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More Staph Outbreaks

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, bacteria, cold, flu, Methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), staphylococcus aureus, viral infections
Eeeewww. It’s like a creepy movie. Staphylococcus invasion from outer space. Lock up your kids. Lock up your pets. Lock up your livestock. Yecccch!

More staph infections popping up all over the country. One kid dead in Virginia. Eight in New Jersey infected with a Methicillin-resistant strain. See what happens when antibiotics are over-prescribed?

Oh, don’t even try to push the blame on somebody else, Medicos. No, no, no. It was you who gave antibiotics for every single ailment no matter how minor. You gave them to patients that you had diagnosed as having viral infections, despite the fact that antibiotics only work on bacteria.

“But the patient expects to be given something.”

Yeah, and now we have an antibiotic resistant epidemic on our hands. I’m so excited to see the BS fly when public health officials try to explain this one.

Wait! This just in: Five more high school kids infected with Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA). Whew!–they’re spraying the showers and locker rooms. Hmmm…What took so long? Really, really frightening stuff. Just check out this Google page to have your head spin. The number of infections around the country are staggering.

Here is the take home lesson: Antibiotics should be taken only periodically–that is, only when absolutely necessary. When antibiotics are taken for every little cold or flu, bacteria respond by mutating and developing resistance. Every year, I talk to a good dozen people who say, “I wasn’t feeling well, so I just went to my doctor and got antibiotics.” WTF! You really can’t ride out that cold?

So I always respond, “Oh yeah, which bacterial infection are you treating?” Here are the two most common answers in order of frequency:

  1. “Uh, I don’t know.”
  2. “It’s a viral infection.”

“Great, feeling better?”
“Oh yeah. Definitely.”
Yeah. BS. Listen, antibiotics do nothing against viral infections (probably 90% of colds and flu) and now they don’t do nuttin’ against Staph aureus. I sure hope we learn our lesson on this one. But somehow, I doubt it.

Step It Up

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotic resistance, Methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA), staphylococcus aureus

Oy vey! Disturbing reports are flying out of our nation’s high schools–staph infections are on the rise. Infections are occurring primarily among student athletes and are being contracted in gyms and weight rooms. Yeccch!

C’mon school superintendents–you’ve got to step up the public hygiene. Staphylococcus aureus in our high schools is just NOT acceptable. What it requires is regular and multiple cleanings every day, and signs posted requiring all people using the facilities to wash their hands before and after using the equipment. Period. This goes for all private gyms too. Every health club needs to provide Sani Wipes at every workout area so people can wipe off their machines. And there needs to be health department regulations requiring proper sanitary conditions in all workout facilities in the same way they do in restaurants.

This story just creeps me out. It’s so gross. What ever happened to proper hygiene? It’s one major facet that separates modern, industrialized countries from the third world–we have the knowledge and the ability to practice good hygiene! I swear, some of the stuff I see happening in men’s locker rooms makes my skin crawl (never thought I’d see so many creative uses for electric hair dryers). My book would be titled The Seven Keys to Optimal Health if I didn’t take proper hygiene in this country for granted, but maybe I should have devoted some time to this crucial habit; maybe people just don’t know.

It’s not like this information about weight room hazards has just come out of the blue. It’s been happening for over four years. I speak about it in detail in my upcoming book. And the massive danger goes well beyond the vile–some strains of Staph which are showing up are antibiotic resistant, so they’re seriously hard to treat. These organisms were once confined to hospitals but they’ve shown up in NFL training facilities and now at high schools across the country.

So I’m going to say this loud and clear: Wash your hands, folks! Use the locker room blow dryer for the hair on your head only. And cover up your cuts, especially if you’re sharing workout equipment. Nuff said.

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