MRSA Treatment
MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a deadly bug simply because it resists all types of conventional drugs available to treat infection. However MRSA treatment still relies heavily on antibiotic therapy.

Therefore it becomes important to determine the antibiotic susceptibility of the MRSA bacteria and it is here that laboratory tests assume importance. Once the technician determines which antibiotics control and reduce the growth of MRSA in lab cultures, doctors can proceed with the same treatment for their patients.

Some of the antibiotics that remain effective against MRSA include:
* Vancomycin (Brand name: Vancocin)
* Clindamycin
* Tetracycline
* Linezolid
* Combination of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (Brand names: Septra, Bactrim)

One of the most important things you need to remember as a consumer is to complete the course of the prescribed antibiotics regardless of whether you feel better or not. If you stop the prescribed course of antibiotics before the scheduled time, chances are the MRSA bug will develop resistance to these class of antibiotics as well and the risk of relapse becomes greater.

Sometimes, draining the skin sores of the accumulated pus and taking care of the healing process are all that is needed to control MRSA.

However sometimes, MRSA infection goes on to become very serious and necessitate extensive hospital stay and aggressive treatment that includes oxygen therapy, intravenous antibiotics as well as fluids and in extreme cases kidney dialysis. These measures are necessary if pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and blood poisoning develop as a result of MRSA infection.

A review by Kate Gould et al appearing in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy has put forward specific recommendations for the prophylaxis and treatment of MRSA infections in the United Kingdom.

In summary, treating MRSA depends solely on the severity and location of the infection. Antibiotic therapy is advocated, but must be used with caution keeping in mind the risk of resistance.