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Monday, May 9, 2016

Graduated! wait mrsa??

Wasn't easy either, what with uni messing things up to the very end. But I got a BA in religious studies, no idea what to do with such a degree, but at least I'm out. Got a job, though is hard job. My rule was "anything but retail" and well I found something but it is super hard in other ways. I'm a caregiver for a disabled man. He is not tiny. He is so physically disabled he can do nothing. There's a lift to get him into his chairs, bed etc, and his waist doesn't bend the full 90 degrees to sit and I definitely don't have the strength to pull him up. I think I pulled a few muscles of my own last night. I am sore today.

he is also a mrsa carrier which freaks me out. How easy is it to catch that? I have to shower the guy and last night water dripped from his arm to my eye while I tried to scrub his rear (shower chair has hole there). There are no sores on his arms, just dry skin, a scab of some sort on his leg though. How much danger am I in? Is mrsa like cold sores in that is only contagious sometimes?

Got my new computer last month but it is not together yet. It's so big I need to still make room and my floor is not large or well organized. Bro is talking about mounting stuff on my wall so computer can use a table. He doesn't want it on the floor. Uggghhhhh......

3 comments:

  1. Congrats on graduating!!

    That's a tough job. I would research the MRSA ting to death until you know absolutely everything there is to know about it, to protect yourself.

    You were right on the makeup containers, but wrong on what's in half of them. ;) I steal used empties and make my own foundations and powders etc. out of things that won't give me insane rashes.

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  2. Staphylococcus aureus is an incredibly common bacteria, even on Joe Schmoe's skin. Sometimes it causes infections, like when there's a break in the skin. MRSA is a drug-resistant version of staph aureus. It came to be in part because of overuse of antibiotics, but at this point it's everywhere.

    We joke about patients that are in contact isolation for history of MRSA, because it would be weird for a healthcare worker not to be colonized with it. Colonized just means it's on you somewhere, not currently causing an infection. Sounds like your patient is colonized.

    You're not likely to have any issues just from contact with him. Plus, if you did have an infection they'd culture it to find out what antibiotics DO work. Antibiotics still treat MRSA, you just have to find out which ones. Just follow the rules of basic hygiene and you should be fine :)

    I'm glad you've found some forward momentum - I know how miserable you were at that other job.

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