This stuff is really bad guys and from everything I hear, it's breaking out in wrestling this year! If you suspicion anything at all, see a doctor and for God's sake, don't spread it around. Your teamates and opponents do not deserve to be victims of your neglect, because the health risks are just too great. This stuff can lead to death. Check out this link and get informed quickly:

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Health+Department/Top+News/MRSA.htm

Thanks for the link. Hopefully coaches, parents, and wrestlers will be more careful when dealing with this stuff.

Every kid in athletics of any kind needs to watch that video.  One of the best pieces of info i've seen on here.

As a Certified Athletic Trainer I can tell you that this is being seen in other sports as well. It can spread like wildfire if not treated ASAP. If you suspect you may have it (it will look like a spider bite or ingrown hair) you need to get to a doctor.

Thanks so much for the post and the link.  This is a subject on which there needs to be much more open dialogue.  There are still some people involved in the high school sporting world that don't even know what this is.

To be honest, the prospect of an antibiotic immune skin transferable bacteria that can lead to death scares me a little bit.  It sounds like something out of a corny science-fiction flick, but in this era of exploding human population mother nature seems due to inflict an outrageous epidemic to restore some kind of balance. 

What I'm trying to say is that we (those in a position to inform) need to stress vigilance and prevention.  This is not the ringworm of the old days.  It should be seen for what it is, an evolved bacteria with life-threatening possibilities.

I have seen some kids wrestling in the under outfits that cover most open skin.  Are these oufits supposed to help  "when kept clean after every use" ?

Relax about MRSA. 50,000,000 Americans carry Staph as part of their normal flora. Normal flora is bacteria which lives with us in harmony both on and within our body. Not all 50,000,000 Americans will actually carry MRSA but it is more common than many believe.  Occasionally, there can be a breakdown in our immune mechanisms which leads to an infection. Any bacterial skin infection has the potential to be fatal and most, but not all, should be treated with antibiotics. Any child with a pimple on their face has an isolated "pocket" or skin infection often consisting of  either Staph or Strep bacteria. Most pimples are not treated with antibiotics. Strep infections can be just as deadly as staph infections. Any bacteria which enters our bodies unopposed can lead to death.

Wrestling, being a very close contact sport, allows bacteria to be exchanged from one person to another. If we were to obtain bacterial cultures from all the wrestlers in the state, quite a few would have MRSA within their noses and skin. That doesn't mean they should be treated with antibiotics and it certainly doesn't mean they are going to die from MRSA. MRSA is not like HIV or viral hepatitis. In fact, treating asymptomatic carriers of MRSA  will be of no benefit at all. MRSA will simply live in harmony with that person as long as they remain healthy.  If one wrestler has MRSA, they have likely or possibly transmitted it to their wrestling partner and so on. Only  skin infections extending beyond the common pimple should be treated. Naturally, one should report infections to their physician and if the infection is not responding within a few days to the antibiotic it should be reported back to their physician as this could represent a bacterial strain which is resistant to the chosen antibiotic.  Also if the infection rapidly worsens it should be reported immediately.

Everyone should relax about MRSA and simply take good hygiene precautions. Worrying will not prevent us from encountering MRSA. We will live in harmony with MRSA. For those science fiction believers, don't expect a population decline from MRSA.  Showering, washing hands and staying healthy will go a long way.

Thanks, I-pinned-em-all, M.D.

I thought that MRSA wasn't really lethal unless it spread to the inside of the body, lungs etc. 

All bacteria are potentially lethal if untreated and spread throughout the body. Prior to the invention of penicillin babies died of ear infections and strep throat at an alarming rate. Soldiers in the Civil War would die a slow infectious death from a gunshot wound to the arm or leg.  The point is, we have antibiotics which can kill bacteria prior to infections getting out of control and spreading and ultimately killing our bodies. Over the years, bacteria have been exposed to so many antibiotics they have figured out ways to survive certain antibiotics. For example, some Staphylococcus aureus no longer are killed by Methicillin. Therefore, they are Methicillin Resistant Staph aureus (MRSA).  MRSA can still be killed, but more powerful antibiotics are needed. If a wrestler gets an infection, a doctor may give an antibiotic which will not kill MRSA. The infection can grow and start to spread throughout the body. If this occurs, the antibiotic must be changed to the more powerful drug and MRSA will then be killed. Since most infections are not from MRSA, we keep the powerful antibiotics only for special circumstances. Just like a wrestler may have a special move for a certain opponent. If the wrestler used this certain move all the time, others would learn how to counter it and it would become less effective. 

MRSA has been around for many years now. This is nothing new.

Thank you for imparting your wisdom.

Sincerely,

Your Average Hypochondriac