swimmer with staph infection

[teppy]

my mother in law found out after it was too late that one of the regular neighbor kids took a swim in her pool who has just been treated for staph infection. His is a really serious case that required surgery to save his finger. they also say that it is one of the worse types of staph that is really very dangerous and can kill.

my husband and i are trying to help her, but i wanted to ask here if shocking one time is going to be enough? Is there anything else that should be done short of draining to pool? i really don't think thats necessary, but this is one thing that really freaks me out. I can deal with a little bit of 'pee' in a pool or worse than that, a 'babe ruth' floater(sorry, i know this is not a preffered topic). But, staph scares me. I just want to make sure that its going to be safe for them over there. i would hate for the other children who swim there to become infected or worse yet my mother in law and father in law who are both older people.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I think shocking should take care of it.

How scary.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I did a search and every place I looked said that bleach in low concentrations kills staph bacteria. If it were me I'd shock the pool and then run the FC level a couple parts higher for about a week and all will be fine. I wouldn't be scared to let people swim after the shock either.

 

[257WbyMag]

Staph won't live in a properly sanitized pool.

Hard surfaces can be disinfected by simply wiping things down with a 1:10 household bleach to water mixture.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Staph won't live in a properly sanitized pool.

Hard surfaces can be disinfected by simply wiping things down with a 1:10 household bleach to water mixture.

Happy Birthday Craig!

 

[chem geek]

This question also came up on a (mostly spa) forum here regarding methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). To play it safe, I would raise the FC to shock levels of chlorine and then let it drop naturally (usually within a day or two), though it's very likely that normal chlorine levels would kill 99% of this bacteria every minute or so.

 

[AnnaK]

The suggestion has already come up but I want to emphasize it again: hard surfaces also will need to be disinfected. Any toys, noodles, balls, floats, hand rails, bathroom, changing room, towels, eating utensils etc the child might have touched should be sprayed with a dilute bleach solution and dried. Any trash (bandaids? tissues?) should be disposed of.

The likelihood of the bacteria having survived on hard, dry surfaces is pretty slim, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Beez]

my mother in law found out after it was too late that one of the regular neighbor kids took a swim in her pool who has just been treated for staph infection. His is a really serious case that required surgery to save his finger. they also say that it is one of the worse types of staph that is really very dangerous and can kill.

The parents of that child need a serious talking to. If it is MRSA or ORSA this is an issue they might have to deal with for an indefinite length of time, possibly even life long. Just google CA-MRSA if you have the stomach for it...totally freaks me out if I let my mind dwell on it. The reason is that it is out there, and many who carry it either don't know they have it, or are ignorant of the precautions they must take to prevent it spreading to others.

 

[bwiley47]

I agree about cleaning any toys and hard surfaces with a bleach solution. MRSA can live on surfaces up to 6 months. Keep in mind that bleach even kills the aids virus.

As a health care worker I am exposed to MRSA and VRE on a daily basis, usually before any culture is performed. I recently had to disinfect my parents entire house after mom had the respiratory type and dad had the skin type. If it makes you feel any better, I changed dad's dressing to his lower leg for 1 wk (blistered, open, lots of draining), without gloves and I did not get it. (though I don't recommend it)!

I would just monitor anyone who has been in the pool for any blistering rash, and to chlorinate as per instructed here. Try not to worry. MRSA has been around alot longer than people realize and your greatest risk is coming into contact with an open wound that is draining and your own skin is not intact.

 

[257WbyMag]

Staph won't live in a properly sanitized pool.

Hard surfaces can be disinfected by simply wiping things down with a 1:10 household bleach to water mixture.

Happy Birthday Craig!

Thanks!

 

[257WbyMag]

I agree about cleaning any toys and hard surfaces with a bleach solution. MRSA can live on surfaces up to 6 months. Keep in mind that bleach even kills the aids virus.

As a health care worker I am exposed to MRSA and VRE on a daily basis, usually before any culture is performed. I recently had to disinfect my parents entire house after mom had the respiratory type and dad had the skin type. If it makes you feel any better, I changed dad's dressing to his lower leg for 1 wk (blistered, open, lots of draining), without gloves and I did not get it. (though I don't recommend it)!

I would just monitor anyone who has been in the pool for any blistering rash, and to chlorinate as per instructed here. Try not to worry. MRSA has been around alot longer than people realize and your greatest risk is coming into contact with an open wound that is draining and your own skin is not intact.

Sage advice for sure.

I'm in healthcare too and a coworker and I were talking ther other day about this very thing and how, based on the sheer number of years that we have been in this line of work, that there is little doubt that we would probably test postive for MRSA on a surveillance culture. Ugh! Don't even want to think about VREF though.

 

[teppy]

look, i totally agree. my mother in law is scared that they will never speak to her again because she locked the gate to her pool. Now, none of them can swim. those two old people do love those kids coming every afternoon for their swim. I'm not about to offer to let them start coming to my pool. i don't particularly care for people at my house anytime they want using my pool. Especially with no adult supervision. ALL of these parents to these kids need a good talking to. I did speak with the one who has the kid with the staph. i told her that his brother does not need to be bathing in the same bathtub. i told her that light switches, door handles, cabinet knobs, tv remote control, etc.. just everything needs to be wiped down everytime he picks it up or touches it. i would not even want this kid in my home as a matter of fact right now.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who replied here. i feel much more confident now and at ease about shocking her pool for her and that it will be safe. its at shock level now. i'm about to ride over now and check on it and get some test numbers.

my mother in law found out after it was too late that one of the regular neighbor kids took a swim in her pool who has just been treated for staph infection. His is a really serious case that required surgery to save his finger. they also say that it is one of the worse types of staph that is really very dangerous and can kill.

The parents of that child need a serious talking to. If it is MRSA or ORSA this is an issue they might have to deal with for an indefinite length of time, possibly even life long. Just google CA-MRSA if you have the stomach for it...totally freaks me out if I let my mind dwell on it. The reason is that it is out there, and many who carry it either don't know they have it, or are ignorant of the precautions they must take to prevent it spreading to others.

 

[bwiley47]

I agree about cleaning any toys and hard surfaces with a bleach solution. MRSA can live on surfaces up to 6 months. Keep in mind that bleach even kills the aids virus.

As a health care worker I am exposed to MRSA and VRE on a daily basis, usually before any culture is performed. I recently had to disinfect my parents entire house after mom had the respiratory type and dad had the skin type. If it makes you feel any better, I changed dad's dressing to his lower leg for 1 wk (blistered, open, lots of draining), without gloves and I did not get it. (though I don't recommend it)!

I would just monitor anyone who has been in the pool for any blistering rash, and to chlorinate as per instructed here. Try not to worry. MRSA has been around alot longer than people realize and your greatest risk is coming into contact with an open wound that is draining and your own skin is not intact.

Sage advice for sure.

I'm in healthcare too and a coworker and I were talking ther other day about this very thing and how, based on the sheer number of years that we have been in this line of work, that there is little doubt that we would probably test postive for MRSA on a surveillance culture. Ugh! Don't even want to think about VREF though.

Absolutely :!: I think we've all had that conversation.

 

[learthur]

MESA is staph that is resistant to methacillin and similar antibiotics. It has no effect on it's ability to die when exposed to chlorine. Keep chlorine in your pool per TFP recs and you will fine there.

With that being said, no one with any type of open sore or wound should be in any swimming pool period. There wound could get infected with other stuff. Pool water is not sterile, just sanitized (hopefully). There is a difference.

Staph exists "naturally" on everyones skin. It is only a problem if you have a compromised immune system or open sore/wound for it to infect. In a hospital thy make a big deal out of his because most every patient in a hospital has a lowered immune system or sore or wound. For normal healthy people not as big a deal if your skin is intact and you are healthy.

Bleach and Lysol are both effective. Washing your hands is a great idea also.