Drug Resistant Skin Infections - Common Skin Conditions: Skin Health

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Drug-resistant skin infections

Skin infections are usually minor, causing small pimples or boils that go away without antibiotics. But a growing number of skin infections are severe or life-threatening and do not respond to most antibiotics.

More than half of skin infections treated in emergency rooms in the United States may be caused by a persistent bacterium called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Until recently, MRSA infections occurred mainly in patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities, but new studies show that they are becoming increasingly common in the general population, including previously healthy children and adults. One study in 2003 estimated that 12% of the infections were in the population at large.

While everyone is at some risk of getting an MRSA infection, you can help protect yourself with good hygiene such as washing your hands frequently, not sharing personal items like towels, and cleaning and covering any cuts or other skin wounds.

Treating drug-resistant skin infections

If you have symptoms of a skin infection, see a doctor right away. Treatment depends on its location and severity. For a local pimple, boil, or abscess, the doctor will probably surgically drain it and may prescribe antibiotics. However, about 25% of people with MRSA infections need to be hospitalized because the infection can be difficult to treat and can be deadly.

MRSA infections are resistant to antibiotics in the penicillin family, but other classes of antibiotics appear more effective, including linezolid, daptomycin, and quinupristin-dalfopristin. Sulfa drugs, clindamycin, and some tetracycline derivatives may also be effective. If antibiotics are prescribed, it's essential that you finish the entire prescription, even if the infection is getting better.

To prevent the infection from spreading, practice commonsense hygiene: Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, clean and cover all open skin wounds with a bandage until they heal, and don't share clothing or other personal items.

Last updated:	July 20, 2007