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Am I being overly cautious?
Started by Wary |
Posted: November 30, 2009 | |
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Hi, Thank heavens I found a current MRSA forum. I am concerned about MRSA at work. I work in a non medical residential setting in the office. One of our residents is being treated for MRSA and has had it for a few years. They recently had a wound lanced and packed. I’m concerned about cross contamination. There is a counter by the office where all resident business is conducted, including dispensing meds. So many, many people are touching it all day and various record keeping books are used there and then put elsewhere in the office. We have residents and staff touching the same counter surface, doorknobs, railings, TV remote, microwave buttons, water cooler handles, sitting in the same dining room chairs at the same table. Then we are touching various things in the office. Should I be concerned about the computer keypad (obviously), phones, the various manuals we all handle, the drawer handles, the desk surface, and the office chair I am sitting on? What about the carpet? I have become paranoid. I wear gloves all the time at work, don’t take my purse inside, wear different shoes at work that I don’t wear home, and change my clothes as soon as I get home, putting my clothes in a plastic bag, then I take a shower. Am I doing too much? Not enough? Or what? 15599
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #1 by Mom in Calif |
Posted: November 30, 2009 at 05:37 | |
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Well, most of what you are thinking about makes sense from the viewpoint of a family with MRSA in its midst right now. It might be too hard to take it upon yourself to clean everything at work all the time, but you could quietly be very diligent about keeping your own hands clean, often. Maybe keeping sanitizer prominently displayed everywhere will help everyone get good habits. I notice now, when we are out-and-about, that many places are very careless about sharing pens, counter tops, etc. Medical offices and personnel are not so careful, either. For example, we recently attended a public clinic for H1N1 vaccinations. We were there to get a shot for our MRSA+ teenager. There were maybe 800+ people in line. I was appalled that clipboards and pens were being freely passed around among the hundreds of people, without any alcohol sanitizer nearby or anything. Infants, old people, kids, all kinds of people were there. I guess the public health workers were thinking primarily of airborne viruses, not bacteria, but still - ! I personally wouldn't worry about carpet and shoes so much in the workplace, but I would consider it at home if I had a pet who tromped all over the place under furniture and so forth. Showering up and changing seems smart, too. We have our son do that whenever he gets home now, so that we only have to deal with a single day's new germs in the home, so to speak. In the long run, as more and more people in the population get infected with MRSA and whatever else comes along, your good habits will begin to seem like the 'new normal'. 15601
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #2 by ladyk |
Posted: December 1, 2009 at 18:36 | |
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Wary – We could try to our hearts content… even with extended cross contamination precautions having become a way of life since MRSA aware… environmental sterilization will always fall short. We could never rid ourselves, nor environment completely of bacteria we co-existed with on this planet. Taking reasonable precautions in bacteria reduction is as good as it gets. Additionally, bacteria are transient / coming and going endlessly. You could drive yourself to phobia with worry, but problem with that is… even if one did, it doesn’t change the fact that our entire life from beginning to end as a struggling organism - we will always face system invaders. It is best to become knowledgeable about affliction/disease, be proactive, seriously look at all angles for best solution, seek correct treatment. Here are some interesting informational sites. Human Skin Harbors Completely Unknown Bacteria http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070206095816.htm Human Skin acts as home for various Bacteria http://visitbulgaria.info/10099-human-skin-acts-home-various-bacteria Take the best of care. ladyk 15623
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #3 by Lois |
Posted: December 2, 2009 at 04:07 | |
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Isn't it awful! After experiencing HA-MRSA and almost dying, one becomes so......aware of all the places MRSA can be! I refuse to use public anything anymore. I take my own pen. I never touch a magazine in anyone's office. I use my clothing to open doors if paper towels aren't available. I never liked those hand blow dryers even before MRSA. I taught my son to walk out with wet hands long before I knew MRSA was a problem with them!! I could become very OCD about it. 15645
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #4 by wary |
Posted: December 2, 2009 at 06:41 | |
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Thank you for your replies so far. I WAS getting paranoid. Lately, I've felt more balanced about it. I DID decide to use a paper towel on the common doorknobs entering and leaving; I have hand sanitizer in the car; I take my shoes off before I come in the house and then later I can wipe them with an antibacterial wipe; And basically, I change clothes and take a shower when I come home. Gotta make sure I have my own pen. This whole thing has made me much more aware of things in the environment. C Diff and Vce or whatever it is, is also probably everywhere too. So I am being more vigilant in terms of doors, buttons, etc, (including toilet handles and stall locks) and making sure I use a paper towel or hand sanitizer. Because how many times does one push a button, or handle a door, then one's cell phone that is up against your face....etc. 15646
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #5 by Nancy R. |
Posted: December 2, 2009 at 13:56 | |
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Wary: All of us went through this phase of being overly cautious. It is so horrific to deal with we both want to protect our loved ones and ourselves. However, we still have to live in a real world and our bodies have to find ways to survive. That unfortunately means exposure. You best defense will always be building up your immune system. When the body has what it needs to survive, it does so very efficiently. Probably the most important thing we can do is wash our hands often and try to keep our hands away from our faces. It's a process. 15648
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #6 by wary |
Posted: December 5, 2009 at 09:54 | |
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So, if a person that says they are a carrier and has it in their nose is sniffling and wiping their nose with their their hand and then touching things, is THAT contagious?? 15700
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Re: Am I being overly cautious?
Reply #7 by Nancy R |
Posted: December 5, 2009 at 20:49 | |
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Well, its as bad as someone with a cold doing the same thing. 15706
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