There are a number of ways to prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, but they all boil down to maintaining excellent hygiene. By keeping yourself, your environment, and your personal care items clean, you can greatly reduce the risk of contracting MRSA. It is also important to follow directions from doctors and staff when you are in environments like hospitals, nursing homes, and gyms, as these locations can carry an increased risk of MRSA infection, and their staffs are trained to prevent MRSA infections.
The first step to prevent MRSA is washing your hands. While this may sound simple, a surprising number of people do not wash their hands often enough, or properly. You should always wash your hands after using the bathroom or handling pet waste material, and also before eating. Make sure to use hot water, and rub your hands vigorously under the water with soap for at least 15 seconds. You can also use an alcohol based sanitizer, as alcohol appears to be highly effective against MRSA bacteria.
In hospitals where vigorous handwashing protocols have been enacted, MRSA rates have dropped dramatically, illustrating how effective this simple step is. If you happen to be in a hospital environment, you should be extremely careful about washing your hands, ideally doing so both before and after interacting with a patient. Patients with MRSA infections require special care; observe all posted signs in such a patient's room to ensure that you do not pass his or her MRSA on to others.
You should also clean injuries such as cuts and scrapes promptly, and cover them with clean bandages which are changed regularly. Also avoid handling other people's injuries without gloves to prevent MRSA and other potential infections. Never share personal items like towels, tweezers, toothbrushes, and so forth, and keep such items clean and aired out to make them less friendly to bacteria. This will help prevent MRSA infection as well as infections by other bacteria, molds, and fungi.
Another way to prevent MRSA is to keep things like toilet handles and sink faucets regularly wiped down with alcohol solutions. Because these surfaces are so frequently handled, they are a prime spot for infectious bacteria which can easily be passed between people. In a shared household, keep counters, door knobs, and so forth wiped down as well, and encourage people to wash their hands frequently and to clearly label and separate personal belongings.
