MRSA: What is It? What Can Be Done About It?

MRSA: What is It? What Can Be Done About It?

January 10, 2021•Prison Life

The following article first appeared in Prison Legal News - Issue 25, Summer 2015: http://fight.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PHN-Issue-25.pdf

METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

(MRSA) is a complicated bacterial skin infection that is often resistant to many different types of antibiotics, including but not limited to penicillins and cephalosporins.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

MRSA manifests most frequently as small bumps that look like pimples; then a boil or abscess will form. The area may be tender and painful, as if you are being burned by a cigarette. The skin may be hot, red, and swollen. It can feel hard because the infection has caused edema, which is the accumulation of fluid in the tissue.

If you are experiencing what's described above, it would be a good idea to mark the border of the hard skin (edema) with a pen or marker and note the time. (If the infection is progressing, the edematous area will become larger. If it is clearing up, it will reduce in size. You will be able to note the progress by marking the border of the edema.) Report what you've found as soon as you can to medical staff. Don't let medical staff off too easily if they tell you "You're fine you don't have a fever." Absence of fever does not exclude an intection. If they make you jump through hoops to see them or tell you to make a sick call do it! Be sure to inform them that you believe it's MRSA based on the symptoms. MRSA usually does not clear up on its own.

Certain people are more at risk of MRSA infection, including but not limited to: people who share gym equipment, people living in crowded conditions, older people, and people living with HIV/AIDS and/or diabetes.

TREATMENT

There are two basic principles to treat MRSA:

1) elimination of the focal infection.

2) administration of systemic antibiotics.

To attempt to eliminate the focal infection, a health care professional would first apply a hot compress to the area in order to encourage the abscess to come to a head. When the center of the abscess appears white to yellow, it is ready. They will either apply pressure to the sides of the boil or lance the head of the boil with something sterile until the abscess ruptures. At this point, they would