Wash Your Hands to Help Keep the Staph Away

More and more cases of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), more commonly referred to as a staph infection, are being reported in New York State - four more were reported on Long Island yesterday. Senator Schumer is asking the President not to veto $5 million in emergency legislation to help stop the staph superbug and local health departments are urging people to exercise better hygiene habits.

Staph infections have become more common outside of hospitals, entering schools and gyms, lately because a few antibiotic-resistant strain has emerged as more people overuse antibiotics. As we mentinoed earlier, the CDC recommends doing the following:

Avoid taking antibiotics unnecessarily
When antibiotics are prescribed, take the full course
Wash your hands throughout the day with soap and water or alcohol wipes
Never share personal items, such as towels or razors
Keep cuts and scrapes covered with a bandage until healed

We were watching the news earlier this week and one nurse even suggested using soap from dispenser, versus bars of soap, because bacteria can linger on the bars. And a doctor Well spoke to suggested that bacteria could be traced transmitted via cell phones, gym equipment and other common objects.

Here's the CDC's website about MRSA (there's even a podcast).

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on October 25, 2007 1:06 PM

Comments [rss]

smitty

I push it with my elbow or use my sleeve or the end of my shirt.

galvo

the mta could help by installing hand dryers that actually work in grand central terminal. The ones that they have in the Bryant park bathroom and whole foods at Columbus circle dry hands in seconds. .

grand central terminal is full of banister and escalators handrails. great place for those wet hands.

in the mens room the hand dryers are useless , there are no paper towers, the faucets only stay on for 5 seconds, so repeated contact with the germ laden knob is required to wash hands, the soap dispensers have small reservoirs, thereby running out frequently. quite a few times i have had to go upstairs and tell the station manger to put some soap in the bathrooms

the only good thing about grand central bathroom is the door is open, no contact needed with the dirty door.

touch less faucets and real working hand dryers need to be installed in GCT.

i wonder what type of hand dryer, sink appliances and auto flusher they are installing in the bathrooms that are closed for renovations ?

mandating hooks down low for backpacks and bags would also help. it is always great to bring whatever is on the bathroom floor home to your kitchen table.

hospitals are worse, the dirty mop that is used to mop up the other patient bathroom accidents is now used on the other patient roam floor.

anything that touches the floor is now contaminated , all those bags are then put on the patient table.

proper hand washing is better than the gloves the food prepares use. Each person in a kitchen should have their own nail brush to enable proper hand washing.

there is no way you can put on food handling gloves gloves and keep them uncontaminated if your hands are contaimated .

zodak

@edEX there was an interesting discussion of handwashing (& bacteria on soap, in the comments) on boingboing.

vince g

lol at hand colors.

I am SO going to become Bob Wiley now. Great.

ed_Extinct

bacteria can linger on soap bars? so does this mean anti bacterial soap is bullshit? i knew it! i thought soap in theory can't get dirty!

Snoopy

Smitty,

What do you do when there only those hot air driers? Wait for someone to open the door and use your shoulder to keep it open until you can go out?

JMH

Also, who turns off the faucet using a paper towel?
I never remember to do so, but I've been told that you should because everyone touches the faucet before washing their hands, so if you turn it off with your bare hands after you're done washing you're just getting your hands dirty again.

smitty

Actually, I usually open the door with a paper towel after I have washed my hands. I don't want to touch the poo-ey door handle, as others don't wash. Grody.

smitty

I mean "maybe".

smitty

Made it's a prosthetic arm??

DCfist

Snoopy,

I wondered the same thing. Made me think of the float in "Animal House".

Also, who turns off the faucet using a paper towel?

Snoopy

I don't know but does anyone else find it strange in illustration #3 and 4 the individuals right arm and hand are of person of color and the left arm and hand are of a white person? Is that the same soap that Michael Jackson uses?

Is it the soap or the towel that does the trick?