping up.

The processes have to be stopped urgently. It often requires a combination of medications, antibiotics, and surgery to drain the infection and let the pus out. Silverman said that one warning sign is when the pain begins to radiate outward from a cut or scrape.

Cultures are an effective way of guiding the Infectious Disease specialist to which antibiotics that are to be used to treat the patient with MRSA by looking at the type of strain that the patient has. The culture can also be tested for susceptibility to a variety of antibiotics. Surgery may be required to debride and drain the pus filled skin from the infected area, while antibiotics, such as vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, clindomycin (as well as many other sulfa drugs and tetracyclines) could be prescribed to help eradicate the infection. Some antibiotics that are used to treat MRSA are only available intravenously. Unfortunately, some high-powered antibiotics are developing resistance to MRSA infections. Because of this, Vancomycin is no longer a sure treatment for MRSA due to questions surrounding its effectiveness. Patients that are prescribed antibiotics should never stop taking their antibiotics, even if they are starting to feel better. These infections are extremely dormant and are prone to reoccur if they develop resistance to the

Hand hygiene has been stated as the one main element that can prevent the spread of MRSA (Gould 2002). Washing hands is not kid’s stuff – not in the era of MRSA. Once entrenched MRSA can be extremely difficult to treat. If it gets into the blood stream it can be lethal (Belkum, Verbrugh 2001). Simor and Andrew (2001) also emphasise that hand washing is the most important control practice. It is essential because personal contact is the primary mode of MRSA transmission. Therefore good hand washing technique is vital to ensure that the decontamination is effective, as no soap will be effective if the technique is poor.

Staphylococcus aureus, a microorganism, is the leading cause of today’s infection in the hospital setting in the US. The optimal growth conditions consist of moist, warm, dark environments. On humans, it is usually found in the nares, groin, and axilla. In 1941, the antibiotic penicillin was discovered and was used to treat S. aureus infections. This

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus also referred to as MRSA is a type bacterium that becomes immune to many antibiotics used to treat even the most common infection. MRSA has become an issue in hospitals around the globe as it is known to constanly change over time. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) usually occurs in day care home, hospitals and other related health care facilities. It was reported that in 2005 the majority of all infection related cases came from an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, resulting in a high rate of death (Tacconelli, et al 2007). In 1961 (Enright, et al 2002) methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) was first discovered in the United Kingdom and later made its way to Asia and after to the United States.

By the 1950s about 60% of staph infections were immune to Penicillin, which was the first antibiotic used to treat the infection (Pray). Due to this a

When penicillin was released to the public in 1944, it was a miracle drug. Infections that had been killers were suddenly treatable. Doctors recommended it generously, both for illnesses that needed it and illnesses that didn’t. Before long, however, it took much stronger doses to see penicillin’s effects. When the antibiotic arms race began in 1944, most physicians assumed that new antibiotics would be discovered or created to keep up with the evolving resistance in bacteria, but the bacteria are constantly evolving new defenses and doctors are starting to run low on antibiotic ammunition. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is one of many types of bacteria

As nurses, taking care of patients with MRSA can be seen in everyday practice. It can be seen in patients with sepsis from an infected wound, patients who have pneumonia, or patients who only have a colonization for it (“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2015”). Regardless if it’s colonization or an active infection, and the source of the infection, proper policies and procedures are in place to reduce the transmission of MRSA to other patients in the hospital or nursing home setting. This includes performing proper hand hygiene and standard precautions, as well as wearing protective gown and gloves when entering the patient’s room. It is very important to adhere to these policies and procedures and educate others on the importance of these policies and procedures to reduce the transmission of MRSA to others.

Life History and Characteristics: Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium that is usually found in the nasal passages and on the skin of 15 to 40% of healthy humans, but can also survive in a wide variety of locations in the body. This bacterium is spread from person to person or to fomite by direct contact. Colonies of S. aureus appear in pairs, chains, or clusters. S. aureus is not an organism that is contained to one region of the world and is a universal health concern, specifically in the food handling industries.