Updated January 05, 2015.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

She thought her son had a spider bite. Near his ankle, he had a dot surrounded by a large red splotch. Her husband then had a pimple on his leg that grew bigger and bigger. Her daughter went on to develop a red swollen eyelid. This wasn't a spider's doing. They all had MRSA, passing it within the family.

MRSA is Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It is a form of Staph (Staphylococcus Aureus) which is harder to treat because it is resistant to our first line antibiotics (like Methicillin and other penicillins).

 

We all carry bacteria in our skin, noses, and guts. Some of us, maybe 1 in 4, maybe 1 in 3, carry Staph Aureus, often in our noses without any symptoms. We call this colonization. Some of this Staph Aureus is MRSA. Likely 2.5 million in the US carry some MRSA.

MRSA colonization can sometimes 'invade' and cause an infection. Usually these infections are on the skin - rarely they are in the lung or heart. Infections with MRSA now outnumber infections with non-drug resistant Staph Aureus. 

Many cases occur in the hospital. However, increasingly cases are occurring in the community. These occur particularly in the summer and among younger people. It can be spread between family members, on a sports team or in a playground, within a prison or a homeless shelter. Contact with MRSA may directly lead to an immediate infection, rather than just colonizing and just being carried around.

What can we do to prevent MRSA spreading in the community?

MRSA is spread by touching something or someone with MRSA.

There are a number of ways to prevent this spread. If there is MRSA spreading in your community - especially in your kid's sports teams or within your home, watch out for and tell your doctor about any "spider bites" or red, warm, or painful areas of skin.

1. Keep wounds covered

Cover any broken skin. Your mom was right, you needed all those bandaids as a kid.

Athletes often have a a skinned knee or turf burn. If these are not covered, these cuts can leave sports players vulnerable to catching and spreading MRSA between players. Anyone covering these wounds should wear gloves and wash their hands. Bandages can be thrown away in the regular trash.

2. Protect your skin

Skin breaks are a big risk for MRSA; they let MRSA enter. Protect yourself or clean the area before anything breaks the skin. This may be a cut or scrape. Piercings and tattoos can become infected. Shaving, particularly of armpits and the groin, can lead to MRSA infections

In the hospital, it might be an IV placed in your arm. Intravenous Drug users are at risk, as are those on Dialysis. 

3. Be Careful whom you touch

Spread of MRSA is associated with skin-to-skin contact. Daycares can have MRSA. Athletes in close contact sports - wrestling, judo, or football (linemen)- are at increased risk. It can be associated with sexualcontact and increased numbers of partners.

If you have skin contact with multiple people, avoid touching any visible infections and make an effort to wash and shower. Seek treatment quickly if you develop an infection.

4. Don't Share

You shouldn't share items that could spread MRSA. Things touched by someone with MRSA can sometimes spread MRSA to someone else. This happens in gyms, especially with kids playing sports. Don't share unwashed towels, protective sports padding, washcloths, clothing, uniforms - or razors.

But you can't avoid touching everything. At least not everything transmits MRSA. The good news is the gym itself was often thought to spread MRSA, but the equipment might not spread MRSA that often.

5. Wash your Hands

Hospitals have found one of the best ways to cut down on MRSA is to washing our hands.

6. Take a Shower

One study showed not showering enough placed you at high risk for MRSA.

7. Avoid antibiotics if you don't need them

Using certain antibiotics may predispose you to developing MRSA infections. Taking fluoroquinolones, such as cirprofloxacin or levofloxacin sometimes used for urinary tract infections, is associated with an increased risk for MRSA infections.

8. Decolonization

In rare circumstances, a doctor may recommend using body cleaners, like chlorhexadine, and a nasal cleaning agent, like muporocin nasal drops, to clear your body of MRSA colonization This is only if despite good hygiene and wound care, there are recurrent infections or continued known transmission. The decolonization of those at highest risk for MRSA, such as intensive care or surgical patients, is standard. In the community though many are quickly reinfected, likely from contacts or shared items.

Other things to know:

Once you get MRSA and are treated, you can get it again.

Higher temperature and Humidity correlate with increased risk of MRSA.

Farmworkers and veterinarians may develop MRSA, potentially in the setting of antibiotic use in livestock.