Super Booger

The news has been filled with scary stories on the "super bug" aka methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (say that 5 times real fast), or MRSA. MRSA once only found in hospital settings is now lurking everywhere...spooky huh? So, how do you prevent it?

Wash your hands.

It sounds almost too good to be true...but it isn't. According to a survey by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association, although 89% of men claim to wash their hands every time they use a public restroom, only 66% were actually seen doing so. And as for women, 96% claim to always wash, only 88% were actually seen doing so.

Then you have to ask of those who do wash...are they washing enough? Do they sing through the "abc's?" or "Happy Birthday" twice? Yes, I am pretty meticulous when it comes to hand washing...that is what happens when you have a germ-phobia (or some may say I am borderline OCD). And if you are in a place you can't wash your hands, try some hand sanitizer (just don't drink it!).

A fact about MRSA: It is commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people.

So, don't pick your nose! And if you can't resist, disinfect those fingers! Because think about where you could be "possibly" spreading MRSA...

“The evidence for S. aureus and MRSA contamination of a huge variety of items in hospitals is overwhelming. Objects such as computer keyboards, door handles, tourniquets, pens, television sets, stethoscopes, telephones, beds and bedside tables, equipment packaging, paper and patient’s notes, and toys are just a few examples.” (Source Dr. Stephanie Dancer of South General Hospital in Glasgow writes in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.)

So...You can pick your friends. You can pick your nose, But you can't pick your friend's nose. And don't forget to clean the Super Booger off your finger!