Here in Illinois (specifically DuPage county) there have been reports of MRSA. This acronym stands for methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus. This bacteria has been around for about 30 years but wasn't so prevalent. When I was a resident working at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, we would occasionally get it in chronic ventilator patients. These unfortunate people would be on a ventilator for multiple reasons and of course on a ton of medicines. One note is they would most likely be immunocompromised due to multiple reasons.
There are medicines for MRSA but they are limited. Once a patient was found to be cultured with this bacteria, they would usually be placed in isolation for fear the visitors (nurses family and doctors) would spread the bacteria to other patients (kinda like TB in the 60's). Patients would stay in the hospital for multiple antibiotics till infection was showing improvement. Then they would usually be sent to a chronic care facility in the same restricted form of contact.
Now we are emperically treating patients with antibiotics (usually 2 or three at the same time) and sending them home hoping they clean up after themselves at home and work. Now as a review, the reason the staph became resistant was most likely due to overprescription of antibiotics a while back and now we are hitting every little bug that doesn't seem to respond to standard antibiotics with doubles and triples till the follow up visits with their docs and the cultures come back. God help us in the next few years when no antibiotic will touch certain strains of staph or any other bacteria due to this years' MRSA scare.
What people don't realize is that MRSA is a bacteria like any other. If the individual doesn't care for themselves properly in hand washing, showering and using soap and water on new cuts and scrapes, not sharing towels or clothing from others then any bacteria, not just MRSA, will cause an infection. That infection will need to be drained or blasted with antibiotics. Standard infections go away in 10 days, MRSA gets worse in 2-3 days. The front line tactic for MRSA still is the same for any infection: hygiene, rest, eat properly and exercise.
Poor hygiene, a stressed out body, poor nutrition, obesity, lack of exercise, poor sleep will lead to a body that can't fight the initial battle of infection. This is usually exposure to a bacteria and break down of the body barrier.
Skin is the first barrier: well hydrated and moisturized, nothing should get through. Unfortunately, nobody that works 8-10 hours a day likes to drink water since it results in having to urinate soon after. Not the best for a driver, outdoor worker, telephone operator, computer user. (I remember watching the movie "Pursuit of Happiness" with Will Smith playing a stock broker and he stated in the biography, he wouldn't put the phone down in the cradle or drink water cause it would give him an extra few cold calls at the end of the day.) I am also guilty of this, in seeing a day full of patients, I would not want to eat or drink since it may slow me down for 10-15 minutes and that would cost me one patient visit to put me behind and I would be playing catch-up for the entire day. (See my first blog on The Adventures of Dr Saguil for info on the 10 minute visit as paid for by medical insurance.)
Second barrier would be hydration. If well hydrated, the skin would react by producing thin protective oils to keep the outer layers tensile and unbroken. When dry, outer layers are parched, single cells are separated from each other and flaking occurs which further hampers pore function by blocking the skin pore from making sweat and oil to trap bacteria and prevent further deeper invasion. Being well hydrated also produces a very effective vascular volume. More blood to the skin brings more white blood cells to fight invading organism.
Third barrier would be a properly functioning white blood cells. Tobacco, poor nutrition, lack of multivitamins and supplements, or uncontrolled medical disease states (like diabetes) will hamper the way white blood cells work. Lets consider white blood cells to be policemen. Even if we have a large police force in a city, if they don't know how to arrest or pursue, a crime will still occur. Considering that 50% or more of the US population is overweight and eating poorly, this alone will decrease body defense. Throw tobacco, alcohol, high fat diets in the mix and one is asking for an infection to invade.
Forth barrier is more of what doctors are doing and what patients are demanding. Many patients go in to see the doc just for a diagnosis. Many aren't satisfied and also want a prescription medicine. This is especially in the pediatric population. Most parents feel better when they leave having an antibiotic for the fever and cough even if the infection is just a virus and will go away on it's own. Remember, more antibiotics cause more drug resistant bacteria in the community.
To piggyback on the forth barrier, most docs don't suggest acidophyllus use during the antibiotic 5-10 days. All antibiotics kill indiscriminantly. All those colonies in the throat or chest or urine or sinus' will die for sure. Unfortunately, the good ones in the colon, stomach, small intestine, vagina and skin also die. Our "normal flora" found in the GI tract are there to help with digestion and function. When they are all killed, only the worst and strongest bacteria and fungus will remain. Let's consider the normal flora in the colon being an average classroom of highschool kids. When all the "nice" smart hard working kids are kicked out of school, you are left with the truant, delinquent tough streetwise kids. The resultant class is totally different...get it? So after the "nice" kids are gone, if a large influx of some other nice kids come into school, the bad guys are usually kept quiet just by outnumbering force, and the class continues uninterrupted. This is where probiotics come in handy. Two tablespoonfuls of liquid probiotic or one three capsules of acidopyhyllus/bifido will reboost the stomach, small intesting and colon with good flora. (Usually given 2 hours after the antibiotic is dosed)
So in summary, The Saguil Approach is to do what mom always harped on. Wash your hands, eat vegetables, take your vitamins and go to sleep on time. Translated; good hygiene, good nutrition, decreasing stressors, staying hydrated, taking supplements/probiotics, and avoiding and controlling disease issues. Allow no bacteria to get through the barriers and you won't have to worry about MRSA. Of course getting professional opinions when something starts to look unusual would be important if it has already invaded but most people have the potential to fight off infection without antibiotics. Personally, I hate antibiotics, the last time I took one for a self diagnosed sinus infection, I got Pseudomebranous colitis after one pill of zithromax and remember thinking to myself.....this has got to be a ruptured appendix as I tried my hardest to stick acupunture needles everywhere I could to treat nastiest pain in my life. That was about 5 years ago and haven't used anything since while living through Chicago's winters and hundreds of patient encounters with infections of their own. Although I do use some herbals to boost immunity...next blog. (5 bucks to anyone who finds I don't wash with soap or use antiseptic gel after I examine them!)
