Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA or a staph infection, is a bacterium. It causes staph infections in various locations on the human body. It is tough to treat because it’s resistant to a lot of commonly used medicines. Though not all of these infections are serious, some can be very life-threatening. Since it’s tough to treat, scientists sometimes call it a “super bug”. If you have any MRSA symptoms consult a doctor.

There are a few treatment options for this disease. The two antibiotics that are normally used first are Bactrim and Vancocin. Other drugs used to treat the infections includ Zyvox, Cleocin, and Levaquin. Several of the drugs used to treat staph infections need to be given intravenously, or in other words, with a shot or IV. Sometimes, these drugs aren’t even required. If it is just a simple skin boil, doctors may just make a cut in it, and drain the fluid. If the patient do happen to get prescribed to any medication, they must never stop dosage of it. If they don’t take all of the medicine, some of the bacteria is able to survive, and then reinfect the person, becoming resistant to the medicine. The bacteria that survives could also infect someone else.

Sometimes, after people are healed from one staph infection, they get another. In this case, many patients are prescribed the medication Cipro, which they must take for three to six months. It is a theory that people who use intravenous drugs are more susceptible to having recurring staph infections. One drug that used to be the main drug used to treat the disease is becoming increasingly known as a failure. Failure rates at 40% have been reported, and poor penetration into the skin cell lining is no good thing at all. One new treatment for MRSA is Rifampin Combination Therapy, which is when Rifampin is combined with either Vanco or Minocycline, which results in supposedly improved outcomes in the clinical trials. Thankfully, there is a way to prevent MRSA from happening, such as making sure to take care of your personal hygiene, and making sure to clean your home as to not leave contaminated items laying about. Also, make sure to keep all openings in the skin covered with a bandage, as this is another way a staph infection may spread. These are only a few of the ways to prevent MRSA.