What Is MRSA and Does Your Child Have It?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a type of staph bacterium that is resistant to antibiotics such as oxacillin and methicillin. Many individuals in the United States carry Staphylococcus aureus in the nose or on the skin. The staph can infect the skin and cause MRSA.

Significance

• MRSA spreads in three ways. Your child can become infected by sharing personal items like sports equipment or towels with others. Or a child can touch contaminated surfaces or have direct contact with an infected person.

Symptoms

• If your child has MRSA, you will see infected skin, which will be swollen, red and painful or full of pus. You may also notice that the area is warm to the touch.

Effects

• An MRSA infection can appear on areas like your child's buttocks, the back of the neck or the legs. But check the entire body, because MRSA can occur anywhere.

Identification

• An MRSA infection on a child can look like boils, bumps, pimples, blisters or inflammation under the skin. You may think at first that a child with MRSA was bitten by an insect.

Treatment

• Your child's MRSA infection is treated with antibiotics like Vancocin and Bactrim.