Monday, October 18, 2010

Dallas seems to be having a major out break of MRSA with school kids...


MRSA Cleaning Tips
As soon as you get home from the doctor with the diagnosis:
 Wash EVERYTHING that has touched the patient’s skin in hot water.
 Sheets, pillowcases, blankets, bedding. Add a plastic zipper-cover to the mattress in case MRSA is in the mattress.
 Clothing. Yes, even dark clothing. Then dry EVERYTHING to get that extra heat to kill the germs the wash didn’t get. Bleach EVERYTHING! This goes for the darks as well here. Use color safe bleach if it’s antibacterial. Throw away (in a sealed plastic container) any clothing or accessories (slippers, scarves, mittens, hats, ANYTHING) that can’t be washed and bleached.
 Shoes. (Spray inside and out with Lysol.)
 Bath mats, shower curtains, towels, washcloths, etc.
 Wash the infected person’s clothes, sheets, towels and wash cloths separately from others in the home. Do NOT put them into the same laundry hamper, or into any laundry hamper with holes (plastic or wicker). Use a SEALED air-tight laundry hamper until you launder the items, and always wash them in HOT water. (Yes, the darks, too, even if it ruins them. Not doing so can spread MRSA.) Clean the washer AND dryer after you wash their clothes. Use bleach or Lysol. If you use a laundry basket, CLEAN IT after you transport the person’s clothes to the washer (BEFORE you put clean, dried clothes into it.)
 Bedding needs to be washed and or at least changed every day when having an outbreak, and at least twice times a week when not having an outbreak. It’s important.
 Clean make-up brushes with bleach. Throw away anything you can’t clean with bleach (mascara wands, eye-liner pencils, lipstick or chap stick, etc.). Do not share cosmetics.
 Throw away that bar soap. Germs stay on bar soap, and can be passed along. Lever 2000 or Cetaphil are liquids that are safe and gentle on skin. Clean the dispenser every time it’s used with an antibacterial wipe or Lysol.
 Clean every surface in the home with bleach or spray with Lysol. No exceptions. Run the dishwasher at very high heat (with nothing in it except bleach). From floors to walls, every surface – including electronics – in the house has to be cleaned. If you can’t use bleach, use Lysol. If you can’t use Lysol or bleach, use anti-bacterial wipes (this works for computer keyboards, DVD players and other electronics you don’t want to get too wet.) Wear gloves, and THROW AWAY the sponge you use (in a plastic bag) after you use it. Do this once a week for at least a month.
 Spray the shower, toilet, bathroom and kitchen sinks, doorknobs, light switches, TV remote controls, bathroom scale, toothpaste tube, bathroom taps and faucets, towel racks, bookshelf, mailbox, house keys – any solid surface that the person with MRSA comes into contact with -- with bleach and let it sit for about 15 minutes before you clean it. This needs to be done after each time the MRSA patient uses the shower (or other solid-surface place) even when they are not broken out for at least 30 days after an outbreak. NO MORE BATHS. It spreads MRSA from one place to another on the infected person’s body. If you have a pool or Jacuzzi, drain it, wash it with bleach, and the infected person should not use it for 30 days after a physician says that they are disease free and not subject to future outbreaks.
 Soak combs and hairbrushes and any hair accessories (barrettes, pony-tail ties, clips, etc.) for at least 20 minutes in a sink filled with HOT water and at least one cup of bleach. DO NOT share hair accessories.
While the person is healing, and for at least 60 days afterwards:
 Dust the home daily. Dust carries dead skin cells and in turn these dead skin cells carry MRSA.
 DO NOT share razors, clothes, towels, wash cloths, drinks, food and so on with anyone who has had MRSA. (Just don’t do it.)
 Use Lysol like it’s going out of style. Spray down the phone, light switches, the key board and mouse, fridge door handle, door knobs, furniture, toilet, remotes, and so on. This needs to be done daily.
 Buy some antibacterial wipes and clean off the toilet and toilet handle after EACH use. They also should be used on shopping cart handles, books, TV remotes, on and off switches, refrigerator doors, and anything else you can think of that you touch with bare skin.
 Keep the sores covered at ALL times.
 While a person is broken out it might be a good idea to designate one seat in the living room just for them. Sharing that seat or part of the couch might be asking for problems. When they are done using it, spray it with Lysol.
 Take hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE. Use it when you sneeze or cough if you can’t get to a sink to wash. Sneezing or coughing is a smooth ride out for MRSA. MRSA is also airborne, so make sure you cover when sneezing and coughing.
 Carpets have to be cleaned after a MRSA outbreak. Rent a machine at the grocery store if you don’t own one, and add antibacterial soap to the mix.
 Don’t share or use roll-on deodorant. (It can pass MRSA from one arm to the other, and underarm lesions are painful.) Spray deodorant is a must. Don’t share even an aerosol spray with another person.


It can be ugly, Folks.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&q=mrsa&revid=93978821&sa=X&ei=xZu8TLPbNcWclgfDpfTCDQ&ved=0CCQQ1QIoBA

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