When you are a carrier of MRSA should you be allowed to be around other people or in isolation? Why?

here at the hospital, mrsa patients are in isolation. Once MRSA, always MRSAWhen you are a carrier of MRSA should you be allowed to be around other people or in isolation? Why?
In hospital acquired MRSA, people routinely are isolated ( on contact isolation) because most people in the hospital have a comprimised immune system and more suseptible to infection. This is especially true for people who are on antibiotics because MRSA is an infection which is highly resistant to antibiotics. People who are healthy are generally not as suseptible, but should practice regular handwashing to prevent the transmission to others who are ill.





They are rountinely placed on contact precautions because this is how the infection is transmitted...by touching infected materials. They may be cohorted with other patients who have MRSA but no other contaiguous infections.





Here are the CDC recommendations:


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_h鈥?/a>When you are a carrier of MRSA should you be allowed to be around other people or in isolation? Why?
when not in a hospital setting-it's not necessary to remain in isolation and yes you can be around people. if you are a carrier, it means the bacteria is colonized and not currently active. good hygeine and handwashing is all that is necessary.





in the hospital setting, anytime a patient is admitted that is a carrier of MRSA-they are checked to see if the bacteria is active or not-if it is active, they are placed in contact isolation which requires anyone entering the room to wear special gowns and gloves to protect them from the MRSA. these patients can only be put into rooms with other active MRSA carriers or by themselves. the reason for this is b/c everyone in the hospital has a compromised immune system and the disease can be contracted easily.





non-active carriers do not pose a threat to anyone they are around. this includes children and pregnant women. just good handwashing and regular checkups with the doc will help control the spread.
MRSA is highly infectious and belong to the contact isolation category. In other words, MRSA is spread by contact and therefore require isolation. In the USA nurses providing care for MRSA patients are required to wear protective gears like gloves and gown so that they do not spread MRSA to other patients and health care providers.
You can be a carrier of MRSA and be unaware of it. People with MRSA should usually be isolated (depending on where the infection is located i.e. urine, sputum, etc) If it is in the sputum and the person has a productive cough then I would wear a mask gloves and an isolation gown and of course the person would be in isolation. In the urine it is ok to share a room if you use your own commode. They are mostly in isolation though, and usually are on many weeks of IV drug therapy.
You should be in isolation because it is highly contagious. Any one around you should use universal precautions ie. gloves, mask, we even put on certain kinds of gowns so that it doesn't get on our clothes.