When your doctors and nurses are caring for you, they may use extra precautions such as wearing gloves and gowns. If you have a MRSA pneumonia, they may also wear masks.
Most cases of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CA-MRSA begin as mild skin infections such as pimples or boils. Your doctor may be able to treat these infections without antibiotics by using a minor surgical procedure that opens and drains the sores.
If your doctor prescribes antibiotic medicine, be sure to take all the medicine even if you begin to feel better right away. If you do not take all the medicine, you may not kill all the bacteria.
No matter what your treatment, be sure to call your doctor if your infection does not get better as expected. As more antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop, hospitals are taking extra care to practice infection control, which includes frequent handwashing and isolation of patients who are infected with MRSA.
You can also take steps to protect yourself from MRSA. If you have an infection with MRSA, you can keep from spreading the bacteria. If you need to go to the hospital for some reason, and you have staph bacteria living on your skin and in your nose, you may be treated to try to prevent getting or spreading a MRSA infection. You may be given an ointment to put on your skin or inside your nose.
And you need to wash your skin daily with a special soap that can get rid of the bacteria. Current as of: September 23, Russo MD - Internal Medicine.
Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.
Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Top of the page.
How is MRSA spread? What are the symptoms of MRSA? How is an infection diagnosed? How is an infection treated? Practice good hygiene. Keep your hands clean by washing them frequently and thoroughly with soap and clean, running water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. You can help prevent infections and stop the spread of MRSA. General Information. Healthcare Settings. Laboratory Testing.
Staph bacteria cause infections that can lead to complications ranging in severity from mild to life threatening. MRSA infections can be healthcare-associated or community-associated. This classification means that they occurred or started in a healthcare setting. The bacteria that cause MRSA are resistant to some but not all antibiotics. A doctor will prescribe medication that is suitable for the particular infection that occurs.
A person should make sure that they take the whole course of antibiotics exactly as the doctor prescribes. Some people stop taking the drugs after the symptoms disappear, but this can increase the risk of the infection coming back and becoming resistant to treatment. MRSA results from infection with bacterial strains that have acquired resistance to particular antibiotics. MRSA can spread from person to person through direct skin-to-skin contact or when a person with MRSA bacteria on their hands touches an object that another person then touches.
MRSA bacteria can survive for a long time on surfaces and objects, including fabrics and door handles. In , scientists investigated how long resistant staph could survive on five common hospital fabrics. They injected the fabrics with colony-forming units of staph and observed the reactions over the following days. These results demonstrate the need for thorough contact control and meticulous disinfection procedures to limit the spread of bacteria.
MRSA frequently causes illness in people with a compromised immune system who spend time in the hospital and other healthcare facilities. A person will have a higher risk of developing healthcare-associated MRSA in the hospital if they have had surgery recently or if they have:. MRSA is less common outside a healthcare setting. If it does occur, it is more likely to be a skin infection, although some people develop pneumonia and other infections.
People can reduce the risk by practicing appropriate hand washing, keeping wounds clean, avoiding sharing personal items — such as towels and razors, and seeking early treatment if any symptoms of an infection appear.
Children can develop MRSA through an open wound. Find out how to recognize it and what to do. Many people carry MRSA bacteria in their mucosa, for instance, inside the nose, but they may never develop symptoms that indicate an active infection.
Staph skin infections, including MRSA, appear as a bump or sore area of the skin that can resemble an insect bite.
0コメント