Question: can you reduce or stop the amount of staphylococcus aureus

Jim Caryl answered on 21 Jun 2011:

Yes, for the most part, the majority of people could be cleared – or have their S. aureus population reduced – with treatment with a number of antibiotics, but this isn’t really necessary.

When people go into hospital and are colonised by bacteria that the doctors would prefer weren’t there, they might have nasal sprays of fusidic acid or mupirocin, which are ‘topical’ (i.e. not eaten) antibiotics used to reduce S. aureus numbers. These are actually two antibiotics we work on in my lab as resistance can evolve quite rapidly to these drugs if they are not used correctly.

Outside of the nose, your skin, and particularly your hands, can act as a temporary surface for S. aureus, which is why it is important to wash your hands after the toilet, and before eating, and when you’ve had contact with animals or even some people (though there’s no need to go running off to wash your hands every time you shake someone’s hand – another way it simply to get used to not putting your fingers in your eyes, or your nose or mouth).