An Introduction to MRSA Signs and Symptoms
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacterial infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics.
Over the past several decades, MRSA has gone from being a controllable condition limited mostly to hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) to a serious public health concern.
In fact, new strains have recently emerged in the community that are capable of causing severe infections in otherwise healthy individuals. These MRSA infections are known as community-associated MRSA. MRSA infections that are first acquired in the hospitals and healthcare facilities are known as healthcare-associated MRSA.
Specific Signs and Symptoms of a MRSA Infection
MRSA most often enters the body through a cut or scrape, and appears as a skin infection. Common signs of this infection can include a single red bump that resembles a pimple, pustule, or boil. It may also look like a cluster of red bumps.
The involved site may also contain pus or other drainage, and be:
- Red
- Swollen
- Warm
- Painful.
MRSA skin infections commonly occur at sites of visible skin trauma (such as cuts and abrasions) and areas of the body covered by hair (such as the back of the neck, groin, buttocks, armpits, and beard area of men).
MRSA infections are often mistaken for a spider bite.
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