• According to the Mayo Clinic, if you think you have an MRSA infection, look for these symptoms:
• Swollen painful bumps that resemble pimples or spider bites
• Fever
• Affected area is warm to the touch
• Affected area is filled with pus or drainage

If you notice any of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.

Treatment for MRSA Infection

Once properly diagnosed, doctors can typically treat MRSA infections with the right antibiotic. Severe infections may require intravenous antibiotics, and in some cases invasive surgery.

However, if left untreated, MRSA infections can burrow under the skin’s surface and become serious, sometimes life-threatening. An untreated MRSA skin infection can cause infections of the bones, blood, heart, and lungs.

MRSA bacteria is more or less ever-present in hospitals and nursing homes. Older patients and people with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable.

Other high-risk patients include those who undergo invasive procedures such as catheters and joint surgery. Even something as simple as an intravenous line can cause a MRSA infection, if staff fail to follow safe sanitary procedures.

In unsanitary conditions, outbreaks can spread MRSA to many people in a short period of time before it is identified. Outbreaks have also been reported at military training facilities, childcare centers, and jails.

Medical professionals recommend prevention techniques such as hand-washing and the covering of wounds, in addition to the sanitation of linens.

According the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, nearly 95,000 MRSA infections causing almost 19,000 deaths are reported annually in the United States, 86 percent of which are associated with healthcare facilities.

The sad fact is that many of these infections and deaths could be preventable; sometimes by safety precautions as simple as diligent hand washing.