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I wrote an article last year about MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, because my foster child brought a note home from her school about it. It was not one of those, “This is what contagious disease your child is being exposed to this week,” notes that you get almost every week from public school. The purpose of this informational sheet about MRSA was to calm worried parents because MRSA was getting quite a bit of publicity then. The note suggested washing hands frequently to prevent spreading germs, covering open sores with bandages, and disinfecting surfaces frequently. After reading the note, I was not worried about any of my adopted children getting MRSA. While our house is not spotless, it is cleaned and disinfected at least once a day.
Then why am I bringing it up again? Because in the last three months one of my good friends, another adoptive parent, was diagnosed with MRSA and her son has had it twice since then. Both she and her son were given an antibiotic the first time that seemed to clear it up. My friend had the infection in her bottom lip. Her lip stuck out, a full inch from her mouth, and was as big around as a regular size hotdog. It stayed that way for nearly two weeks. She made four trips altogether, to the doctor or hospital before it was diagnosed and treated properly. I went around the entire post office disinfecting everything, including the phone and keyboard, while I covered for her being out of the office.
A few weeks ago, her son complained that his arm had a sore spot near his shoulder. The skin was not broken; there was no indication of past injury. She suggested he rub some ointment on it, which he did. A couple of days later, he told her that it still hurt. That time, she looked a little closer and felt it. She realized it was hot and made a doctor’s appointment.
The doctor opened the skin and infection drained out. He took a culture to send for diagnosis, gave him an antibiotic, and sent him home. His mom asked about it so he showed her his arm. She noticed red streaks running up from the wound and he went immediately back to the doctor. The doctor sent him straight to the hospital where he stayed for three nights on an IV of antibiotic. On the fourth day, the lab work came back indicating he had MRSA. He has no idea how he contracted it.
Now that is a little scary. MRSA is resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat staphylococcus infections and it can be fatal. Community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, is responsible for otherwise healthy people in the community contracting serious skin infections, soft tissue infections, and a serious form of pneumonia.
Photo Credit:chrstphre.Attribution license creative commons.
