MRSA Infections: A Bad Superbug

Athletes Beware Of This Bad Superbug!

This is a huge name for a tiny bacteria that causes horrendous damage and many times, even death. MRSA is resistant to treatment with antibiotics related to penicillin. The name 'community Associated' in the name of this infection is because this particular bacterium, that was first found in infections in hospitals, is now a new strain that spreads from person to person in the community and children are particularly susceptible.

Many times, this infection involves athletes, but there have been cases involving non-athletes too. The skin infection starts as a small bump that looks like a pimple or spider bite which becomes redder and develops pus drainage.

Usually staph infections are treated by penicillin, but this particular strain has become resistant to penicillin and all its forms. Methicillin was an antibiotic that was used many years ago to treat patients with staphylococcus aureus infections and it was used so much that the bacteria became resistant.

MRSA is spread by having close contact with an infected person, or it can be spread by touching objects such as towels, sheets, clothes, workout areas or sports equipment that have been contaminated with the staph bacteria MRSA. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria normally lives on the skin and in the nose of healthy people without causing disease, but when there is an injury to the skin like a scrape or cut, the bacteria can enter the break in the skin and cause an infection. When MRSA is left untreated or not recognized early, the infection can spread rapidly and progress to life-threatening blood or bone infections.

School athletic facilities are a prime place for MRSA to grow.

The following guidelines should be followed by athletes and anyone involved in direct physical contact with such individuals:

Wash hands frequently with soap and water, especially after using any sports facilities.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, or uniforms that may have had contact with and infected individual or potentially infectious material.

Report any suspicious skin sore or boil to your healthcare provider and school nurse immediately.

If you participate in sports involving close personal contact (wrestling and football) shower with soap immediately after each practice, game, or match.

Non-washable gear should be wiped down with alcohol after each use.

Athletic equipment such as wrestling or gymnastics mats should be wiped down regularly with an antibacterial solution.

Athletes involved in close contact sports should receive a total body check by the appropriate athletic personnel prior to any game, match or tournament.

Individuals with an infection involving drainage (pus drainage), who are involved in close contact sports, should be excluded from participation in sporting events and practices until no pus drainage is present and the infected site can be adequately covered with a bandage and clothing.

Any cut or break in the skin should be washed with soap and water and a clean, dry dressing applied on a daily basis, before and after participation in close contact sports, and after using any sports facilities.

Tell your healthcare provider (your primary care doctor or school nurse) and the appropriate athletic personnel if you currently have or have had a history of an antibiotic-resistant Staph skin infection(s).

MRSA is diagnosed by a culture that is taken of the infected wound. The culture is allowed to grow in the laboratory and then is tested to determine which antibiotics will effectively treat the infection. This process usually takes 2 or 3 days. MRSA infections have been around for the last 20 years, but more and more new strains are developing each year, and this makes the MRSA infections particularly dangerous.