Hidden Invaders: Common Household Bacteria

They're all around us all the time. Most of the time we don't notice, but what we don't know can hurt us. Bacteria is everywhere, even in the cleanest household, waiting for opportunities to settle in and start multiplying; they lurk unseen around our home, waiting for an open cut or an unwashed hand rubbing our mouth or eyes. Usually our bodies can handle it if we're in good health; in fact, the bacteria we encounter every day helps our immune system to strengthen and adapt. It's very easy under the right circumstances, however, for the delicate balance of coexistence between bacteria and other living things to shift, especially when it encounters a weakened immune system, as with babies, the elderly, and those with diabetes, HIV or cancer - and when it does the consequences can be serious - even deadly.

The problem has become even more consuming over the last few decades: we thought we had it licked with the advent of antibiotics, but as bacteria has evolved and humanity has overused antibiotics, natural selection has helped to develop a gene for antibiotic resistance, making some cases more difficult to treat. It's now able to pass that gene to other bacteria, creating a generation of superbugs and a world of trouble for those who develop infections and the medical professionals who treat them.

Let's get to know the common offenders; today we'll meet Staphlycoccus:

Greek for 'bunch of grapes', this public enemy comes in several different varieties and can be identified under a microscope by the company it keeps, traveling in colonies that resemble clusters of grapes or berries. Antibiotic-resistant staphlycoccus aureus is known by another, Voldemort-like name: it's MRSA, the terrifying, difficult-to-treat infection often found in surgical wounds.

One in four healthy people are colonized, meaning that they carry but are not infected by, the resistant type of s. aureus, ensconced in their mucous membranes or on their skin - most commonly in the armpit, groin, or the inside of the nose. Both the standard and resistant forms of this insidious attacker can live on dry surfaces like clothing, bed linens, upholstery, carpet, countertops and light-switches, making it easier for it to find a place to wait for its opportunity to cause trouble for you or someone in your family.

Staph can cause anything from an annoying stye in your eye to boils, abscesses, impetigo, pneumonia, deep infections in the valves of your heart (endocarditis) or even your bones (osteomyelitis). It's also the bacteria implicated in Toxic Shock Syndrome. Bacterial infections can also cause peripheral conditions such as blood clots, which can lead to deep vein thrombosis, a leading cause of stroke. In the worst cases a rampant staph infection can turn to septicemia, a high level of bacteria in the bloodstream which becomes sepsis, a whole-body infection (systemic inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS) that can ultimately result in organ failure, coma and death.

As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Medical professionals agree that the first line of defense is washing your hands; the next is keeping your house, including your carpets, as clean as possible.

For top-quality and affordable carpet cleaning colorado springs choose Carpet MD 4968 Chariot Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80923 (719) 659-4794 -- Visit our website http://www.CarpetMD.net -- We are IICRC certified and trained (most carpet cleaners aren't and will leave behind dangerous chemicals!) We do a healthier job with more powerful equipment. Read our reviews and call us today!