I contracted MRSA after a trip this summer and reinfected myself on another trip this fall, bleeding in my sleeping bag a couple nights from the sores before I got off trail. I haven't been out since due to weather, but have a trip coming up this week and was wondering what would be my best option for sterilizing this bag, if needed at all? It is a 20+ down bag (REI Halo) fyi. Thanks.

Surface sanitizing


Alcohol has been proven to be an effective surface sanitizer against MRSA. Quaternary ammonium can be used in conjunction with alcohol to extend the longevity of the sanitizing action.[37] The prevention of nosocomial infections involves routine and terminal cleaning. Non-flammable Alcohol Vapor in Carbon Dioxide systems (NAV-CO2) do not corrode metals or plastics used in medical environments and do not contribute to antibacterial resistance.

In healthcare environments, MRSA can survive on surfaces and fabrics, including privacy curtains or garments worn by care providers. Complete surface sanitation is necessary to eliminate MRSA in areas where patients are recovering from invasive procedures. Testing patients for MRSA upon admission, isolating MRSA-positive patients, decolonization of MRSA-positive patients, and terminal cleaning of patients' rooms and all other clinical areas they occupy is the current best practice protocol for nosocomial MRSA.

Agree, washing then sanitizing would seem prudent, as your bag will surely have residual bacterial spores. Possible steps:

- Wash the bag, inside-out to carry as much bacterial load away as possible. If the bag isn't down, wash and rinse in the hottest water available.
- Sanitize the inner fabric--how I suppose depends on what you have access to. Chemicals that fall within the CDC guidelines and/or UV light would be best.
- Get and use a bag liner, and wash it between trips.

Because you've been infected I'll guess you're right to be leery about further re-infections. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Good luck!

Ouch!

Suggest talking to the local hospital's or nursing home's infection control group about what they do to decon blankets and such.

Some how expose it to ultra-violet rays and that will do the trick. Ususally some one that works in a salon will have one to sterilize their equipment...

Secondary use for a Steri pen?

Hmmm, would take a lot of time and batteries.

One like this might be effective with enough exposure time. It can be used with batteries or an AC adapter.

UV Wand

Hospital UV units have a lot more output, but IIUC can treat entire rooms.

Cheers,

I agree with Steadman - talk to the infection control people, they will know if it can be effectively de-MRSA'd.

UV sounds good but it may not penetrate inside (I'm sure the bacteria will not just be on the surface). Alcohol might damage the down (doesn't it require oil on the surface of the feathers?).

But MRSA may not live indefinitely outside of a living organism, I'm not sure. In which case sunlight and time might be the best; again, check with infection control. You don't want to mess around with re-exposure!

You know the more I think about this, personally if I were you and could afford it I would buy a new sleeping bag. Oh and responsibly destroy the old one.

That just sounds like a nasty bug and I hope you feel better!

Heather

Destroying the old bag would be my take, too, but please let us know what you've found out from hospital folks about sterilization!

This information might be useful for those who buy used sleeping bags, too!

Hey burn it, that'll sterilise it, but seriously I would think that exposing to high heat and UV should do the trick. How bout a dry cleaner? Or wash in that "green soap" stuff that removes even blood from sheets.
Jim

As others have posted, washing the bag or having it professionally cleaned is a good first step. I know that Feathered Friends does this, maybe contacting them would provide some insight. Obviously, if you do send it off be sure to notify the company about what the bag needs to be cleaned for, as the staff will need to wear some personal protective equipment.

As far as surface sterilization goes, any product that is marked as a "hospital-grade disinfectant" on the bottle will kill bacteria and viruses, including HIV, hepatitis, MRSA, and TB. Be sure to read the directions; most manufacturers require the disinfectant to sit for up to 10 minutes to be totally effective (I think that's a big reasons hospitals and ambulances are such dirty places. Spray, wipe, done.)

Hope this helps.

How about washing and sanitizing and then throw the bag in a box with an ozone generator. I believe hospitals use them maybe?
I used one once to try to rid some mold in my boat...Didn't do much but supposedly has some sanitization effect though.

Throw it away. A new bag will cost less than the treatment of a bad case of MRSA.

Thoroughly sanitize your other gear by sponging with 99% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Be sure to do your pad and tent floor thoroughly.

I dont know of anywhere that is available. Even 91 can be hard to find. I've never even heard of 99 percent thats available to the public.

I found 99% at Meijer, a large walmart-ish chain.

No, if replacement is the choice, destruction would be the thing to do. Simply throwing away a health hazard is unwise.

How would you recommend destroying it?

It is sounding as if it is time to check with a microbiologist or at least a health care person who is knowledgeable about MRSA and its control.

Also, check with respect to the bacteriostatic/bacteriocidal agents that will best do THIS job. The last I heard about rubbing alcohol was that 70% actually does a better job at sanitizing than a higher strength alcohol. The higher concentration supposedly dries out the cell walls too quickly to allow the "germs" to be killed, so they end up having a similar protective coating as spores and cysts. Great, huh? Also, a nurse told us that soap and water gave better protection than the hand sanitizer in the hospital room dispenser for the agent suspected in a patient's severe diarrhea. (Clostridium Difficile, in case you want to know.) It was just NOT effective on "C. dif."

It is entirely possible that soaking the bag in something like Lysol and spraying an gear that isn't affected with Lysol sptay will do the job. So may laying out non porous items in full sun for exposure to ultraviolet light. MRSA was not known when I took college microbiology, so looking in old textbooks would not help here.

CM

Can I revisit the original question, which is can the bag be made safe? I don't see why not. The efficacy of hand-washing in eliminating bacteria and viruses is very well demonstrated and I don't see why multiple washings of the bag wouldn't do the same. It's not as though there are plutonium particles clinging to it.

Anyway, if disposal is the answer (I'm not advocating for or against) stuffing it into a knotted plastic trashbag and making sure it gets into the garbage truck (and not retrieved by somebody from the trash) should suffice. It wouldn't be considered medical waste, as if it came from a hospital, and it cannot arise from the dead once in the landfill.

My $0.03.

Cheers,

Too bad the OP never came back to tell us what medical advice was about the sleeping bag....