MRSA: Protect your kid from a superbug

Resource: http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/health/child-mrsa-infections/index.html

Summary: Dr. Patrick Romano says “that everyone is at risk.”  Studies show that children hospitalized with MRSA infctions has doubled since the year 2000.  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureaus others know as MRSA is a type of staph bacterium that doesn’t respond to common antibiotics that most people use. This type of infection has been in the hospital for years. But now, people that were perfectly healthy are the ones to getting MRSA.  That is what Dr. Jamie Fergie said.  He included that children that had been infected had reached epidemic proportions.  This bacteria has mutated and become more violent affecting the lungs, blood, muscles, and bones, causing life threatening situations.  Seventy-one thousand nine hundred children, in the year 2009, were hospitalized.  America’s Infectious diseases society said that this is a huge public health problem.  There are five things a parent needs to know about MRSA: One, the infection can look like a spider bite.  If you recognize a painful red spot with pus in it take caution and see a doctor. Two, it can start as a pimple and advance quickly.  Transmission among little athletes is prevalent. Athletes who get cuts, scrapes, and bruises and share equipment, towels, etc., put themselves at risk.  Cuts and scrapes are entryways for the infection. Four, Treating MRSA is not always the first option. Doctors do not always assume that MRSA is the cause for the infection.   Five, to prevent spread take a proper bleach bath and clean it well.  It is important to keep the infection covered until the infection is cleared up.

Critique: I never knew what MRSA was.  My grandmother had it.  It was just a small little bug bite.  Then within twenty-four hours, the bite was bigger than the size of her hand.  She had to go to the hospital to get surgery.  They had to cut her nine centimeters to scrape out the infection.  This is definitely an infection you do not want to get.  It can be very painful and life threatening if not taken care of.

Impact: MRSA can be dangerous if you don’t know how to treat it right.  It is important for people to be aware of these bacteria.  If someone comes in contact with this they need to take the proper care needed to treat it.  This article I think is helpful to make people aware of MRSA and how to take care of it.