Dreyer Medical Clinic - What You Should Know About MRSA

What You Should Know About MRSA

Thursday, 25 October 2007

More and more cases of the drug-resistant staph infection, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus auereaus - or MRSA, have been confirmed in local schools including Holy Angels School in Aurora. As more and more people are diagnosed with MRSA, it is important to learn the signs and symptoms and what you can do to prevent your loved ones from catching this infection.

What is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus auereaus – MRSA?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria - often called "staph." Typically, most MRSA infections are acquired in hospitals or nursing homes. However, in the last decade a new form of MRSA appeared, called community acquired MRSA or CA-MRSA. This form of MRSA is responsible for many serious skin and soft tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia. Several drugs continue to work against CA-MRSA, but the bacteria is quickly evolving and becoming resistant to most antibiotics.

What are the signs and symptoms of MRSA?

Typically, staph infections, including MRSA, start out as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils, or spider bites. However, they can rapidly turn into deep, painful abscesses that require medical attention. Most staph infections remain on the skin surface, but some can burrow deep into the body causing life-threatening conditions. If the bacteria infects the lungs and causes pneumonia, symptoms may include shortness of breath, fever, and chills.

What are the main risk factors for HA-MRSA (hospital acquired)?

A recent or current hospitalization
Residing in a long-term care facility – like a nursing home
Invasive devices, such as dialysis or feeding tubes
Recent antibiotic use

What are the main risk factors for CA-MRSA (community acquired)?

A young age – infection can enter the body through a scrape or cut.
Participating in contact sports – bacteria can be spread easily through cuts, abrasions, and skin-to-skin contact.
Sharing towels or athletic equipment – MRSA has spread through athletes sharing razors, towels, uniforms, and equipment.
Having a weakened immune system – people living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to have severe CA-MRSA infections.
Living in crowded or unsanitary conditions – CA-MRSA has appeared in military training camps, as well as prisons.
Having association with health care workers – people who are in close contact with health care workers may be at an increased risk because they are potentially colonized carriers of the infection. This means that they carry the infection but they are not ill or showing outward signs of infection.

When should you seek medical attention?

Make sure to keep an eye on minor skin infections, such as pimples, insect bites, cuts, and scrapes. If the wound becomes infected, painful, warm to the touch, or produces large amounts of pus, seek medical attention. Your provider will know whether or not to test you for MRSA before starting antibiotics. Some drugs that treat typical staph infections are not effective on MRSA and can actually cause serious illness and more resistant bacteria.

What can you do to prevent MRSA?

Ask all hospital and clinic staff to wash their hands before touching you at every visit.
Wash your own hands frequently.
Keep personal items personal – make sure to not share towels, sheets, razors, clothing, and athletic equipment.
Keep wounds covered at all times – make sure to keep wounds clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages, unless directed otherwise by your physician. Keeping a MRSA-infected wound covered can prevent spreading of the infection by collecting the MRSA-containing pus.
Sanitize your linens – if you have a cut or a sore, wash your linens in hot water with bleach and dry them in a hot dryer. Make sure to wash gym and athletic clothes after every use.
If you are concerned about a wound being infected with MRSA, seek medical attention. Remember that using antibiotics when they are not necessary can actually increase the incidence of resistant bacteria. Do not demand antibiotics when your physician recommends against their use.