Facebook Pixel
Q: 

my mom has been getting boils a lot and her friends said it was Mercers how can i be sure?

By April 10, 2010 - 6:14pm
 
Rate This

Add a Comment1 Comments

Hi Kit,

Sorry to hear that your mom has been suffering from boils lately-- do you know what caused or triggered her first boil outbreak? Have these boils been accompanied by redness, pus, and/or a fever?

To answer your question-- MRSA (also commonly called Mersa) is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. MRSA or Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a strain of staph that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it.

Commonly, people who become infected are those in a hospital setting, older adults with lower immune systems, and more recently it has been associated with otherwise healthy individuals who acquire it from their community.

The only way to test for MRSA is to go to the doctor or hospital and have a tissue sample taken or nasal secretions taken for detection of the bacteria. Results normally take about 48 hours to return. If your moms doctor strongly believes that it may be MRSA, she may be admitted to the hospital and started on treatment before results come back--this is because MRSA can be fatal and not worth losing time over.

I don't know how severe your moms boils are for her friend to suggest it could be MRSA, but if she is very active in her community, has a weakened immune system, or lives (or works) in a healthcare setting-- she is at risk of contracting the bacterial disease. Please have her go to her doctor to check her boils-- it may or may not be MRSA but it is best to be safe and proactive.

Please keep us posted!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735
https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/staph-infection

April 11, 2010 - 7:06am
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.

Tags: