There are few antibiotics that can treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus effectively. Depending on the site of infection these antibiotics need to continue for weeks or months, and after the completion of the antibiotic course, most patients recover from the MRSA infection. A blood culture or body fluid culture of the affected organ should be done to confirm the presence of MRSA infection and in order to determine what are the sensitive and resistance antibiotics for the MRSA infection.
However, this might take a few days (2-3) and until such time patients are treated empirically with antibiotics which gives broad-spectrum coverage and antibiotics sensitive for MRSA infection.
Can You Ever Completely Get Rid Of MRSA?
Can you get rid of MRSA infection completely? Even after the completion of the antibiotic course, MRSA can remain in your skin and nose as commensal bacteria. They can enter the blood through a cut injury or wound or attack the body when the immune system is weak. There is always the risk of re-infection with the bacteria still harboring in your skin. To treat this, topical antibiotics such as mupirocin (Bactroban) or fusidic acid can be applied to the inner parts of the nose and to the affected skin lesions. This can reduce bacterial colonies on your skin. The whole family should be treated with the topical antibiotics and other MRSA preventive strategies such as hand washing, disinfection of the house and maintaining good personal hygiene should be followed to prevent MRSA re-infection.
This way you can get rid of the MRSA infection completely and you need to confirm this by doing a culture. However, there is always the possibility of getting the bacteria again in your skin if you get in touch with an MRSA carrier or an infected person. Since it is a common bacterium and 2% of the people being carriers it is really difficult to completely get rid of the bacteria, but if you stay healthy with a strong immune system there is less risk of you getting infected.
Usually, two or more antibiotics are used to treat an MRSA infection. The usual antibiotics that are sensitive to MRSA infection are:
- Linezolid
- Daptomycin
- Quinupristin
- Vancomycin
- Clindamycin
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
- Tygacil
Additional surgical intervention might be needed according to the site of infection. E.g. an abscess needs surgical drainage as without the surgical drainage the antibiotics would not be able to reach the infection to destroy it.
If you are not having a serious infection you can be treated at home with oral antibiotics which you should continue for 7-10 days. The antibiotics should be taken exactly as prescribed without missing any dose, for the prescribed period of time. You should not stop the antibiotics once you feel better when the symptoms are resolving as this does not mean the infection is completely cured.
If your infection is severe and if it involves a major organ then you need to be treated in a hospital with intravenous antibiotics. The intravenous antibiotics are continued until your condition improves. Then, oral antibiotics of the same antibiotics are given for another few days or even for weeks depending on the complications and source of infection.
Conclusion
There are few antibiotics that can treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus effectively. Depending on the site of infection these antibiotics need to continue for weeks or months, and after the completion of the antibiotic course, most patients recover from the MRSA infection. Even after the completion of the antibiotic course, MRSA can remain in your skin and nose as commensal bacteria. To treat this, topical antibiotics such as mupirocin (Bactroban) or fusidic acid can be applied to the inner parts of the nose and to the affected skin lesions. However, there is always the possibility of getting the bacteria again in your skin since, it’s a common bacterium and 2% of the people being carriers. It is really difficult to completely get rid of the bacteria, but if you stay healthy with a strong immune system there is less risk of you getting infected by the bacterium.
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