MRSA SYMPTOM

"Here you will learn the symptoms to look out for with MRSA"

This is what the MRSA Virus looks like

MRSA SYMPTOMS

MRSA can cause a broad range of symptoms depending on which part of the body is infected. The parts of the body infected can include surgical wounds, burns, catheter sites, eyes, skin and blood. It causes pain and swelling at the site of infection. The two reasons that people in hospital are more likely to catch MRSA are that firstly, people residing in hospitals are generally more likely to get an infection because they are older, weaker and sicker than the general population and secondly, because patients are close together in wards constantly being touched by doctors and nurses who have just touched other patients.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of MRSA infection depend on where you've been infected.

MRSA most often appears as a skin infection, like a boil or abscess. It also might infect a surgical wound. In either case, the area would look:

• Swollen
• Red
• Painful
• Pus filled

Many people who actually have staph skin infections often mistake it for a spider bite.

If staph infects the lungs and causes pneumonia, you might have:

• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Chills

MRSA can cause many other symptoms since it can infect the urinary tract or the bloodstream.

Very rarely, staph can result in necrotizing fasciitis, or "flesh-eating" bacterial infections. These are serious skin infections that spread very quickly. While frightening, necrotizing fasciitis caused by staph is rare. There have only been a handful of reported cases.

Call your doctor if:

In most cases, MRSA is easily treated. But since MRSA infection can be serious or -- rarely -- fatal, don't ignore signs of infection. See your health care provider.

If you are already being treated for an infection, watch for signs that your medicine isn't working. If you are taking an antibiotic, call your doctor if

• The infection is no better after three or four days
• The infection keeps getting worse
• You develop a fever, or your fever gets worse

People who are ill or have a compromised immune system have a higher risk of getting MRSA. If you have a condition that lowers your immunity, call your doctor right away if you think that you might have an infection.

More Important MRSA Pages You Really Should Visit

MRSA   MRSA infection  MRSA Antibiotic treatment   Picture of Mrsa Infection  
 
Ca Mrsa-Community Associated MRSA      Mrsa Virus-Bacterium MRSA Virus

Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD, August 2005

copyright askabouthealth 2006 - Mrsa Symptom