Understanding MRSA Infection

What Causes MRSA?

Garden-variety staph bacteria are common and can live in our bodies. Plenty of healthy people carry staph without being infected by it. In fact, one-third of the population has staph bacteria in their noses.

But staph can be a problem if it manages to get into the body, often through a cut. Staph is one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S. Usually, these are minor and don't need special treatment. Less often, staph can cause serious problems such as infected wounds or pneumonia.

Is MRSA Contagious?

MRSA is contagious and spreads through contact. You can get MRSA by touching another person who has it on their skin, or by touching things that have the bacteria on them. MRSA is carried by about 2% of the population (or 2 in 100 people), although most of them don’t develop serious infections. People can carry the bacteria without having any symptoms, so they can spread it to others without knowing it.

In health care facilities, MRSA can spread through contact with an infected wound or with contaminated hands. Infections sometimes spread when patients have invasive procedures such as surgeries.

MSSA vs. MRSA

Another type of staph, MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus), is very common. The main difference between MSSA and MRSA is that MSSA is much less resistant to the antibiotics most doctors will give you. MSSA can be treated with penicillin and other antibiotics that don’t work on MRSA.

MSSA can cause skin infections, and if it gets into the body, it can cause pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

MRSA Risk Factors

MRSA infections are common among people with weak immune systems, including people in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. This is called health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA).

Risk factors for HA-MRSA include:

• Being hospitalized
• Having an invasive medical device (such as a catheter)
• Living in a long-term care facility

Infections can appear around surgical wounds and invasive devices, such as catheters and implanted feeding tubes.

The Department of Health and Human Services reviews the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections regularly. Some studies suggest that implementing existing prevention practices can lead to up to a 70% reduction in certain infections. 

But you can get MRSA outside of health care facilities, too.

Community-Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA)

MRSA also shows up in healthy people who have not been hospitalized. This type of MRSA is called community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA.

CA-MRSA skin infections have spread among people who share close quarters or have more skin-to-skin contact. Examples are team athletes, military recruits, prison inmates, and children in day care.

Your risk of CA-MRSA is higher if you:

• Participate in contact sports
• Live or spend time in crowded facilities
• Have a penis and have sex with someone who has a penis
• Are infected with HIV

More CA-MRSA infections are being seen in the general community, especially in certain geographic regions. Most cases of CA-MRSA are mild skin infections, but sometimes they can be severe. 

CA-MRSA is more likely to affect younger people than HA-MRSA is. 

MRSA Testing

Testing to find out whether you have MRSA will vary depending on where the infection site is. To diagnose the problem, your doctor may take samples from different parts of your body. They may take samples of your:

• Blood
• Urine
• Sputum (mucus coughed up from your lungs)
• Tissue from a wound
• A skin or nasal swab

Then, your doctor will send the samples to a lab to be tested for signs of drug-resistant bacteria.

MRSA Treatment

The treatment that you need depends on what kind of infection you have and where it is. For example, it may be limited to a skin infection, or the bacteria may have entered your bloodstream. 

Treatment may include:

• Draining fluid from an abscess
• Surgically removing tissue that’s infected
• Prescribing antibiotics that can treat MRSA

If you have only a skin infection, you might not need any antibiotics. But it’s important that you don’t try to drain the abscess yourself because you can make the infection worse. Be sure to get treatment from a health care provider.

While MRSA skin infections can usually be treated in your doctor's office, severe infections will land you in the hospital. You’ll get antibiotics through an IV to help kill the infection.

Although strands of HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA come from the same bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, they have different levels of resistance and virulence — the ability to infect and cause disease. HA-MRSA is resistant to more types of antibiotics than CA-MRSA is.

When to Call a Doctor

In most cases, MRSA is easily treated. But MRSA infections can be serious, so make sure you get medical care. You should call your doctor if you notice signs of active infection — most likely of the skin — with a spreading, painful, red abscess or rash. If you see red streaks coming out from the infection site, see a doctor right away because it might mean the infection is spreading to your bloodstream.

If you are already being treated for an infection, watch for signs that your medicine isn't working. Those may include:

• The infection is no better after you’ve been taking the antibiotic for 3 or 4 days.
• The rash spreads.
• You get a fever, or your fever gets worse.

People who are sick or have weak immune systems have a higher risk of getting serious MRSA infections. If you have a condition that lowers your immunity and think that you might have an infection, call your doctor right away.

Should You Be Worried About MRSA?

Usually, MRSA causes mild skin infections, but sometimes, infections can become serious and more difficult to treat. If the infection spreads to your bloodstream and causes a heart infection or sepsis, for example, it can be fatal.

This is why you should see a doctor if you think you might have a MRSA infection, even if it seems superficial. That way, you can get the right treatment and make sure the infection doesn’t get any worse or spread to other parts of your body.

MRSA Prevention

MRSA can live on surfaces such as furniture and towels for hours or even weeks, so any infected person can pass it to others if they touch these surfaces.

Here are some ways to prevent spreading MRSA:

• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels and razors.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Carry a hand sanitizer with you if soap and water aren’t available.
• Change your sheets and towels regularly.
• Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages until they heal.
• If you play contact sports, keep an eye on cuts and scrapes.
• Use a disinfectant to clean surfaces such as light switches and water faucets.

Living With MRSA

If you have a MRSA infection, good hygiene is important to avoid spreading it. This includes washing your hands and bathing or showering regularly. 

Here are some tips to prevent spreading a MRSA infection:

• Don’t touch your sores.
• If you do touch your sores, wash your hands.
• Cover infected sores with a bandage if possible.
• When you sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, and then wash your hands.
• Be careful around people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly.
• Avoid contact sports, gyms, and pools until your sores have healed.
• Avoid haircuts, manicures, and massages until your sores have healed.

Pets can also have MRSA and pass it on to humans. Your pet may have an active infection or be a carrier. If you think your pet has MRSA, you can get them tested at the vet and treated if needed.

Takeaways

MRSA is an infection that is often mild and limited to a skin infection. But in some cases, it can spread to other areas of your body and cause serious medical problems, so it’s important to see a doctor if you think you have a MRSA infection.

Although MRSA can’t be treated with some common antibiotics because it’s resistant to them, it can be treated with certain types of antibiotics. Good hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing, can help prevent the spread of MRSA.

MRSA FAQs

How do you get MRSA?

MRSA is spread through contact, including skin-to-skin contact, and by touching surfaces that have the bacteria on them.

Once you have MRSA, do you always have it?

Maybe. Sometimes MRSA goes away after treatment, but sometimes it can come back often.

What are the first signs of MRSA?

The first signs of MRSA are usually skin infections, such as a boil or abscess.

What is MRSA caused by?

MRSA is a bacteria that has become resistant to some common antibiotics. It can cause infection that can spread from one person to another.

What are the top four staph infection symptoms?

Staph infection symptoms can vary depending on the type of staph, but they may include skin infections  (such as boils), pneumonia symptoms (such as a high fever and chills), signs of bone infection (such as pain and swelling), and signs of endocarditis (flu-like symptoms).

Can Staphylococcus aureus infection be cured?

Staph infections can be treated and cured, but sometimes, infections can come back.

What are five ways a person can catch MRSA?

You can catch MRSA in a health care setting, such as a hospital, through an invasive device such as a catheter, or when someone with contaminated hands touches you. Outside of a health care setting, you can get MRSA if you share towels with someone who’s infected, you play contact sports and get infected through a cut, or you touch a contaminated surface at a day care facility, for example.