It is vital that you understand proper MRSA precautions and MRSA infection control techniques to protect you and your family from becoming infected, or to help make the fastest recovery from an existing MRSA or Staph infection. Learning how to prevent MRSA by using the appropriate MRSA environmental cleaning procedures and practicing good personal hygiene are certainly key.

MRSA Infection Control Overview

With so many MRSA cleaners on the market, it’s very important to learn which ones are the best Staph prevention products and how to use them safely and effectively. It is also prudent to take appropriate MRSA precautions when engaging in higher risk activities, such as close contact with others in contact sports, to minimize your risks and help prevent Staph infection.

Before MRSA guidelines for cleaners and infection control are discussed, it's important to know what factors make your more susceptible to MRSA or a Staph infection.

How do you get MRSA or a Staph Infection?

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The following factors have been shown to increase your risk of developing a Staph infection or MRSA:

• A recent hospital visit (inpatient or visiting someone). Acquiring HA-MRSA is fairly common now in health care environments.
• Taking antibiotics or other medications
• Skin injuries or history of skin infections
• Participation in contact sports
• Using shared sports equipment
• Using shared personal items like razors or towels
• Poor skin hygiene
• Obesity
• Intravenous drug use
• Newborns
• Visiting public areas like: shopping centers, using public telephones, going to the gym, public transportation, etc. CA-MRSA is a more deadly form of MRSA.
• Breastfeeding
• Poor nutrition
• Low immunity due to underlying illness
• Diabetes
• Cancer, organ transplant patients, HIV Positive
• Living or working in close quarters with other people such as: day care facilities, schools, health care, homeless shelters, prisons, military barracks
• Using hot tubs

If any of the above describes you, you have an increased risk of getting an MRSA infection. Proper mrsa environmental cleaning, good personal hygiene and effective mrsa infection control measures are all strategies that will reduce your risk of getting an infection or spreading one to others.

Cleaning and MRSA Infection Control

Hand washing with warm soapy water reduces the spread of germs like MRSA and Staph. Photo Credit: CDC/ Dawn Arlotta, Cade Martin

Did you know that many of the common MRSA cleaners can actually cause more harm to your health than good? Many of the synthetic chemicals used in these cleaning products are toxic, weakening your immune system and leaving you MORE vulnerable to infections in the long run. There are safer alternatives available that are just as effective at MRSA environmental cleaning and I urge you to start using them.

To begin, I will discuss two commonly used disinfectants and what you need to know about them.

1. Bleach often recommended as a good universal disinfectant for MRSA infection control around the home or office. While bleach can effectively kill MRSA, it has to be used properly and at the correct dilution to work well. Bleach also has some serious health, safety and environmental issues you need to be aware if you choose to use it for cleaning.

• To be effective, bleach MUST be mixed with water. Straight undiluted bleach is actually less harmful to bacteria than bleach diluted in water.
• A 10% bleach solution is generally best to kill MRSA, however different brands and types of bleach have different kill times for MRSA. 10% bleach is also less corrosive and less hazardous than undiluted bleach.
• Bleach is not compatible with most metal surfaces and produces toxic compounds if mixed with most other cleaning agents.
• Bleach is also caustic and corrosive and contributes to dioxin pollution in the environment.

Because of bleach’s toxicity, corrosiveness and safety issues, it's best to minimize its use in MRSA infection control and cleaning and substitute safer options instead (see further below)

2. Other Disinfectants: There are several other household cleaning products, including Lysol, Pine-Sol and other disinfectants, that have been used for MRSA infection control. 

• Most of these products contain poisonous chemicals that are harmful to your health and compromise your immune system. Many of these products contain phenol and cresol, which if ingested can cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness and kidney and liver damage
• Several products also contain the preservative formaldehyde which is a suspected human carcinogen that can irritate your eyes, throat, skin and lungs. 

If you are going to use a chemical based cleaner for MRSA environmental cleaning, do not use the common chemical-based disinfectants. You'd be better off with bleach. 

The EPA actually advises buying only nontoxic,
unscented cleaning products.

 

Safe and Effective Disinfectants: Western world cultures seem to be one of the few that don't think twice about using toxic and poisonous compounds to clean their homes. For your ultimate health and safety from MRSA and other infections, switch to effective natural cleaners.

There are actually quite a few safe alternatives you can purchase or make yourself that are effective for disinfection. Many are made with natural antibacterial agents like essential oils or colloidal silver. Using safer cleaners will help your body stay healthier and improve your immune system. It's hard for your immune system to fight both your infection and the toxic chemicals built up in your body at the same time.

For a safe and easy-to-use cleaning agent made with two common household items that’s just as effective as bleach at MRSA environmental cleaning, see our disinfectant recipe in the book MRSA Secrets Revealed.

 

Personal Hygiene and MRSA Infection Control

Part of infection control is keeping your environment sanitized, especially if someone in your household has a Staph infection or MRSA. Personal hygiene is also important as is protecting yourself from the new MRSA threat: airborne MRSA.

Hand washing is often touted as the best method of MRSA infection control. While important, washing your hands with the wrong soap product will weaken your skin’s natural defenses and can INCREASE your chances of infection.

Over-washing your hands is also detrimental to your body's natural protective skin oils and will make it easier for bacteria to invade. Dr. Rachel J. Gorwitz, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted the importance of educating patients in order to avoid transmission. She offers the following guidance:

• Wash hands with regular soap and water to keep them clean.
• Don't share towels, razors or other personal items
• Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages
• Keep breaks in your skin clean and covered and watch for signs of infection such as redness, warmth and swelling.
• See your doctor if you notice signs of infection.
• Don't try to drain a boil yourself at home.
• If you have a skin infection, keep the infected area covered with a clean dry bandage until it is healed. Wash your hands thoroughly after changing the bandage and put used bandages in the trash.

Antibacterial Soaps - They're Not What You Think

Many experts now agree that products with antimicrobial ingredients are no more effective than using regular soaps. These antimicrobial ingredients also kill off the good bacteria on your skin, letting the bad bacteria more easily gain a foothold.

In fact you are probably exposing yourself to many health risks every day by using antimicrobial products. Learn what soap companies don't want you to know in our free report (top left on this page).

Alcohol based hand sanitizers are also commonly used and are convenient while traveling or on the go, however, these products also add a toxic burden to your body, thus weakening your immune system. For an even more natural and healthy option, learn about an effective essential oil based hand sanitizer in the book MRSA Secrets Revealed.

 

Airborne MRSA - A Little Talked About Threat

MRSA environmental cleaning, good personal hygiene and most other MRSA infection control measures ARE NOT EFFECTIVE against airborne MRSA.

Have you heard of airborne MRSA? Chances are good that you haven't.

The media is not widely discussing this problem, as well as hospitals and health care facilities. One reason being that they are still working on a solution to stop the spread of airborne MRSA.

It's absolutely CRITICAL that you understand how to control airborne MRSA, especially if you plan on entering a hospital.

Staph bacteria commonly inhabit many people without causing infection. And, the average person sheds millions of skin particles throughout the day. MRSA and Staph are hitching a ride on these particles. If small enough, they can enter the lungs, and certainly can populate your skin when they land on it.

• Studies have now confirmed that the airborne route of transmission is responsible for a large number of MRSA infections.
• A 2001 study showed that MRSA could be acquired by medical staff and patients through airborne transmission in hospitals.
  • The study was conducted in a hospital ward and found MRSA re-circulating in the air, among the patients and on inanimate objections in the area, especially when there was movement in the patient’s rooms (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(6):725-726).

One of the most effective ways to control airborne MRSA is by diffusing the vapors of highly antibacterial essential oils within a room. However, only certain plant essential oils work, and some oils are actually quite toxic, so you must educate yourself on which oils to use. Effective methods to control airborne Staph and MRSA are covered in detail in MRSA Secrets Revealed.

 

Learn how to safely and effectively reduce airborne MRSA and Staph. Find out what are the most effective ways to clean for MRSA and Staph and which essential oils have been found most effective for airborne MRSA.   MRSA and Staph are serious and potentially life-threatening infections. In this resource you find simple, science-based solutions for stopping MRSA and Staph infections, and you'll learn the keys to finally stopping the recurring infection cycle. Discover effective, non-toxic ways to clean and control MRSA and Staph on both surfaces and in the air. Learn how to become infection-free and worry-free so you can feel better faster and protect your friends and family. Written by Microbiologist, Staph Researcher and Natural Health Advocate Michelle Moore, her book MRSA Secrets Revealed is an up-to-date resource based upon her education, personal infection experience and exhaustive research on how to overcome Staph and MRSA infections. With extensive experience in both the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Natural Health arena, Michelle has created a balanced approach that has helped thousands of people in understanding and overcoming their infections. Get your copy of this comprehensive resource now by clicking on the blue button below.