Q: How can I help prevent antibiotic-resistant staph infection?

A: As recently reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, was responsible for an alarming 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths in 2005. We used to think of MRSA infections as being exclusively “hospital acquired,” and while some 85 percent are linked to health-care settings, we’re learning that this super-bug is common in the community, too.

Your best protection, as always, is to practice good hygiene whether you’re at home, work, school, or the gym. If you have to go to the hospital or doctor’s once, don’t feel shy about asking health-care providers to wash their hands before and after they examine you.

Our society’s overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the MRSA epidemic, and continuing down this path could make the problem far worse. We all need to remember that, for most minor ailments, the body has its own powerful healing mechanisms. We should be very judicious about when and how we use antibiotics.

Learn more:
What Exactly are Probiotics and Why Is Everyone Talking About Them?
Boost Your Health and Prevent Disease

Dr. Brent Ridge is the health expert for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You can call and ask him a question live every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 112 (1.866.675.6675). You can also follow along as he learns to grow his own food and raise goats on his farm in upstate New York by visiting www.beekman1802.com.

Got a health question for Dr. Brent? E-mail him at drbrent@care2.com.