MRSA Treatment

Preventing MRSA Infections

The best way to avoid staph infections of any kind is through good prevention:

• Good hand hygiene by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.
• Keep cuts and scrapes bandaged until they heal over.
• Avoid sharing personal items like razors, towels, or gym equipment.

Diagnosing a MRSA Infection

It is impossible to determine if MRSA has caused an infection by your physical exam alone. But, there are clues we use to make the final determination. The biggest clue is if a mild infection has not improved or has worsened while a patient is taking appropriate antibiotics. Also, the location of the infection can be a key as all staph bacteria like moist locations (underarms, groin). In some instances, when patients have a weakened immune system, MRSA can move beyond the skin and cause infections in other organs. If necessary, we can perform a “wound culture” where we examine what type of bacterium is causing the infection. We can also see what (if any) antibiotics toward which the bacterium shows resistance.

Treating MRSA

The treatment of MRSA can be quite diverse. If the infection is mild, we can treat it with oral antibiotics. We use a combination of antibiotics—one that treats staph very well and another that targets MRSA. If there is an abscess or “pus pocket” then we must drain it for the infection to heal. If the infection is severe, or if a patient is not improving on routine antibiotics, ContinuEM has many IV medications to target MRSA. Repeat doses of IV antibiotics may be necessary to control the infection

If you have an infected open wound that your doctors suspects may to be from staph or MRSA, you can continue your normal activities. Always be sure to keep it covered with a clean bandage AND continue to practice good hand hygiene.