# I have MRSA **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091 "2008-09-05T00:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/1 "2008-09-05T00:29:41Z")
I posted in the general questions forum during the ‘lost weekend’ about a bump on my leg that I assumed was a bug bite. A couple of people commented that I should keep an eye on it, as it could be a staph infection. You were right. I just want to say _thank you_ to everyone that took the time to respond to my post. Without your feedback I would have let it go longer than I did. As it was, I went to see my doctor and she diagnosed me with MRSA. I’m taking an antibiotic called Bactrim. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it stops spreading. The Dope saves the day! ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/2 "2008-09-05T00:37:49Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > I posted in the general questions forum during the ‘lost weekend’ about a bump on my leg that I assumed was a bug bite. A couple of people commented that I should keep an eye on it, as it could be a staph infection. > > You were right. > > I just want to say _thank you_ to everyone that took the time to respond to my post. Without your feedback I would have let it go longer than I did. As it was, I went to see my doctor and she diagnosed me with MRSA. I’m taking an antibiotic called Bactrim. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it stops spreading. > > The Dope saves the day! Do you get sores in your nose? ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/3 "2008-09-05T00:39:25Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Do you get sores in your nose? No, not that I’ve ever noticed. Why? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/4 "2008-09-05T00:41:15Z")
[Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrsa) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/5 "2008-09-05T01:23:14Z")
Your nose may be colonized. Or not. Lots of my MRSA patients don’t have colonized noses. Glad you got properly diagnosed. If I had a nickel for every patient of mine who said they had a bug bite but really had MRSA, I could buy a couple of cups of espresso. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/6 "2008-09-05T01:31:16Z")
Oh, good! Er, I mean, not good that you have MRSA, but good that you took it seriously enough to get it checked out. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/7 "2008-09-05T01:36:14Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Your nose may be colonized. Or not. Lots of my MRSA patients don’t have colonized noses. With the patients I see, it’s quite often in the nose or urine. Less so in a wound. > [@](#): > > If I had a nickel for every patient of mine who said they had a bug bite but really had MRSA, I could buy a couple of cups of espresso. No kidding. Between MRSA, VRE and C-Diff, I could buy Juan Valdez _and_ his donkey, and have him make me coffee every day. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/8 "2008-09-05T01:36:15Z")
Oh, and you owe me a nickel, too. And I don’t take Medicare. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/9 "2008-09-05T01:39:38Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > No kidding. Between MRSA, VRE and C-Diff, I could buy Juan Valdez _and_ his donkey, and have him make me coffee every day. Whatcha using on VRE these days? Where you at in sunny Bawlamer? Irrationally enough, I miss that city! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/10 "2008-09-05T01:55:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Whatcha using on VRE these days? Me, personally? Gloves, gown, mask if I feel it’s needed, handwashing and gallons of Avaguard. I’m not a doctor; I’m an EMT with a private ambo company, and I bet more than half the patients we transport have one of the three. > [@](#): > > Where you at in sunny Bawlamer? Irrationally enough, I miss that city! In the 'burbs, just east and north of the city. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/11 "2008-09-05T02:03:46Z")
Good thing you got diagnosed early. A gentleman who runs the cookie store across the mall from us just finished up a course of MRSA…he thought he had spider bites that got infected. He was out of work for a solid month, plus another month or two on light duty, and he very nearly lost part of a leg. What was odd was that even after he was diagnosed, he still told us that his doctor said he got it from infected spider bites! I did some very basic Googling, and told him what I’d read…that it just LOOKS like spider bites, and that he more likely picked it up in the nursing home where his girlfriend is a long-term patient after having a stroke during surgery. We mentioned this to him, and I think he did go get clarification from his doctor…we still don’t know if he just misunderstood or what. He stopped by our store yesterday to tell me that the last scabs had just fallen off the day before and he was now fine…I really, really wish he hadn’t felt the need to share… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/12 "2008-09-05T02:14:47Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Oh, and you owe me a nickel, too. If he gives you a nickel, wash it off. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/13 "2008-09-05T02:22:32Z")
Colonized nose? When I made the appointment, they didn’t have room for me in the schedule so they double booked me. I waited 50 minutes befor the doctor got into the exam room. I was going to be late for work and was hoping to make it quick, not knowing what it was. So, she told me she was treating me for MRSA, wrote a script, and I was on my way out before I knew what hit me. It wasn’t until I got to work and Googled that I got worried. I don’t know much about this, and when I look online the information scares the crap out of me. What do I need to do to keep my husband safe? I am washing everything I’ve been in contact with, with hot water. I guess I feel out of my depth here. Is there something else that is typically done besides antibiotics? I am under the care of a doctor, and she’s instructed me to call her if it gets worse. I’m not asking for medical advice here, disclaimer, disclaimer… ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/14 "2008-09-05T02:35:13Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > Colonized nose? > > When I made the appointment, they didn’t have room for me in the schedule so they double booked me. I waited 50 minutes befor the doctor got into the exam room. I was going to be late for work and was hoping to make it quick, not knowing what it was. So, she told me she was treating me for MRSA, wrote a script, and I was on my way out before I knew what hit me. It wasn’t until I got to work and Googled that I got worried. A lot of what you’re reading online is either highly sensationalized or applies to hospital acquired MRSA as opposed to community acquired MRSA. CA-MRSA is almost always limited to skin and soft tissue infections. It often causes abscesses (pus pockets) that need to be drained. So far, almost all strains are still susceptible (killed by) several common (and cheap! (and oral!!)) antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/15 "2008-09-05T02:37:03Z")
Thank you for responding.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/16 "2008-09-05T03:29:16Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Glad you got properly diagnosed. If I had a nickel for every patient of mine who said they had a bug bite but really had MRSA, I could buy a couple of cups of espresso. See, I’m tangentially in your same field, Doc (medical in corrections), and if I had a nickel for every inmate who said they had MRSA but really had a bug bite or pimple, I’d buy those espressos for you. But better safe than sorry. Glad the OP’er is okay. Just don’t touch me. [sub]I kid. ;)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/17 "2008-09-05T03:47:31Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > Colonized nose? Did your doctor swab the inside your nose? They would have been checking for MRSA. When I transport a patient with MRSA in the nares (the nostrils), we have them wear a mask. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/18 "2008-09-05T06:02:29Z")
Best of luck to you, glad you saw your doc and got on the antibiotics. Boy, back in the old days (early 90s), I was working in dialysis and we had a patient with MRSA. The infection control nurse scared us all silly - we used the isolation room for the patient, and all the personal protection devices that we could find. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/19 "2008-09-05T07:27:23Z")
I didn’t see the thread described in the OP… I don’t suppose what he had looked anything like a puffed up mosquito bite that could increase in size, but that often went away completely, except maybe for minor skin discoloration? 'Cause I’ve been seeing that on my arm for the past few months. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091/20 "2008-09-05T11:10:48Z")
Sending healing thoughts your way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-mrsa/462091.md?page=2)