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MRSA Basics

November 12, 2007

General information

  • Staphylococcus aureus (Staf-lo-coc-cus aw-ree-us ( staph) is a germ that often lives in the noses and on the skin of healthy people and spreads from person to person on contaminated hands, skin, and objects.
  • Most infections caused by staph are skin infections, but staph can also cause more serious infections such as blood and joint infections, and pneumonia.
  • Some staph called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staph aureus) cannot be killed by certain antibiotics – called beta lactams – which are commonly used to treat staph.

What to do to Prevent Staph Skin Infections

  • Keep your hands clean by washing well with soap and water or using an alcohol hand gel.
  • Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.
  • Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.
  • Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

What to do if You have a Staph Skin Infection

  • Cover your wound. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph. So keeping the infection covered will help prevent the spread to others. Bandages or tape can be thrown away with the regular trash.
  • Wash your hands. You, your family, and others in close contact should wash their hands often with soap and warm water. You can use an alcohol hand gel when soap and water are not available. This is especially important to do after changing the bandage or touching the infected wound.
  • Do not share personal items. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, or uniforms that may have had contact with the infected wound or bandage. Wash soiled sheets, towels, and clothes with water and laundry detergent. Dry clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-drying. This also helps kill bacteria in clothes.
  • Talk to your doctor. Tell any healthcare providers who treat you that you have or had a staph skin infection. If the type of staph infection you have is MRSA, be sure to tell them this as well.

What does a Staph or MRSA Infection Look Like?

  • Staph bacteria, including MRSA, can cause skin infections that may look like a pimple or boil and can be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage. More serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections, or surgical wound infections.mrsa image

What Factors are Associated with Increased Risk for Community-Associated Staph or MRSA Infections?

  • Factors that have been associated with the spread of MRSA skin infections include: close skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, contaminated items and surfaces, crowded living conditions, and poor hygiene.

Written by admin · Filed Under MRSA Basics 

Comments

11 Responses to “MRSA Basics”

  1. Lily Kane on June 11th, 2008 7:36 pm

    I had the MRSA infection when I was 14 years old. It was an awful experience that kept me in bed for almost two months. I was on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks after I got out of the hospital. At the time I got it, super bugs like staph weren’t somethings the doctors really looked for and I was sent out of the ER three times with nothing but vicodin. The infection was hard to diagnose anyway because it was in the soft tissue of the shoulder and there was no wound. I just hope doctors look more carefully when diagnosing now that there have been 6 deaths in the Boston area in the last year.

  2. JAMES on June 17th, 2008 2:09 pm

    i am so sorry to hear this. my brother has MRSA and my teacher now has it. they are both fine but they spent alot of time in bed at home and the hospital. this is very gross.

  3. ALICIA INGRAM on July 26th, 2008 12:19 am

    well don’t feel bad . i am a 29 year old mother of twins and i have mras to . i went to the er 6 time’s and the one time i went i told the doctor i had it and the doctor said it was not that . i had went back out to the er and was rechecked and i was rite it was mrsa .i know what peple mean when thay say it is very , very painful . yes it’s also very nasty looking . now i have big scars and a hole in my arm . i have had it all over my body now it is in my tissue so yes it is very painful. ALICIA FROM SPRINGFIELD OHIO

  4. Chelsea on August 11th, 2008 6:14 pm

    I have had this super bug called mrsa around i would have to say at least 8. The one I REALLY paid attention to first, I was pregnant and I had something that looked like a spider bite. I waited and waited until it went down and finally my sister took me to the ER and now i have a LOVELY quarter sized scar on my left knee and it was about 1 inch deep. Since then i’ve been to the ER 5 times and my daughter is only 18 months old. Last September of 07, I had it on my face. Well, later it looked as if I got my butt kicked.. eyes swollen and ugh! I have to go to the ER and the admitted me. They put me on Vancomycin (sp) and lots of meds. Clyndimycin is the #1 drug i usually got.. and Bactrim. I have recently gotten it again and it is again a little hole in my arm that hurts. Im tired of getting it and I have great hygiene I just hate having them, they hurt and not soo great looking.. :( Good luck to everyone else~

  5. matt davis on September 18th, 2008 7:30 pm

    i can barely type so i will make this quick but i currently have staph and i believe it is mrsa…this is the most painful thing i have ever encountered…my arm is swollen from the elbow to my finger tips…i wouldn’t wish this crap on my worst enemy…this sucks

  6. Nicole on October 2nd, 2008 7:30 pm

    i’m very scared. my brother has MRSA and idk what to do.. my mom said they caught it early and it is only an infection on his toe and they have it badaged. my mom told me all i have to do is wash my hands but im freakin out bc online i have read numerous articles saying it is VERY contagaous which made me veryyyy worried! what should i do?!

  7. hollie on December 7th, 2008 5:06 am

    i got this infection from a splinter ive had it for a week or so and i actually was confined to my bed for the last three days because it was just too painful to move at all because of the area i got said splinter. i poked it last night with a steralized needle to let it drain i fell asleep before it finished draining and soaked a towel and ruined some really nice sheets by the time i woke up in the mornin now the pain is minimal. should i go to the doctor or somethin? from what ive read im guessin i have either staph or mrsa. so im guessin it doesnt just go away if you let it drain and keep it covered and clean cuz thats what ive been doing… someone please give me some advice!

  8. admin on December 7th, 2008 8:37 am

    I would definitely see a doctor if something has been bothering you. They are there to help and can hopefully tell you whats going on.

  9. S.M.C on April 22nd, 2009 1:37 pm

    i was just lookin through this site from my phone to get more info on this infection since i had one not too long ago and thankfully, by the care from my dad, its so much better, it looks like a scab now like i just got scraped. now im sittin here in the waitin area at our nearest hospital because my dad contracted the same thing on his knee. hes in excruciating pain and its so swollen and red u can feel the heat by just hovering ur hand over it by just a few centimeters. its looks so awful and u would think with such a painful and contagious infection they will work on it asap but they have him in the middle of the hallway in the e.r, wound open and all and all they gave him was percasets (however u spell that) and xrays to see if the infection didnt get to his bone since the MRSA is by the joint on his knee. i feel awful cause i feel its cause of me hes like that now cause he was takin care of it, i dont want him goin through that pain its terrible, and his is way worse. im just still sittin here hoping i g

  10. DE NNIS on June 17th, 2009 7:06 pm

    I HAVE MRSA AND IT IS VERY PAINFUL I AM A DOCTOR CARE AND THERE ISNOTHING THE DOCTORS CAN DO BUT GIVE ME MED; IN AIV IHAVE BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. I WOULD NOT WISH THIS STUFF ON ANYBODY;THERE ARE DAYS I CAN NOT GET OUT OF BED. I got THIS NASTYSTUFF FROM BEING IN THE HOSPITAL SO LONG FROM MY TRACTORACCIDENT THAT HAPPEN 3 YEARS AGO I GO BACK IN THE HOSPITAL ON FRIDAY AND THERE IS CHANCE THABE COMING HOME. SO GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO HAS THIS NASTYSTUFF. T I MIGHT NOT DENNIS FREDERICK MD.

  11. Tariq on December 31st, 2009 1:20 pm

    Hi I read few of this e mails. I had similar infection, thanks God, i cured by my own
    herbels remidies

    If some one wants to try on there own risk

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