Mrsa Test Procedures

MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus, is a form of staph infection that may be fatal if left untreated, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most people get the MRSA infection from being in a health care setting, such as a hospital or nursing home; however, there are strains of the infection known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA. This strain causes skin and tissue infections, as well as severe pneumonia.

Test Procedure

• If you feel like you may have been exposed to MRSA, you need to get tested to receive immediate treatment. Symptoms often appear as small bumps on the skin that resemble insect bites or pimples, but develop into painfully deep infections that need to be drained surgically. If not treated, the MRSA bacteria may spread to other parts of the body like the lungs, blood or heart and become life-threatening.

  The test procedure is quick and simple. A physician will use either a tissue sample of the infection site or rotate a cotton swab inside each of the nostrils and placed in a laboratory dish with nutrients that increase bacteria growth for observation. The dish is then sent to a lab, where it takes 48 hours to detect and determine if the MRSA bacteria are positive. Newer tests are now becoming more available to hospitals that take only a few hours to detect staph bacteria within DNA.

  If you are a hospital patient, a MRSA test may be administered if you show signs of the skin infection. A physician may also do a test if you are being transferred from a hospital where there was a known outbreak of MRSA, so you may be treated accordingly.

Treatment

• Once you have tested positive for MRSA, you will get the appropriate antibiotics. For MRSA cases developed out of health care facilities, the antibiotic vancomycin is used to fight the MRSA strain. For community associated skin MRSA, also known as CA-MRSA, the physician may only drain the wounds instead of using antibiotics according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Prevention

• As you are getting treated for MRSA, it is important that you prevent spreading it to other people. Keep wounds covered at all times, and change bandages constantly so you are protected with dry, fresh bandages until the wound heals. Wash your hands thoroughly many times throughout the day with warm water and soap, or use an alcohol-based sanitizer on the hands. Refrain from sharing personal items such as clothes, bedding, towels or hygienic items with others until the infection is gone.