MRSA: What Do You Need to Know?
Schools Are Monitoring It Carefully
By Kathy Pinkava
October 26, 2007
Even when we are perfectly healthy, bacteria surround us, live inside of us, and linger on our skin and in our noses. They play a role in keeping us healthy, certainly in our digestive tract, and in other ways that science is just beginning to unravel. We are exposed to staphylococcus, streptococcus and meningococcus bacteria. Why they do not cause disease in some and cause serious, even fatal, illness in others is not completely understood.
Bacteria can be killed by an appropriate antibiotic. The only way to know if an antibiotic is the absolute correct one is by culturing the site of infection. Inappropriate use of antibiotics for viral illness or without a culture has lead to the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. So has the tendency of people to stop using their antibiotics as soon as they feel better. Antibiotics must be taken exactly as prescribed. MRSA is one of these resistant bacteria. It is a strain of staph that requires very strong, often intravenous antibiotics to kill it. If any bacteria spreads to internal organs a person becomes very seriously ill. The "flesh-eating" bacteria is actually a form of strep.
MRSA is most commonly acquired while hospitalized. There are more and more cases of a different strain that is picked up in day to day activity, or "community acquired." This is the strain that is increasingly common in the general public and in athletes at every level of play. Crowding, frequent skin to skin contact, open cuts or abrasions, contaminated equipment and a laxness about cleanliness all promote this in athletes.
What can a parent do about this for their kids?
1. Enforce cleanliness! Showering right after practices and games and bringing home personal equipment and clothing home daily to be cleaned are important. Teach and insist on frequent handwashing.
2.Clean any cuts, scrapes and abrasions and make sure they keep them covered with a clean, fresh bandage.
3. Look for and have your student report any large pimples, "bites", rashes and cuts. If there is pain, swelling, heat, redness in the surrounding tissues, an accumulation of pus under the skin, or black tissue GET MEDICAL CARE. Ask for a culture of the area to get the proper diagnosis and antibiotic. If the causative bacteria is known, we can look for common links between cases and perhaps discover how it was transmitted and prevent further infections if there is a school link.
4. There does not have to be an obvious cut in the top skin for the problem to be an infection. Cellulitis is an infection in the deeper layers of the skin. Pain, redness and swelling are the hallmarks. Cellulitis can lead to tissue and limb loss.
5. Communication! Please let me know when skin issues crop up. I need to keep track of these. I have seen a lot of skin problems over the years, and would like to see any skin problem that students have, but as a Registered Nurse, I am not trained or licensed to diagnose disease. If you know that there is an unusual skin problem, have a doctor look at it. Tell the coach what is going on. An athlete may have to sit out of practice and competition until the doctor gives the OK. This protects everyone. Students may still attend school during treatment of a skin infection if wound is completely covered and contained by a bandage.
6. Promote a healthy immune system! Adequate sleep, good nutrition and hydration will help your student's body to fight off these bacteria. Check out the Ohio Department of Health's Web site for more information on MRSA at Ohio Department of Heath (select MRSA) at or the Center for Disease Control.
Please feel free to call me through the school with any questions. My number is 834 3380 Extension 3307
