HealthlineSubscribeHowtoGetRidofMRSAinChildrenMedicallyreviewedbyUniversityofIllinois—WrittenbyRachelNall,MSN,CRNA—UpdatedonFebruary27,2019SymptomsSeeadoctorTreatmentsAt-hometreatmentsNextstepsIntroMethicillin-resistantStaphylococcusaureus(MRSA)isaskininfectioncausedbyatypeofstaphbacteria.It’spartofaclassof“superbugs”andcan’tbetreatedwiththeusualantibioticssuchaspenicillinoramoxicillin.WhileMRSAusedtoberare,it’sbecomingmorecommon,especiallyamongchildren.Kidsdon’ttendtohavethesame“personalspacebubble”asadults.Theyalsoplayinclosequartersandaren’tusuallyafraidtorollonthefloor,rubagainsteachotherwhenplaying,andshareitemsliketowelsandtoys.ThismakeschildrenmorepronetothespreadofMRSA.IfyourchilddoeshaveaMRSAinfection,treatmentsareavailable.It’simportanttotreattheinfectionasquicklyaspossibletokeepthebacteriafromspreadingtoothers.You’llalsowanttostopitfromspreadingtoyourchild’sbloodstream,whereamoreseriousinfectioncanoccur.WhatarethesymptomsofMRSAinchildren?Plentyofbacterialivenaturallyonyourskin.Theyoftendon’tcauseaproblemuntilthey’reintroducedintothebody.Whenachildhasacut,sore,orscrape,thisprovidestheperfectentrypointforMRSAbacteria.ThebacteriacanstarttomultiplyandcauseMRSAinfectionsymptoms.ManypeoplemistakeaMRSAinfectionforaspiderbite.ButtherearesomesymptomsthatcouldindicatetheinfectionisMRSA,notaninsectbite.Symptomsinclude:appearsatalocationwhereachildhadacutorbrokenskinbumporlumpthat’sswollenandhardtothetouchfeverpainatthesiteofthebumppusthatdrainsfromthesitewarmthattheareaofthebumpandsurroundingitIfaparentisn’tsurewhatthelesionis,yourpediatriciancanhelpdiagnoseMRSA.WhentoseeadoctorforMRSAYourchild’spediatricianshouldtreatMRSA.TheycancarefullydrainaMRSAboil,ifnecessary.Aparentshouldn’ttrytodrainthelesionathome.Doingsocouldmaketheinfectionworseandeasiertospread.Usually,MRSAisn’tamedicalemergency.Buttherearesomecaseswhenaparentshouldseekimmediatemedicalattention.Theseinclude:chillsfeverrashsevereheadacheWhenaparentdoesnoticeaMRSAinfection,theyshouldmakeanappointmentwithth