How to Protect Your Children from Dangerous Infections

(ARA) - It's been five decades in the making and it's spreading faster than experts thought. With sports stars, celebrities and school children alike becoming infected, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), which was nearly unheard of two year ago, is becoming a common term.

Today the superbug that was created by 50 years of over-prescribing antibiotics is showing up in every community. So far, the hardest hit are children that are active and play sports.

Whether an injury from playing freshman football or a scrape from playing hopscotch, MRSA can enter the system through skin wounds in children of any age. Causing additional concern is the fact that traditional triple-antibiotic ointments, that fill store shelves and have been used on children for years to prevent infection, don't kill this aggressive and highly antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria. StaphAseptic, a widely available over-the-counter ointment, is the only product of its kind that's been proven to prevent infections from this type of bacteria.

A recent study by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) showed that MRSA is significantly more widespread and established than previously thought. The study also found that as many as 119,000 patients each year may die from MRSA. A previous study by the Centers for Disease Control said that approximately 60 percent of infections seen in hospital emergency rooms are MRSA related.

"It should be automatic that parents take immediate preventive actions because of the problems we are seeing with MRSA," says Dr. Mark Christensen, a Utah pharmacist. "We have great fears that community acquired MRSA staph infections will increase dramatically--because of what we've seen in the hospitals. Prevention is certainly the key to protecting children from a MRSA infection."

Five Steps for Prevention

1) Wash hands thoroughly. Make sure to have children wash hands for at least 15 seconds with soap and warm water. Fifteen seconds is about how long it takes to recite the alphabet.

2) Treat and cover wounds. Cuts, scrapes and burns are the most common ways that MRSA enters the body to start an infection. StaphAseptic, from Tec Laboratories, is a widely available over-the-counter wound-care treatment that is applied to minor wounds before a bandage is applied. StaphAseptic gets to the root of the problem by killing MRSA before the infection starts.

3) Don't share personal items. Children should not share items like combs, bar soap or tweezers. With summer upon us and a lot of kids heading to swimming pools, they should be reminded not to share towels.

4) Shower after physical activity. MRSA thrives on moist, warm skin. The human body, after strenuous activity, is a breeding ground for the spread of MRSA and other bacteria. Try using a shower gel instead of bar soap, which can carry the bacteria.

5) Seek medical attention for active wounds. If an infection sets in it is vital to get to a doctor immediately. MRSA can spread within hours and eventually cause pneumonia and even death. MRSA-related infections can resemble a pimple or boil and can spread quickly over the body.

MRSA information is available at www.mrsaHelp.com. A complimentary pamphlet on MRSA prevention is available by calling (800) 482-4464 and pressing "0."

Courtesy of ARAcontent