noreen | Shared With: Everyone - May 05 2008 | health, news, treatment
We were discussing MRSA this morning in class, it's one of those scary infections that medicine is still trying to figure out. After reading about it I realized how unhygienic picking your nose can be. gross!
Most of these people carry the normal kind of staph. But an increasing number carry MRSA. Why doesn't it hurt them?
"We don't understand why staph causes mischief. Most of the time it does not," Dickinson says. "But presumably, little breaks in the skin allow it to get past our barriers. Then it can multiply -- and staph comes with a bundle of proteins and toxins and enzymes that allow it to do a lot of damage."
So how can you stop staph from getting from the front of your nose to your skin?
"Theoretically, one thing people can do is quit picking their noses. But that won't help -- studies show people can't keep their hands away from their noses," Dickinson says.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to prevent infection with both normal staph and MRSA.
Stopping StaphMRSA may be the latest scary germ to grab headlines, but good old-fashioned hygiene is the key to protection.
Here's how to keep MRSA at bay:
* Wash your hands. Your hands are the part of your body most likely to pick up a germ and transfer it to an itchy sore, your eyes, your mouth, or your nose. So keep them clean. Use soap and warm water -- the rule of thumb is to scrub gently and thoroughly as long as it takes to sing the alphabet song.
* Got a cut or scrape? Clean it -- and cover it with a bandage until it heals.
* Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.
* Do not share towels, razors, or other personal items.
* Shower right away after exercise, especially at the gym. Don't toss your wet towel in your gym bag. Clean and disinfect any gym bag that's come into contact with dirty athletic gear.
* Wash all athletic clothing daily. Regularly wash athletic gear such as elbow pads and kneepads.
* Bathe every day. MRSA can live on the skin, but it can be washed away. Staph can enter the body through hair follicles, so be particularly careful to clean your groin, underarms, arms, and legs.
* Be on the lookout for infections. Early on, a staph infection looks like a spider bite (a red, irritated bump). Don't wait -- have a nurse or doctor look at it.
* If you have an infection, don't try to squeeze out the pus. This only spreads germs on your skin. Have ALL infections treated by a health professional.
* Practice careful hygiene whShareViewed: 5 Times- noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Jan 30 2007 | health, seattle, news
Lack of dental care leaves poor in agony...an article from today's Seattle Times..dotting to read this later
Quoted: seattletimes.com: Northwest news and information from the Seattle Times. Daily local news, sports, arts and entertainment, and classified ads.
ShareViewed: 14 Times - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Oct 25 2006 | health, diabetes, news
dotting this to read later...sounds interesting
ShareViewed: 8 Times - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Sep 14 2006 | news, health
Dotting this to read later...sounds promising
Quoted: By undergoing various kinds of coaxing, adult bone marrow cells appear able to replace any cell in the body.
ShareViewed: 2 Times - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Sep 09 2006 | health, news
Interesting...the battle around the safty of amalgam(silver-colored) fillings continues...they don't look good but they do last longer than composite (tooth colored) fillings.
Quoted: Government health advisers rejected a federal report that concluded dental fillings used by millions of patients are safe, saying further study of the mercury-laden amalgam is needed.
ShareViewed: 5 Times - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Sep 09 2006 | health, red cross, news
This is crazy....
Quote: The Red Cross is not aware of any health problems associated with the violations, spokesman Ryland Dodge said. The FDA said the nation's blood supply remains safe.
The Red Cross will not use donated money to pay the fine, but instead will rely on operating funds, including revenue from the sales of blood products, Dodge said.
The Red Cross provides nearly half the nation's blood supply, selling blood products to health facilities.
The fines stem from Red Cross recalls carried out between 2003 and 2005 that could have been prevented, the FDA said.
The 2003 agreement settled charges that the Red Cross had committed "persistent and serious violations" of federal blood safety rules dating back 17 years.
That settlement spelled out changes the Red Cross would have to make to comply with FDA rules, including improved training and record-keeping.
Quoted: The government said Friday it was fining the American Red Cross $4.2 million for violating blood-safety laws.
ShareViewed: 1 Time - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Sep 01 2006 | health, cancer, news
A new way to attack cancer using the immune system! Immune cells that are genetically modified by the presence of a virus allows them to attack and kill cancer cells. This is only a clinical trial, and so far only proved to work against melanoma, but what an amazing development. Awesome!
Quoted: Instead of using surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, researchers from the National Institutes of Health are finding so-far limited but inspiring success in a new approach for fighting cancer, using the immune system to attack the tumors the way it would a cold or flu.
ShareViewed: 3 Times - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Aug 10 2006 | health, music, news
Yeah Bill and Melinda...this is an additional 500 million added to the effort.
quote: The gift dwarfs the $150 million the Microsoft founder’s foundation has given since the fund was created four years ago, and the additional $287 million Gates announced last month to speed development of an AIDS vaccine.
Quoted: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a half-billion-dollar grant to a global fund that provides AIDS assistance in poor countries.
ShareViewed: 1 Time - noreen | Shared With: Everyone - Aug 10 2006 | news, health
Another article on WebMD about the importance of flossing. Gum diseases, particularly periodontal disease is quite common among south Asian, which can result in early tooth loss. Flossing at least 3 times a week is what my hygienist thinks is sufficient. Another bonus of flossing is that it can help you fight bad breath by removing bad breath causing bacteria that is not removed by brushing alone. Food for thought.
Quoted: A study of twins shows flossing twice a day in addition to brushing reduced gum bleeding --a sign of gum disease -- by about 40% more than brushing alone in just two weeks.
- Rosana - Oct 01 2006
You must be Noreen's friend before you can comment on this Fave.that would be awesome! it sounds like study participants were only helped for about 5 years, so the hunt is still on
Send Noreen a friend request or a personal message instead.