I was amazed at the range of patients getting iv-antibiotics. A young Marine had a deep knee infection. A young girl of 15 had a salt block fall on her foot and developed into a MRSA infection. Another young girl fell from a horse, damaged her elbow, and developed MRSA infection. Middle age man scraped leg on fence post...MRSA..18 year old football player..on and on..Despite the once in a while news report, I don’t think the general population is aware of just how pervasive it is, or how dangerous. I worry more about MSRA than AIDS or cancer or many other high profile diseases.
Well, that’s because just about everyone carries staph in their bodies, usually inside the nostrils, but it can be anywhere on the body. I took care of a patient that was on contact precaution and his chart said due to possible e. coli infection. I took one look at the lesions on his body and said ....nuh uh that is MRSA. Sure enough the cultures came back for MRSA. It just looks really menacing when you see it.