In recent years MRSA has gotten more national attention, and for good reason. MRSA stands for methicillin resistant staph aureus. Contrary to some of the panic surrounding it, MRSA is a bacteria rather than a disease, but can be quite dangerous nonetheless, especially when the bacteria itself and the steps to preventing it are not properly understood.

Getting a MRSA Staph Infection is a serious matter, and educating yourself on it can help from having this severe problem. 

Staph is a bacteria found on the skin of everyone, and it is found just about anywhere in the environment. Most of the time this bacteria lives on the skin without causing any problems. However, when the surface of the skin is broken when we get things such as bites, scratches, and so on, the bacteria may get into the body and cause a MRSA Staph Infection.

Staph bacteria can also be inhaled which can cause pneumonia. However, this is rather uncommon in children and healthy adults. Those who develop this problem are typically elderly and/or those with immune deficiency problems. Staph bacteria can cause a lot of different types of infections, but is pretty uncommon in otherwise healthy people. Most of those affected with a MRSA Staph Infection are those who have just had surgery and have skin that is open and healing, or older adults in a nursing home who have trouble clearing secretions with coughing.

However, MRSA outbreaks are appearing in increasing frequency in recent years in otherwise healthy children and adults. Infections have occurred in people who have not been hospitalized or had a medical procedure performed in the past year. These infections are typically termed community-associated MRSA infections. Many experts blame these outbreaks on the overuse of antibiotics. The newer forms of MRSA Staph infections are frequently more serious and resistant to antibiotics than their predecessors. 

Good hygiene is the most effective way to prevent MRSA infections and to prevent recurrence. Hands should be kept clean by frequent washings or use of hand-sanitizer lotions. Openings in the skin such as cuts should be kept clean and covered until healed. Contact with other people's skin wounds should be avoided, and personal care items such as towels and razors should never be shared with others.

Following a pattern of good personal hygiene is the best approach to avoiding an outbreak of a Staph infection. In places where one may occur, such as a school, if an outbreak does occur health experts should be consulted on how best to sanitize the area to avoid further infections.