Making Sense of MRSA
You've probably heard about infection with MRSA (or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus). The news-making bug is throwing doctors for a loop and making simple infections much harder to remedy.

MRSA is among emerging types of bacteria that the usual antibiotics just can't tackle anymore. Why? Because certain strains of bacteria, sometimes called "super bugs," have built up a resistance — or immunity — to a lot of the often-used drugs. For years, the medical community has worried that the rampant overuse and misuse of antibiotics, especially in children, could give rise to this kind of drug-resistant bacteria.

The Skinny on Staph
A specific strain of the common bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA causes a type of "staph" infection that's been cropping up among otherwise healthy people as skin infections, such as abscesses. Staph bacteria live on most people's skin or in their noses without causing any problems. But a staph infection can happen when the germ enters the body through broken skin such as a cut, scrape, or rash.

Staph is the usual suspect in many skin infections. Staph infections, including those caused by MRSA, usually begin as red bumps resembling boils or pimples (people sometimes mistake them for spider bites). The bumps often become swollen, painful, and filled with pus.

Most Staph skin infections are often minor and can be remedied by regularly washing and bandaging the area and/or using oral antibiotics or antibiotic ointments. Sometimes the abscesses from Staph need to be drained by a doctor.

But MRSA can't be treated with antibiotics that are routinely given, such as Keflex (cephalexin), Ceclor (cefaclor), and amoxicillin. Doctors now have turn to other medications to try to treat MRSA. And, if the infection spreads to other parts of the body, MRSA may lead to serious complications like pneumonia and blood and joint infections.

The Real "News"
Although MRSA has been making headlines recently, it's not a new infection — the first case was reported in 1968. The difference is that now, MRSA is affecting more people outside of hospitals. MRSA used to be seen only in those with weakened immune systems — chronically ill people who'd been hospitalized for a long time or had surgery, those receiving long courses of antibiotic therapy, or people living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes or prisons.

But now an alarming number of otherwise healthy people who are not considered at risk for MRSA are getting the infection. Called community-associated MRSA (or CA-MRSA), this type of Staph infection has been found most recently in a few high school and professional sports teams. The bug can be passed to athletes via gyms and locker rooms and through shared equipment or skin-to-skin contact (e.g., wrestling and football). Kids in child-care settings may also be at risk.

What This Means to You
Staph infections can spread through the air and to other people or other parts of your body via contaminated surfaces or on dirty hands or fingernails. To help keep the super bug at bay in your household:

• Make sure every member of your family washes their hands
   well and often.
• Use alcohol-based instant hand sanitizers.
• Keep any broken skin clean and covered with a bandage.
• Don't share razors or towels.
• Make sure shared sports equipment is cleaned with antiseptic
   solution before each use.

      CALL THE DOCTOR IF:

• Your child has an area of skin that's red, painful, swollen,
   and/or filled with pus
• Your child has inflamed skin and is also feverish or feels sick
• Skin infections seem to be passing from one family member to
   another or if two or more family members have skin infections at
   the same time.

Serious cases of MRSA are still relatively rare, but an ounce of prevention can go a long way toward avoiding the infection and keeping your family healthy.

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