Symptoms of MRSA Nares

MRSA--methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus---frequently shows up in swabs of the nose. These MRSA colonies in what both ancient Romans and modern-day health care providers call "nares" cause disease in as many as 25 percent of patients admitted to hospitals or long-term care facilities. MRSA nares typically causes skin infections, but symptoms can occur in many parts of the body.

Skin Symptoms

• MRSA-infected areas of the skin can feel warm to the touch, appear red and raw and break out in pus-filled blisters or nodes that look like insect bites. Over time, the affected area can become painful and start draining fluid.

Full-Body Symptoms

• Advanced MRSA infections can cause chest pain, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath. Patient may also develop a persistent fever and fatigue.

Complications

• Even treated MRSA infections may spread to patients' blood, bones, heart, joints and lungs. When multiple organs become infected, patients may go into shock.

Treatments

• MRSA skin infections may resolve after the affected areas are surgically drained and kept sterile. Tougher infections may respond to long-term antibiotic combination therapy with vancomycin, clindamycin, doxycycline, linezolid (Zyvox from Pfizer) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. However, because MRSA is specifically resistant to methicillin and broadly resistant to many other antibiotics, MRSA infections may prove uncurable. Infections of the blood, in particular, have high mortality rates.

Prevention

• To prevent MRSA infections, a National Library of Medicine fact sheet suggests you wash your hands frequently, especially if you are visiting a hospitalized friend or family member, make every health care provider washes his hands before touching you, do not share towels or razors because they can carry MRSA, cover every wound with a clean bandage and clean all shared sports equipment with an antiseptic solution.