What is MRSA?
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There are lots of micro-organisms (germs) on our skin and in air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Most of them are harmless, some are beneficial and a very small proportion can cause harm. Staphylococcus aureus is a common germ that is found on the skin and in the nostrils of about a third of healthy people. It can cause harm if it it enters the body, for example through cuts and sores. Meticillin (previously known as methicillin) is a type of penicillin, an antibiotic that is used to treat infections. MRSA stands for meticillin (M) resistant (R) Staphylococcus (S) aureus (A). MRSA are types of Staphylococcus aureus that have developed resistance to meticillin and some other antibiotics used to treat common infections. Strains of MRSA were first found in the 1960s following the widespread use of antibiotics (including meticillin), and occur in many countries. Some people carry MRSA on their skin or in their nostrils quite harmlessly. Some people carry MRSA for just a few hours or days, but other people carry MRSA for weeks or months. They don’t know that they carry MRSA because they have no symptoms and it does not harm them. This is called ‘colonisation’. MRSA and other germs cause problems in hospitals. Complicated medical treatments, including operations and intravenous lines (drips), provide opportunities for germs to enter the body. MRSA and other types of Staphylococcus aureus can cause local skin infections such as boils and, in more vulnerable patients, they can cause more serious infections in wounds, bones, lungs and blood (bloodstream infections).
People who carry MRSA do not look or feel different from anyone else. The MRSA does not harm them and they have no symptoms of infection. When patients come into hospital, a nurse may take swabs for laboratory tests to check for MRSA. Patients who have an infection may develop signs and symptoms, such as a high temperature or a fever. An infected wound may become red and sore and discharge pus. Many different germs can cause these signs and symptoms. Laboratory tests can show whether MRSA or other germs are the cause. A nurse may take swabs from different parts of the patient’s body to check if MRSA is present. People who carry MRSA or have an MRSA infection can be treated with antibiotics. Hospitals have policies for treatment and these policies vary according to the local situation, the condition of the individual patient, and if the patient is likely to need further or repeated hospital care. You can ask your nurses about local policies. A patient who carries MRSA may be treated with antiseptic shampoo and body wash, which reduce or remove MRSA from hair, skin and nostrils. A patient who is infected with MRSA is usually treated with an antibiotic which is given through an intravenous line (drip).