Coping With MRSA

Wherever you go, whatever you do, the MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bug is out there and ready to attack you and your family. The dangers may be apparent in the developed world, where hospitals and doctors have been well informed and are well equipped to diagnose and treat the MRSA bacteria, but that isn't the case in all countries. The danger lurks in the developing world as well, with much of China under the threat of this killer and the hospitals are under-equipped to diagnose the bacteria.

The incidents in India have been seen to be on the rise. The scale of the problem in the under-developed world cannot be measured, but the facts are clear that without trained doctors and well-equipped laboratories the bug will continue to spread unchecked. Let's not be too hard on doctors in the under-developed world, as they are overloaded with sick and dying patients and under-funded with many patients too poor to pay for treatment and governments unable to provide enough for expensive medical equipment and medicines. Instead of trying to blame these hospital, why not send some money to them, and they will use it to pay for an operation. If you are not sure where to send the money then here is a suggestion for you. Save a child's life in India.

MRSA is in our environment. If we are not careful then it can affect us and our families. No-one is immune and it only takes a little carelessness for a cut, spot (pimple or zit) or medical incision to become a major infection that needs careful handling or it will be out of control with no treatment available.

MRSA demands we have rigorous hygiene practices and habits. Personally I found that 50 years ago, when I was growing up, men would always wash their hands after using the toilet. Now all too often they are not even rinsing them under the cold tap and almost never washing their hands with hot water and soap. Hygiene standards were put in place to stop the spread of disease, but today they are being ignored and the problems are here to haunt us.

Hygiene for MRSA starts with me. It continues with my home where everything that is shared must be washed and clean. Public access areas are the next important place for hygiene. These public access areas include enclosed areas like schools, colleges, hospitals, gymnasiums, churches, mosques and synagogues, and also open air places like parks and playgrounds.

Think about this for the moment.

* When was the sand in the sandpit at your local park replaced?

* When was the toilet at your local park thoroughly disinfected from top to bottom?

* When was the local gymnasium or sports venue changing room disinfected?

You might find that it was only when time allows it to be done. We put our cleaners under intense pressure to clean many facilities in a short time, and they can't take the time to completely disinfect a facility until there is an outbreak of something that is contagious or a killer.

In this ebook I am trying not to be too technical but sometimes I have to use the full medical name for something in case you are faced by a doctor who is too tired or too short of time to explain. I am trying to get to the basics and protect you, but for your specific infection there is no alternative for seeking competent medical help.

If you are in some isolated place and there is no doctor for miles then get one over the Internet and use your webcam to show a doctor somewhere what the problem is now. Do not delay. Also you must seek to protect those around you from being infected as well, including anyone you may be traveling with. The technical term is barrier nursing but we will come to that later on in the book.