What Is MRSA Staph Infection and How It Affects You

What Is MRSA Staph Infection and How It Affects You

I had never heard of MRSA staph infection up until about six years ago. It was only when I had learned that a friend of the family had passed away from this. Didn't have a clue what it was but it seems to be much more common now. In this article I will share with you what is MRSA staph infection and how it affects you.

MRSA stands for Methicillian Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, quite a mouth full wouldn't you say! I wouldn't even know how to pronounce it myself which is why everyone just goes by the abbreviation. Even the abbreviation isn't well known, but just say staph infection and nearly everyone has heard of that.

MRSA is actually a bacteria that lives on all of us so it's been around forever. If you can believe this, it actually lives and thrives much better on healthy skin. It's odd when you think about it but younger people seem to be at more risk of these types of infections than an older unhealthier person.

Within the last five years is when people have really started hearing a lot more about this. Only about 100,000 cases were reported back in the year 2000 but that number quickly shot up to around 5 million by the year 2005. And those are only cases that are documented in the United States. The media got a hold of it when professional football players started having infections. USA Today and Time Magazine have done stories on this growing epidemic.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, in 2009 19,000 people died from MRSA in the United States which was more than those having died from AIDS. Not all of these types of infections are reported to the health department so there could be many more. It's also estimated that around 100,000 people are hospitalized each year due to the MRSA infection and of all the people who are seen in the emergency room, 60% are infected.

This type of bacteria lives on your skin and many other surfaces like towels, floors and even sports equipment. The best solution to preventing any type of infections is to teach your children general hygiene. Treating open wounds as soon as they occur will help prevent any infection from occurring. It's also recommended that you should never share personal items with others. Showering right after any physical activity is also extremely helpful. And if you are in any type of sports, properly clean your gear and equipment after use. Always keep your hands clean and consult your physician for any and all active wounds.

I hope this article helped clear up what is MRSA staph infection and how it affects you. Keep those particular things in mind and you should be just fine.

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