Steiros Product Protocols

Patient Handout:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. These antibiotics include methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have weakened immune systems. Because of this, I like my patients to use the following perioperative protocol to reduce the risk of infection following surgery.

1) Use SteiroLotion to decontaminate your body and skin the night before surgery.

SteiroLotion is a Steiros approved and tested medical grade skin sanitizer and most common bacteria that cause disease. Specifically, it kills MRSA. SteiroLotion should be applied to your whole body including skin, nostrils, face, hands, scalp, and especially under your fingernails after you clean them. Anything that could harbor MRSA should be removed and cleaned, including false fingernails and piercings. I recommend application after a regular shower before bedtime and a second application on the morning of surgery. You apply this product to your skin and leave it on to dry which takes about 30-60 seconds. No need to rub or scrub it in and do not wipe it off. It forms a protective layer on your skin but once dry, you will not know it is on.

2) We apply SteiroLotion while you are in the hospital.

In the hospital and before surgery, the nurse will reapply SteiroLotion as described above. Please bring your bottle to surgery. You will receive your normal antibiotics and preoperative scrub in the operating room. These also help prevent infection.

3) Continue to use SteiroLotion to decontaminate your body and skin for 5 days after surgery.

While your incision is healing, bacteria can still enter into the wound and cause infection. Therefore, I recommend that you continue to apply SteiroLotion as described above for the 5 days after surgery, once your dressing is removed.

4) Getting started.

You will need only one bottle of SteiroLotion for surgery. This can be obtained at www.germcure.com or your local hospital pharmacy.

All these precautions will lower your risk of postoperative infection as much as possible. If you have a previous history of MRSA infections, please follow the above applications starting one week prior to surgery.

Household Decontamination Protocol For Patients With MRSA

By Steiros Infection Control Consultants, LLC

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. These antibiotics include methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin. Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have weakened immune systems.

MRSA infections that occur in otherwise healthy people who have not been recently (within the past year) hospitalized or had a medical procedure (such as dialysis, surgery, catheters) are known as community-associated (CA)-MRSA infections. These infections are usually skin infections, such as abscesses, boils, and other pus-filled lesions.

Because many antibiotics do not work against MRSA, it is a hard to kill. Carriers (people recently infected with MRSA) need to treat everything and everyone in their houses and at work as contaminated. Even if you have been treated for MRSA and the abscess is gone, most likely you and the people you live with are carriers. You need to assume everything you have come in contact with is covered with MRSA until you clean it. This includes floors, walls, showers, kitchen sink, bedding etc. You need to decontaminate yourself and the people you live with to prevent MRSA from coming back. The following is our recommended method of decontamination.

1) Use SteiroLotion to decontaminate your body and skin.

SteiroLotion is a medical grade skin sanitizer. Specifically, it kills MRSA. SteiroLotion should be applied to your whole body including skin, nostrils, face, hands, scalp, and especially under your fingernails after you clean them. Anything that could harbor MRSA should be removed and cleaned, including false fingernails and piercings. I would recommend twice daily applications for 4 weeks after a regular shower and at bedtime. You then will likely need a maintenance application 2 times a week for 6 months. You apply this product to your skin and leave it on to dry which takes about 30-60 seconds. No need to rub or scrub it in and do not wipe it off. It forms a protective layer on your skin but you will not know it is on once dry. Everyone you live with needs to do the same. Everyone who enters or exits your house should put this on their hands for a month. Put a bottle by all your doors. Also, you should apply this to pets and as a bonus, your pets will no longer smell.

2) Use Steiros Hard Surface Cleaner to decontaminate your house, work and belongings.

You will also need to decontaminate your house and belongings. Steiros Hard Surface Cleaner is a cleaner/deodorizer which also forms a protective layer on your whole house and keeps it clean. You need to spray it daily on all surfaces that you touch for 4 weeks and then maintenance cleaning once a week for at least 6 months. This includes all bathroom and kitchen surfaces, tables, chairs, appliances, sofas, lamps, as well as your car and work areas. It can be sprayed directly on fabrics but test it first on an inconspicuous area. Anything that you are afraid to spray should be boiled for 10 minutes in water. Steiros Hard Surface Cleaner works well as a cleaner, but in this case use the mist setting and spray it on and leave it on until it dries. There is no need to wipe it off. As a bonus,

Steiros Hard Surface Cleaner usually takes the smell out of diaper pails, garbage cans, and bathrooms.

3) Wash and dry clothing on sanitizing and/or high heat settings.

Clothing needs to be completely decontaminated as well. This can be achieved in one of two ways, either boiling or high heat drying greater than the boiling point. Many washers have a sanitizing cycle and combining this with a high heat dryer usually will kill MRSA.

3) Wash and dry clothing on sanitizing and/or high heat settings.

Clothing needs to be completely decontaminated as well. This can be achieved in one of two ways, either boiling or high heat drying greater than the boiling point. Many washers have a sanitizing cycle and combining this with a high heat dryer usually will kill MRSA.

4) Getting started.

You will need a minimum of two 210ml bottles of SteiroLotion and 2 bottles of Steiros Hard Surface Cleaner to start. This will usually cover the first month of use for a single person. You may need more depending on the size of your family.

Good luck and we are glad that you have found our solution to your infection control needs.