Health Problem & Care
 
 

MRSA INFECTION

 

Why the recent upswing in these particularly MRSA infection among the young and healthy?

MRSA infection vaccine imageA key factor in the development of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, is the over-prescription of antibiotics, said Dr. Wade Sellers, Northwest Georgia Public Health director. Because patients are impatient to get well, many doctors today prescribe antibiotics when they are unnecessary and unhelpful, such as for viral infections.

“The big message we would like to get out is that doctors should prescribe antibiotics only for organisms that are susceptible to antibiotics,” he said. “People shouldn’t request them in inappropriate situations.” Because of this overuse problems occur when trying to clear an MRSA infection.

It is also important for doctors to perform a sensitivity test when they treat patients with MRSA for this reason. They need to test the strain to find out what antibiotics the MRSA infection is responsive to.

Also, if patients quit taking antibiotics before they are finished with their entire course, they may encourage the growth of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, she said. An incomplete course may leave some of the bacteria alive and it is encouraged to develop a resistance to the antibiotic that it was treated with.

However, the most sure-fire way to prevent MRSA infection is also the oldest in the book, Sellers said. “Hand hygiene is the best prevention,” he said. “Most of it gets passed from hand to hand.”

And once it’s too late and a child or adult already believes they are infected, they need to go seek medical attention.

Each case is individual and unique, and medical evaluation is a necessity.

Patients with MRSA Infections

Patients with infections due to Staphylococcus aureus often need antibiotics. Infections due to normal strains of Staphylococcus aureus are often treated with flucloxacillin but this is ineffective against an MRSA Infection.  An MRSA infection is also resistant to such antibiotics as erythromycin and ciprofloxacin.

mrsa bacterium under microscopeVancomycin and Teicoplanin are however still effective in treating an MRSA infection and are therefore often used. They can obly be used in patients who are hospitalised as they need to be given by infusion or injection.Vancomycin is very painful if injected into mucle and so is normally given slowly by infusion. This does not occur however with teicoplanin which may be safely administered by injection into muscle or rapid infusion into a vein.

Sometimes an MRSA infection may be resistant to vancomycin or teicoplanin and when this occurs then it makes treatment a lot more serious. VRSA when it occurs can cause major problems for doctors trying desperately to clear an MRSA infection in a weak patient.  At present many other drugs are being tested for use if and when Vancomycin becomes totally innefective.

Patients colonised with MRSA

If a patient is colonised with MRSA the an antibiotic called mupirocin applied onto their skin called Bactroban. This should clear the MRSA infection and reduces the risk of the bacteria spreading to other areas of the body, where they might cause more mrsa infection. The problem is that some MRSA infections are now getting resistant to that antibiotic.


Chlorhexidine is often used for patients who are colonised with MRSA to wash their hair and skin and stop the spread of the MRSA infection 

STOP the spread of MRSA INFECTION

  • Antibacterrial soap and disposable towels should be used at all times by hospital staff
  • Patients infected or colonised with an MRSA infection should be kep seperate from other patients
  • An area where an MRSA patient has been looked after should be scrupulously cleaned afterwards as MRSA can survive in bed linen and even mops.
  • When dealing with a patient with an MRSA infection hospital staff should wear disposable gowns and gloves and dispose of them BEFORE leaving the room.

More Important MRSA Pages You Really Should Visit

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

(c)Askabouthealth.com 2005 - MRSA infection

 

 

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