How do I find out whether I have MRSA? Do I need an MRSA Test
Because MRSA is a tiny bacteria you could carry it on your skin or in your nose for a long time without it making you ill. Between 1-2% of people are MRSA carriers – although this may be more in some cities and risk groups. As many as 1 in 3 people have the equally destructive but easier to treat staph aureus (SA) on their skin and it is thought that 4 out 5 carry SA at some point in their lives.
MRSA Test
If people suspect that they are MRSA carriers because of MRSA infections among friends or family they can ask for a simple MRSA test at their medical provider. A nasal swab can be taken and sent for testing. In the long term a 15 minute MRSA test should become available.
Special soaps such as Hibiclens can help remove the bacteria from the skin and regular washing/showering will also help frustrate the long term colonisation of your body. Nasal creams are also available but overuse will breed resistance and you could become reinfected again within days within the community.
Skin Infection
MRSA skin infections often start as small red bumps. You may think that they are pimples, small boils or insect bites. They will often be swollen, may leak yellow pus and may feel warm in the area around the inflamation. Other bacteria can also be the cause of these skin issues – only an MRSA test will suggest the real cause.
If the infection develops into an abscess,(pockets of pus under the skin), or a carbuncle, (large abscess which may have one or more opening) then incision and drainage might be needed and silver bandages or other wound dressings might be advised. The medical provider will often send an MRSA test for analysis and will usually suggest an antibiotic.
The antibiotic may not be useful or needed in many cases but until the MRSA test is back they tend to play it safe. In a small number of cases these skin infections develop into serious and extensive abcesses and may invade the rest of the body.
Other conditions
MRSA can be a complicating factor, among many, of almost any other medical condition including surgical site incisions, flu, pneumonia, heart conditions and arthiritis. It can attack vulnerable tissue and create large pus filled internal abscesses.
More and more hospitals screen patients on arrival and embark on skin cleaning with chlorahexdrine, nasal creams and pre-emptive antibiotic use if the patient is high risk or returns a positive MRSA test from nasal swabs or blood cultures
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Check whether you have lawyers in your city who do Pro Bono work – free legal aid. Then ask them if there is law that can be used in this situation. Ask your boss to respond to whatever advice they give. If he doesn’t take legal action
Dave
mrsainfection.net
Ok I have all the signs of mras but they said I Dnt have it I had a bacteria infection yet my boss won’t let me come back to wOrk yet an not after being out fOr3 weeks she wnts a mras test but my doctor said I dont need one an wrote a ssigned document a gave it to her saying I’m not contagious not a risk an I’m better an released to work. What shld I do because I’m a single mom. An she still wnts more proof ?
I have a friend living with us who is a carrier of MRAS. What precautions should I take? Should I keep her away from my infant and todlers? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
It coud mean that you have been an MRSA carrier all this time and this is the first wound it got into. It could mean that you had picked up MRSA on your skin since the foot op and this is a new infection – genetic analysis would show whether this is the old or a new strain. It could mean that MRSA has been dormant in yiur system – where you treated with Vancomycin last time? It could also mean that there was poor infection control at the esr piercing place and that you caught this infection there.
Hope this gives some food for thought
Dave Roberts
MRSA Infection
I am a 45 y/o woman who already has a compromised immune system (I am a type 1 diabetic for 31 yrs and I also have SLE for 3 yrs). About a year and a half ago, I had surgery on my foot which ended up developing a MRSA infection. It cleared in about a month and all was fine. Last month, I had my ear pierced and it ended up getting infected. When I went to the dr., they cultured it and it came back MRSA as well. Does this mean that I have MRSA in my system and ANY cut could become a MRSA infection OR does it just mean because my immune system is compromised, everything will turn into MRSA because I can’t fight things well?
http://www.wellness.com/find/infectious%20disease%20specialist/ca/fresno
Check out some of these at the link above
Dave Roberts
MRSA Infection
My mom has been told she has MRSA from a wound on her leg, now the residential care facility where she is is telling us to get tested. We are in the Fresno California area and not having much luck in finding someone who does the “nose swab”? Not even my husbands GP…..so what is suggested now? Thanks!
It is never completly safe in the circumstances you are in. 2 thoughts however. Frequent hand washing makes you less likely to be a carrier in your circumstances. 1 in 3 of those in contact with your mum will be carriers of the easier to treat but equally dangerous Staph aureus (SA) so it is not possible to completly shield her from disease. The other issue is that the primary risk for your mum from you relates to wound areas or broken skin which are less of an issue with chemotherapy
Hope that helps
Dave Roberts
MRSA Infection
I work in a facility where a patient has MRAS. I dress the patient and transfer the patient from bed to wheel chair. Is it safe to go around my mom who has cancer and is getting chemo therapy?