[evan]

Does anyone know how contagious staph infections are? Somebody I work with has had a sore leg for a few days and when his knee started getting discolored and warm to the touch he got sent to the doctor... turns out he has a Stage 2 staff infection and is going to the hospital I'm just wondering how contagious the bacteria is because I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out next week and a weakened immune system (+staph) would not be very good. Fortunately we all wear pants so it's been covered up but since it's stage 2 it's spread to his bloodstream... does this make it any more contagious? fuck... I really don't want staph. luckily i've been fanatically using that hand sanitizer stuff...

[alcimedes]

Usually not very contagious actually. Happened to a lady at work, had to have a chunk of leg taken out to keep her from dying. Scary stuff.

[World Leader Pretend]

Just a bit of advice regarding hand sanitizer:

If you use the stuff and it kills 99% of the germs, you are left with only the hardcore germs. These guys now have no competition and can multiply even further, making your hands a breeding ground for resistant bacteria.

Just FYI

[Moogs]

Yah, I'm convinced half the reason so many of today's 18 and under crowd have allergies to every frickin thing under the sun, is because their parents over-sanitized every square inch of every thing the kid ever touched as a toddler, and consequently they don't build up any tolerance or immunity to stuff out in the world. Washing hands with that stuff a few times a day is fine but I suspect it is possible to go overboard.

[billybobsky]

Originally Posted by World Leader Pretend Just a bit of advice regarding hand sanitizer: If you use the stuff and it kills 99% of the germs, you are left with only the hardcore germs. These guys now have no competition and can multiply even further, making your hands a breeding ground for resistant bacteria. Just FYI

Bullshit.

Ethanol, the common ingredient in hand sanitizer isn't discriminatory for non-virulent bacteria over virulent ones, except in the case of spore forming bacteria, but if you have sporulating bacteria on your hands, you are probably fucked anyway.

[Moogs]

Originally Posted by billybobsky but if you have sporulating bacteria on your hands, you are probably fucked anyway.

sporulating = cool word for the week.

YAH! Howya like Bobsky NOW?! Seriously though, isn't it possible to overdue that stuff and cause yourself more harm than good in the long run, especially if you're a little kid?

[Yontsey]

Just ask the Cleveland Browns how contagious Staph infections are.

[Windowsrookie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcus_aureus

[evan]

i had just glanced at the wiki article... after reading it fully it has one paragraph about it and i shouln't be too likely to catch it (knock on wood).

[billybobsky]

Originally Posted by Moogs sporulating = cool word for the week. YAH! Howya like Bobsky NOW?! Seriously though, isn't it possible to overdue that stuff and cause yourself more harm than good in the long run, especially if you're a little kid?

Certainly anything can be overdone -- but hand sanitizers only work for the instant they are used...

I wouldn't prescribe a child daily antibiotics... but hand sanitizers are probably a good thing...

[curiousuburb]

There are stats on allergies/asthma from kids who spent time on/near farms.
Some city kids who visited or didn't and various control groups too.

Exposure to various animal dander and pollens 'seemed to correlate to higher tolerance' later in life.
More so versus the kids in OCD clean rooms. More allergies and asthmatics in that population.

No idea where the study was, but it was mentioned on radio/tv as well as online.

Halfway sounds like something on snopes.

[World Leader Pretend]

Originally Posted by billybobsky Bullshit. Ethanol, the common ingredient in hand sanitizer isn't discriminatory for non-virulent bacteria over virulent ones, except in the case of spore forming bacteria, but if you have sporulating bacteria on your hands, you are probably fucked anyway.

Teaches me to listen to my science teacher... I always thought he was full of shit.