Proper hygiene important to stopping spread of staph

This isn't intended to scare you, but there's a "Super Bug" quietly lurking.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is spreading widely in the U.S.

And it could be at a school near you -- if it hasn't already made an appearance.

The "it" I am referring to is MRSA, which stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus, often called staph, is a type of bacteria commonly found on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. According to the CDC, approximately 30 percent of people have staph in their noses and do not have any symptoms.

In the 1960s, the antibiotic Methicillin was commonly used to treat staph infections. This led to the development of strains of staph, MRSA, that are resistant to Methicillin and other commonly used antibiotics.

In the past, MRSA was found only in healthcare facilities and caused infection in people who were sick. More recently, MRSA has emerged in the community and can cause infections in otherwise healthy people.

How serious can the infections become?

In October, a 17-year-old Virginia high school senior died due to complications from the infection after being hospitalized for more than a week.

Later that month, 10 Mount Lebanon High School (Pa.) students -- 9 of them football players -- were reported to have gotten MRSA.

In late October, Aurora's Holy Angels Catholic School was closed after a student reportedly was diagnosed with having MRSA. Other cases have been reported at Geneva, Kaneland, Rolling Meadows and Naperville North.

Why such concern from an athletic standpoint?

Because MRSA is usually spread from person to person through direct contact or contact with shared items or surfaces (i.e., towels, weight-training equipment) that have touched a person's infection.

In repeated skin-to-skin contact sports like wrestling, football and basketball, MRSA might spread more easily because during participation athletes get cuts and abrasions that if left uncovered allow staph and MRSA to enter and cause infection.

It can look as simple as a pimple, boil or spider bite.

"Five years ago, we were concerned with the wrestlers getting ringworm and impetigo," said Bill Durand, head athletic trainer at Geneva High School. "Now, we're worried more about MRSA."

"I've heard more about it this year," said Kaneland head trainer Missy Schramer.

"I haven't seen it here, but there seems to be more diagnosed cases this year," said St. Charles East trainer Chuck Harrier.

"MRSA has been around for years," said St. Charles East wellness instructional coordinator/ head trainer Don Nielsen, "but I started hearing about it more last year."

How can student-athletes protect themselves from getting MRSA?

1)ŒPractice good personal hygiene -- wash hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub, shower immediately after exercise, wash your uniform and clothing after each use.

2) Take care if your skin -- cover skin abrasions and cuts with a clean, dry bandage.

3)ŒDo not share items that come into contact with your skin -- avoid sharing towels and razors.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Try again.

"A lot of kids do not follow proper hygiene," said Durand. "Having kids shower after events used to be mandatory. That's not the case anymore.

"I've had football players come in for treatment the Saturday morning after a Friday night game with mud and dirt still on their bodies. I've kicked kids out of the training room because they haven't cleaned anything that they're wearing. They just reek."

Yuck.

"To me, lack of personal hygiene is the biggest reason why MRSA is spreading so fast through schools," said Schramer.

When I attended high school, taking a shower was mandatory -- even after gym class.

Those days are gone.

"Now, it's against the law to force students to take showers after class," said Nielsen.

"I bet less than 5 percent of our PE students take showers after class," said Harrier.

Yuck again.

The news isn't all bad, however.

"We've been very proactive at Geneva," said Durand. "Our maintenance crew does a great job of cleaning everything."

"We've got regularly scheduled cleaning dates of the locker rooms," said St. Charles North wellness instructional coordinator Kristy Harrier. "This is in addition to the daily cleaning of the locker rooms and weight rooms -- a.m. and p.m."

"We've gotten on our kids more to wash their clothes, uniforms and equipment," said Schramer. "We perform skin checks for our wrestling team. If something looks a little different, we send them to the doctor."

Bandaging wounds and taping ankles -- "that's what we're here for," said Nielsen.