Small Steps Can Reduce Risk of Staph Infections

Last week's report in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimating that invasive infections with antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (staph, to you and me) are widespread, killing more people in the United States than AIDS, alarmed many readers, judging by calls to local schools and postings to online discussions at washingtonpost.com.

But while experts agree that the threat posed by MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph) is real, they also note steps we can take to reduce the risk of serious infection.

Here's some advice for staying healthy in the face of MRSA:

Know Your Risk. About a third of us carry colonies of regular staph bacteria on our skin; only about 1 percent carry the MRSA bacteria. When either kind enters the body -- usually through a cut or skin abrasion (think rug burn) -- it can cause an infection. Common staph infections can be treated with standard, penicillin-based antibiotics; those caused by MRSA don't respond to those antibiotics but can be treated with others. Very old people, very young people and those with weakened immune systems can have a harder time fighting such infections, which may affect just the skin or spread to the blood, lungs and other organs.

Children in day care and young athletes are at heightened risk of infection because they tend to share personal items that are easily contaminated with staph bacteria: toys, equipment, towels. Staph is most commonly spread by skin-to-skin contact.

Wash Up. The first and best defense against MRSA and other staph infections is to wash, wash, wash your hands with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't handy. Wash cuts or scrapes thoroughly and cover them with a bandage until they heal. If there's a staph infection in the household, be diligent about washing clothes, bedding, towels and anything else with which the infected person comes in contact.

Learn the Symptoms. A staph-infected lesion may turn red, and the skin surrounding it may feel hot. It may look like a pimple, with or without pus. Doctors report that patients often mistake staph-infected sites for spider bites, which are very rare in the Washington area. MRSA-infected lesions will sometimes turn black as the bacteria kill the skin cells. Symptoms such as fever, joint pain and red streaks across the surrounding area signal serious infection that has spread beyond the skin.

Get Treated Early. Any of the above symptoms warrants a doctor's attention. Although your body often can fight a staph infection -- even an MRSA infection -- on its own, it's best not to take chance: MRSA can move within days from a skin infection to a serious blood infection requiring hospitalization. Your doctor should culture the infection to confirm whether it's MRSA or something else; that knowledge will determine which antibiotic you'll take. Make sure your doctor washes up before treating you!

Read Up. For more information, check these Web sites:

* http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_public.html

* http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

* http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007261.htm

Sources: John Jernigan, MRSA researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Daniel Merenstein, director of research programs at the Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Family Medicine; Nalini Singh, professor of pediatrics and public health, Children's National Medical Center.

-- Jennifer Huget