mrsa

[toworried]

I guess this is the right forum.  I have a question about the "superbug" MRSA.  This thing is huge right?  Are their new and good ideas for curing or preventing it.  I was told just to wash my hands regularly and wash out cuts with just regular ole bar soap.  I also though that if I cleaned everything with alcohol and got my elementary age family to wipe their desk off with alcohol pads that it would help prevent, but then my friend just told me that the alcohol will do the same thing to our bodies that the antibiotics have been doing.  She says we need germs and not to clean with alcohol because it is only gonna make us sicker.  I'm just trying to prevent this superbug staff.  Is the alcohol thing true, just like antibacterial soap?  How do we prevent this thing from spreading and is it going to be treated?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

There is no data suggesting that antibacterial soap would help in reducing the incidence of infection.

MRSA is indeed due to the overuse of antibiotics, leading to increasingly resistant bacteria.  Typically, IV antibiotics like Vancomycin are needed to treat MRSA.  Sometimes oral antibiotics like Bactrim may be enough.  

Doing what you are doing - washing hands, wearing gloves in a health-care setting etc. - should be continued.  Here is  CDC fact sheet on how to prevent the spread:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/aip/research/mrsa.html#mrsa_prevention

These questions can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
www.kevinmd.com

[statler]

Is MRSA the same thing is Mercer Disease? Is Mercer Disease simply just a misspelling (misunderstanding) of MRSA? I have been doing research on Mercer Disease, and have only have found a few references to Mercer Disease, all of which question the poster about whether they meant MRSA. Unfortunately, no one has been conclusive on whether MRSA and Mercer Disease are the same. Can anyone help? Trying to find answers for a friend. Thank you.

statler

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Hi from Dr. Choi, for some reason I can't add a comment.  There's no such thing as Mercer disease but that's a common misspelling for MRSA Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus which I treat often in skin infections in my urgent care

[cin1421]

A related discussion, MRSA  Disease Explanation was started.