Is MRSA Contagious?
88There is nothing worse then seeing one of your family members, friends or roommates getting sick. Yes, it is very saddening to see them in pain, but there is also something in the back of your head hoping that you do not catch whatever is making them feel so horrible. Contagious viruses and diseases are all over the place floating around in the air and on our bodies. Some are more harmful than others. Staph infections are incredibly contagious, and one of the most contagious is the MRSA staph infection.
MRSA, as like other staph infections, is found on a persons skin or in their nose. The spread of the infection is very easy. A brush against someone's side, or even being around when someone is sneezing could potentially cause the spread of the disease. They call MRSA a Superbug because of how incredibly easy it is to spread the infection. The interesting thing with MRSA however, is that healthy people can carry and spread the MRSA. The only time you can truly become affected buy it, is if it enters the body, usually through a cut or break in the skin. However, people with weakened immune systems are more likely to be easily effected by MRSA.
MRSA infections are more commonly to happen in hospitals and other similar places like nursing homes. The spread of this infection is easier because the people in these places already have weakened immune systems or are very old. However, MRSA in recent years has started to become more dangerous, appearing in places other than health care institutions. The infection can appear in people who have not been hospitalized or had any surgery within the past year. Even people without weakened immune systems have contracted the infection. About 12% of all MRSA infections are now community-based infections, with the number rapidly increasing.
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As stated early, spreading this Superbug is incredibly easy. The only way to prevent the spread, even if you don't know you have it, it though proper hygiene. Keeping your hands clean, as well as any cuts or scrapes clean and covered is the best way to prevent the spread. Not sharing personal items like towels, clothing and combs are also ways to stop the spread of MRSA and other staph infections. MRSA is a serious infection and it is important to not take things lightly and if you think you may have contracted it, you should speak with your doctor immediately.
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YES YES. what ever you don't touch it. praying your taking antibiotics, dont scratch it can spread. you don't want this to get into your blood stream. good luck and hopefully it gets resolved. remember anything wet sweaty and closed up grows bacteria and can promote MRSA children should be taught about cleaning such things as sports equip daily and clothing. and do not share your personal items with anyone.
it's horrible! and veryy contagious! i got MRSA through a resident i work with!!!
can mrsa be contagious by drinking from the same bottle or straw?
Is MRSA contagious even after you've started anitbiotics?
My sister died ten days after her birthday last August 2007 from the MRSA staph infection. I was very mad when I read an article in the paper how there had been no deaths due to MRSA in the state of Delaware so far. Bull, my sister died in Wilmington Hospital. And what makes it even worse is that about a month before she ended up in the hospital 2 days after her birthday her primary care doctor told her she had this infection. My question to them is why didn't they put her in the hospital and start IV antibiotics on her? They didn't even give her a prescription for antibiotics and there was a whole month and a half that she could have been spreading it to others. She worked for Costco and was one of the servers of sample foods. I often have to wonder if anyone who tried those samples caught it. Her death haunts me daily and since she died from this I have become a real germaphobic. Right after she died they started talking about it a lot on the news, if they had said something sooner I would have taken her myself to the hospital and demanded she get help, and that would have spared my family and her friends from worrying about if we caught it from her after we found out what she had. But the CDC seemed to want to keep it a big secret at the time even though they knew about it for years. Maybe the government started to control population....you never know, neither will I.
My Daughter just graduated from Army Basic Training and she caught it 3 times over a 14 wk period. She went to the clinic on Post and the Dr. told her that everyone has it in some form or another due to the closeness of people in Army conditions. He gave her a shot all 3 times, told her to ensure it was covered while it was open and/or oozing. All three times it was gone within a week. She got it in 3 different places: Outside of Elbow, Back of Knee, painful one, and under left arm. Don't know what the military is using but, if they can't cure it, they sure can stop it fast. My son had a pimple on his forehead that turned in MRSA after he wouldn't stop picking at it. Dr. gave us Horse Pills and cream to use. We washed it frequently, took the pills faithfully and it wouldn't clear up. We resorted to opening the resulting bump and attacking it with cotton swabbs dipped in Hydrogen peroxide. WE used the perodice on the open would 3 to 4 times a day, ensuring that any products we used went into their own bags. After 3 days of squeezing out puss the would opened up enough that we could see a ball of puss that would not come out. We pulled it out with tweezers, nasty looking thing, and the oozing and inflamation stopped almost overnight. Took another few days for the swelling and tenderness to abate but the hole closed on its own within about a week and has not returned. WE kept using the peroxide 2 or 3 times a while the wound was open and it worked very well. My suggestion is to use peroxide and just kill the heck out of it. Ensure that it stays covered so that no one else can get infected. No further outbreaks.
I picked up MRSA after a big operation in 2004. Not pleasant at all. The drip they put you on is very painful as the antibiotic they pump into you stings in your veins. The bonus, if you can have one that is, is that forever more I always have to have a private room as it's on my record that I was MRSA positive, even though it was 5 years ago!
My son was a premature baby and contracted it in the nicu (in a safe and clean envirorment) he had gotten MRSA phenomnia and it just about killed him. We were told that he had a 20%chance of recovering and was given nitric oxcide. had been on that for several days and eventually it got better. but it did scar his lungs. it sucked for us ad ever since then we have ptsd cause of all the calls in the night saying he got worse and we had a chance of lossing him. we still worry about it all the time.
To Big Sarge,
What your son had was not a pimple or MSRA it was a "carbuncle" It looks like a pimple, but the skin is discolored and there's a hard knot inside the skin. The next time he gets one use hot compresses or depending where it is take a hot bath. That will draw that pus out, and it will go away. Trust me I know what I'm talking about.
I think MRSA is contagious. I have done alot of research into MRSA and I feel that it is.
Both my husband and I were visiting an older woman in the hospital after major surgery, and 24 hours later found out that she was MRSA+.
We are healthy, for the most part, no immune deficiencies anyhow, but I did have surgery a year ago.
We shook hands with her, and she had been sniffling when I was in her room............should we be worried?
I kissed my Mom on the forehead and she kissed me on the cheek.. then 4days later I discovered that she had MRSA... can I get it? I am asmatic
My 17 year old daughter just found out her boil, now open wound,is in fact mrsa. Doc got her on strong antibiotic within 1 week of the first tiny pimple forming. I've been bleaching the bathroom and she's been using antibacterial soap often during the dressing changes (will do the hydrogen peroxide, thanks Sarge). She did do her CNA training in a nursing home about 6 months ago - could it be dormant so long, OR, we just came back from a trip where 8 teenagers shared a cabin, shower, and unfortunately beach towels (came home two days before pimple). Also, tell me about airborne mrsa. I have had a reoccuring cough for a month or two. Could I me a carrier, and would that show up as a skin wound on her? Sorry about all the questions - All new to us and pretty unsettling.We just want to make sure we tell the right people to watch out for things. If someone had just told Nancy's sister(above) the right info! One last thought, Kelli's grandma, my mother-in-law just battled shingles for the last 4 months, some contact with Kelli, more contact with me - any connection. Thanks again - Patty
Ok I have to respond here... only because both my husband and I battled MRSA for over 2 years. His infections were always worse than mine and one of them almost took his life. In response to the pimple on your sons head... it very well could have been MRSA. My only thoughts that it may not have been is the fact that you didn't report it as coming back. MRSA will return over and over again unless you get it properly treated. But the reason you couldn't get any puss out of it by squuezing is because the infection/puss weaves itself into the tissue so it doesn't draw to the surface and "bust" (for lack of a better word). This is how mine always went. I shaved my legs and then a few days later a pimple would appear. Then it woudl turn into a large bull's eyes looking wound... very painful! I recall it being VERY hot and feeling like it was going to burst through my skin. It hurt to stand due to the blood pressure in my leg. Ugh! It hurts to think back on it. But anyway, I would sit in a hot bath for hours squeezing and squeezing and squeezing. I could see the puss but it wouldn't come out. Eventually I could get it to how you described: to the point were you could dig it out. It would come out like a plug and leave about a quarter inch diameter in width and depth hole in my leg. They gave me the horse pills and mine would always clear up. (That is until the a week or two later.. sometimes not showing up again for a few month.) My husband was a completely different story. His would show up randomly it seemed... and they were completely resistant to the horse pills. He was hospitalized about 5 to 6 times in a one to two year period. They had to give him at least 2 to 3 days worth of VM..IV antibiotics. The one that almost took his life was on his back. He got septicemia from it. And to give you a clue of how fast septicemia set in... he got the initial wound on a tuesday, Thursday night he was complaining of feeling very sick (like an ear infection or something). Took him to the hospital that night with his wbc off the chart! He was in the hospital for over a week. They ended up cutting about a 3 inch chunk out of his back, which he had to pack with dry gauze and have pulled out and repacked every day. Poor baby! :( Eventually we saw a ID doc who gave us the liquid soap and nose cream. After that it never came back. But MRSA is NO JOKE! It is very very contagious.. (why would they have sent us to an infectious disease doctor if it wasnt?!) If you or someone you know has it I would personally avoid them like the plague... if you can't than make sure you wash your hands every single time you come in contact with not only them but ANYTHING they may have touched recently. What is super super scary is VRSA!!! The one antibiotic that saved my husband from this terrible bug now has formed a resistance to it... the true super bug.
I HAVE A 21 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER THAT HAD GOTTEN THE MRSA INFECTION WHEN SHE WAS 10 MONTHS OLD, I HAD TO STAY IN A CONTAMINATION ROOM WITH HER FOR 2 WEEKS. THEN SHE GOT IT AGIN ABOUT 4 MONTHS AGO, THAT TIME THE CUT IT OPEN AND DRAINED IT, SENT ME HOME AND IT GOT BETTER. NOW 4-5 DAYS AGO SHE GOT 2 MORE AT THE SAME TIME, 1 ON HER LEG AND 1 ON HER PRIVATES, I TOOK HER TO THE DR. YESTERDAY AND THEY GAVE HER CLEOCIN ANTIBIOTIC AND ALSO A MUPIROCIN OINTMENT. IM HOPING THEY DONT HAVE TO CUT HER ANYMORE OR PUT HER BACK IN THE HOSPITAL. I DONT KNOW WHY OR HOW SHE KEEPS GETTING THIS INFECTION. BUT IVE BEEN WITH HER ALL 3 TIMES SHE HAS HAD IT AND IM THE 1 THAT PUTS CREAM ON IT AND CHANGES HER DIAPERS, AND I HAVE NEVER HAD MRSA AND HOPE I DONT GET IT.
My step son has recently be diagnosed and hospitalized for MRSA in his eye. He is ten years old, his younger brother is nine, and his sister is six. Reading information on this really worries me about his well being. I also feel extremely selfish because i do not want him in my home for a while. I have a two year old daughter. How do we know when MRSA is healed? If he were to come over for the weekend, would it be sufficient to make him bathe daily, change his clothes often, and wash his hands frequently? His mother does not require high levels of hygiene from these children. any advice on how I can protect my child while not alienating my step children?
There's a video going around on FB, about these people who are popping a huge "zit" on this guy's back. That's not a zit!! They were popping MRSA...and the girl wasn't using gloves. She touched it and ooh she probably got it too.
Yuckkk
That zit popping thing on Facebook was not mersa, it didn't look like any of the pictures that I have seen on MRSA. To me it looked like a sebaceous cyst, which looks exactly like what is on the video and smells the way that the people on the video describe it. Probably not smart to do with out gloves or a doctor though.
Kris Parker says:
2 years ago
YES< it is very contgious and should be reported to the local health dept in the area you are if it was not gotten in a hospital. It is a staph resistance to antibiotics and can be very bad to someone with sompromised immune. The local health dept, tracks areas and tries to see the orgination. Please be careful and do not take it lightly. Let your friend know how serious it is and where they may have picked it up. If you need more help you can contact www.ashleygraziano.com
it is a foundation and is helpful with these issues.
Kris