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What are the Symptoms of MRSA?
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is a bacterial infection that does not respond to antibiotics, such as penicillin, that are used to treat other staph infections. The symptoms of MRSA commonly appear near a wound or cut on the skin. If MRSA moves beyond the skin, the symptoms can include a fever, cough, or trouble breathing.
MRSA can enter a person's body if she comes in contact with a surface that has been contaminated with the bacteria. Usually, the symptoms of MRSA appear on the skin and initially look like a small red bump. A person may think she has been bitten by a bug or gotten a pimple. The area infected with MRSA will usually be painful and filled with pus. If left untreated, the swollen area can develop into a skin abscess, which is a pocket below the surface of the skin filled with pus.
Symptoms of MRSA such as abscesses can be treated by draining, especially if they have not gone very deeply into the skin. Certain antibiotics, such as Vancomycin, can also clear up a MRSA infection. It is important that a person takes a complete course of antibiotics to cure MRSA and that she lets her doctor know if there is no improvement.
If the disease is contained quickly enough, it will not move past the skin and into other organs of the body. Unfortunately, MRSA sometimes gets into the lungs or bloodstream of a person. These more severe infections generally occur in hospital settings, where it spreads from patient to patient.
A person who has the flu runs the risk of developing MRSA pneumonia if she comes in contact with the bacteria. The symptoms of MRSA pneumonia include coughing, trouble breathing and chest pain. This generally occurs because a person's immune system is worn down from fighting the flu and cannot fight off an additional infection. While MRSA pneumonia is deadly, it is not an airborne infection, the way the flu is.
Other symptoms of MRSA can include a headache, muscle pain and feelings of fatigue. A person experiencing symptoms may only have a sense of general unwellness, but not be sure what to blame it on. If the bacteria gets into the bloodstream, a person can go into septic shock. In extremely rare and severe cases, MRSA can lead to a flesh eating bacterial infection, necrotizing fasciitis. As its name suggests, the infection eats skin tissue and does a lot of damage to the body in a short amount of time.
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![MRSA can cause respiratory problems if it enters the lungs.]()
By: Bruce RobbinsMRSA can cause respiratory problems if it enters the lungs. -
![Vancomycin is commonly used to treat MRSA via an IV drip.]()
By: moggara12Vancomycin is commonly used to treat MRSA via an IV drip. -
![Patients who spend an extended amount of time in the hospital following surgical procedures are at an increased risk of developing staph infections.]()
By: spotmatikphotoPatients who spend an extended amount of time in the hospital following surgical procedures are at an increased risk of developing staph infections. -
![A person who has the flu runs the risk of developing MRSA pneumonia.]()
By: creo77A person who has the flu runs the risk of developing MRSA pneumonia. -
![The main test for an MRSA infection is a nasal swab.]()
By: asephThe main test for an MRSA infection is a nasal swab. -
![Washing the area around a pimple or sore with antibacterial soap may help reduce the chances of an infection.]()
By: ipagWashing the area around a pimple or sore with antibacterial soap may help reduce the chances of an infection. -
![Flu-like symptoms, such as a headache, could be signs of MRSA in a wound.]()
By: jinga80Flu-like symptoms, such as a headache, could be signs of MRSA in a wound.
Discussion Comments
I got MRSA from my boyfriend and he probably got it from the locker room. We both had to take antibiotics for over a week.
The only symptoms of MRSA infection I had was red, tight skin on my legs. I told my boyfriend about it and he said he has the same thing. Thankfully, it was treated before it got worse. I can't even imagine how it would have been to have abscesses and leaking skin.
By the way, we didn't get physical with my boyfriend until we were both completely treated. The doctor said that otherwise, we will keep infecting each other with it.
@ysmina-- I think the symptoms are mostly the same. MRSA cellulitis is also a MRSA skin staph infection. Cellulitis means that the skin is inflamed, so in addition to abscesses, MRSA cellulitis will also cause slight swelling, redness and pain on the skin.
The treatment is the same, it requires strong antibiotics.
What's the difference between MRSA and MRSA cellulitis? Do they have the same MRSA symptoms?
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