Does Mrsa Ever Go Away?

Updated on July 18, 2011
L.S. asks from West Mifflin, PA
10 answers

So this past summer my daughter, then 18 mths got a terrible diaper rash wihile we were at the beach and it ended up being mrsa. She took the antibiotics and it went away. This past week I noticed that she had a pimple on her lower stomach, where her diaper covers and it was getting worse. The area around the pimple got really red and was hard and she had discomfort when I touched it. I took her to the dr. today and they did a coulture and put her on antibiotics. the dr said that she thinks that it is prob mrsa again since it is so tender to touch. She said that it is nothing that we are doing, but since she had mrsa in the past she can easily get it again. So is this something that she is always going to have to worry about? Will it ever go away? I just dont understand why she is more suseptible to getting mrsa since she has had it in the past?

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E.B.

answers from Seattle on

I believe it is like mono. once you have mono, you can have the symptoms appear outta nowhere. my neighbor and her niece have had it. I dont know if they have had flare ups with it though since

What i dont get is if it is the ''SUPERBUG'', have you gotten it? The neighbors kids or hubby didnt get it i guess i dont know too much other then it acts dormant like mono can.

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L.N.

answers from New York on

if you decide to use hibiclens (as recommended by a poster here) be very careful. it can cause hearing loss, even deafness. that is the soap doctors wash hands before surgery. it literary kills every bacteria. you don't want to use that on a child.

1 mom found this helpful

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

This is how the dr explained it to me.
Once you've had it, you are more susceptible to getting it again and again, because it stays dormat in your body.
My friends daughter got it from visiting her mom in the hospital (she got ill after having the baby and grandma/grandpa would take her to the hospital as a newborn to visit mommy), she's had a few flare ups. The worst was when she was 3. It was all around her diaper area (like the panty lines of the diaper) and all down her legs. They were huge, like the size of a silver dollar. We had to hold her down and swab one of them, which is how I got it. Dummy me with a medical background didn't grab gloves.
I had three small ones on my leg, they went away and haven't had it again...it's been three years. The little girl hasn't had anymroe flare ups either. But I know if I come in contact with it I am bound to have a flare up.
I would just watch the "zit" and see if it turns. Also practice good handwashing, make sure you clean with antibacterial products (bleach, lysol, etc). Make sure, if she has large wounds, to bleach out the tub, and wash her sheets separate in hot water (common ways it can spread).
Good Luck.

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B.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Yes it does but you need to treat it with the right antibiotics (They typically grow the culture in the lab to determine what it is resistant to. Typically MRSA is treated with septra/bactrim). The culture might surprise you and not come back as staph and then they just call it impetigo which is treated with antiobiotics as well. Just make sure you finish the course of antibiotics and it will go away and most likely not come back.

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A.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistance staphylococcus aureus which is a bacteria. When you are exposed to bacteria you may become colonized by that bacteria. Once you are colonized you will (most likely) always have that bacteria as part of your body's flora, just at levels that your immune system can control so that you don't present with symptoms and it's not an issue. However, there are times when your immune system can become 'stressed' allowing for the bacterial populations of your body's flora to become unbalanced. When this happens there is a risk of bacterial infection. We see this commonly with auto-immune diseases or AIDS where a person is overcome by bacteria that were once a part of their natural flora or even considered "beneficial" when at healthy levels.

To get at your questions:
This is something she can get future infections from. Is this something you need to worry about? Probably not. Is this something you need to be aware of? Yes.

Will it ever go away? Probably not, she has likely been colonized.

Why is she more susceptible even though she had it in the past? Even though she had it in the past and her body likely has an immune response to control the strain she was initially infected with, bacteria are fast at mutating/evolving and are awesome evaders of the immune system and antibiotics. To put it simply: Bacteria A (with membrane component A) colonizes the body. Bacteria A reproduces creating 1,000,000 daughter cells. Somewhere there was a mutation so that 1% of these daughters have a new membrane component (membrane component B). Now your body was busy fighting off Bacteria A (with membrane component A) and not those with membrane component B. So your body kills off all but the 1% (10,000) with component B. So you still have Bacteria A in your body, just with a different component. This cycle repeats over and over and over. However, this cycle obviously can't happen if you were never colonized in the first place. So that's why your daughter is more likely to get another infection, than some random person getting a first infection.

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A.P.

answers from Allentown on

My son battled with it for a while in his diaper area too. It started just before he turned 1 & he'd get outbreaks less & less frequent until he was about 2 or 2 1/2.
I think he's only had 1 outbreak since he was 2 1/2. So there's hope (he's 3 1/2 now).
I treat them with Manuka Honey (vs. antibiotics) & have had amazing luck! In fact, it was MUCH more effective than antibiotics were.
Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

we have a history of it in my family, with one of my kids having it 5 times. Since we went to a dermatologist we have followed his advice and (touch wood) not had it since. If there is a suspicious bump we put bactrim (?) on it. If nothing else, it moisturizes! The doctor also recommended using clorox 2 in every load of laundry. I don't wash towels every day like a previous person suggested or bathe my kids separately, but we do use separate towels and general personal hygiene. After the visit we used 1 cup bleach in 6 inches of bath water once a week for 12 weeks on recommendation by the doctor. Don't worry it was just like chlorine in a pool. Like I said we have been lucky with these methods, so maybe you would be too!!

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C.B.

answers from Detroit on

I am not sure, but my son had it twice (about 2 years ago). On top of the oral antibiotics, they presribed an antibiotic cream. Every time I see any red mark or pimple looking thing or anything at all, I put some of that cream on it. I have no idea if it really helps, but none of my kids have gotten since I started doing that. It is kind of funny, because they now ask on for the cream for any bump or bruise they get. They think it is a miracle cream or something.

A.S.

answers from Spokane on

You can actually be a carrier and not even realize it. Also, MRSA can live on surfaces for MONTHS. You might touch it everyday and be fine, but one day your system happens to be compromised and you pick it up again. My son brought it home 2 years ago and we've now been outbreak free for 4 months. It's really hit my husband hard and he's had it several times. My oldest son and my oldest daughter also had it bad but they haven't had outbreaks since the first big one (my other two children never got it at all). I have had two small outbreaks but it's been 9 months since my last one. My poor husband actually broke out close to a year after the kids did and it was totally unexpected.

You have to be really proactive in not sharing towels (and washing them every day), not sharing bath water, not picking your nose (oddly enough, that's where it likes to hide when dormant), keep your house clean, wash sheets & towels in hot water, etc. Big hugs. I know how frustrating it is! Just make sure that if she needs to go on another round of antibiotics that they don't give her the same one they did the first time. Oh, and we wash everything here with a lot of tea tree oil (it has great antibacterial properties). Even our shampoo and body wash has it as well as other essential oils with antibacterial properties. While I don't credit them necessarily with us not having anymore outbreaks, I do think they have helped. Good luck

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J.A.

answers from St. Louis on

I have a friend who gets it all the time. She caught it last summer and has already had it flare up 3 times since then. There are those who are carriers and those who actually show it so it could be that she is giving it back to you and your system doesn't show it so then you give it back to her and hers does. Does that make sense?

similar to some STDs, not everyone shows symptoms of having this awful, frustrating thing, but many people can be carriers. I would say to have you and everyone who comes in contact with her while she has it tested as well as then EVERYONE go on antibiotics at the same time! That is what worked for my friend.

sorry- I know this is a super frustrating problem!

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