MRSA symptoms
Today MRSA infection is a rather widespread and dangerous disease. As a rule it starts as small red bumps resembling pimples, boils or spider bites that may easily turn into deep, painful abscesses requiring surgical draining. In some cases you should be careful as the infection can penetrate into the body and cause serious infections in heart valves, lungs, bones, joints, surgical wounds and the bloodstream.
MRSA infection is commonly accompanied with the following MRSA symptoms:
- carbuncles (infections larger than an abscess usually with several openings to the skin),
- abscesses (pus clusters under the skin),
- sty (an infection of eyelid glands),
- boils (pus-filled infections of hair follicles),
- cellulitis (an infection of the skin or the fat and tissues that lie beneath the skin usually starting as small red bumps on the skin),
- impetigo (a skin infection with pus-filled blisters).
MRSA infection can cause a wide range of MRSA symptoms depending on the body susceptibility to the infection. MRSA symptoms and signs are redness, swelling and tenderness of the infected area. Clinical manifestations of the staphylococcal disease may vary from skin diseases and pneumonia to meningitis and sepsis.
In humans, staphylococcus may cause a range of diseases such as dermatitis of hydradenitis, abscesses, panaritium, blepharitis, furuncles, carbuncles, periostitis, osteomyelitis, folliculitis, sycosis, dermatitis, eczema, pneumonina, pyoderma, peritonitis, meningitis, appendicitis, and cholecystitis. MRSA may cause development of secondary diseases during smallpox, influenza, wound infections, and postoperative abscesses. In children, staphylococcus sepsis and staphylococcus pneumonia are terribly dangerous diseases.
Staphylococcus plays a significant role in mixed infections. Staphylococcus is found together with streptococcus in wound infections, diphtheria, tuberculosis, actinomycosis, angina, influenza, parainfluenza, and other acute respiratory diseases.
Staphylococcus infections reduce human immune resistance. Skin injuries (wounds, splinters, rubbing against clothes, hygiene rules breaking) are preconditions for local staphylococcus infections. Reducing of immune resistance resulted from other diseases, malnutrition, stress, hypovitaminosis are preconditions for generalized staphylococcus infections.
MRSA produces an enzyme called coagulase. Staphylococcus gets into the bloodstream from the skin surface. Under the influence of coagulase, the blood starts coagulating. Staphylococcus gets inside microthrombus and it leads to development of staphylococcus sepsis, or the infection may get inside any organ and cause suppurative inflammation. Staphylococcus infections may cause development of osteomyelitis (bone tissue inflammation). Staphylococcus can penetrate from the skin into mammary glands (the main reason of suppurative mastitis), and it can penetrate from mucuous membranes of upper airways into ears cavity, paranasal sinuses, go down into lungs (variant of staphylococcus pneumonia development).
The infection produces a powerful poison that may cause serious diseases. Staphylococcus toxin (exfoliatin) effects newborn infants. Staphylococcus infections lead to development of pemphigus – “scalded skin syndrome”. Staphylococcus toxins used to cause toxic shock syndrome discribed in 1980 at the dawn of application of sorbing tampons during menstruation. The most widespread toxic staphylococcus disease is food poisoning. 50% of Staphylococcus aureus produce enterotoxin, the poison causing furious diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pains.
Staphylococcus multiplies in many food products, butter creams, vegetable and meat salads, and in tinned food. When staphylococcus multiplies the toxin is accumulated in food and food intoxication symptoms are connected with this toxin and not with staphylococcus itself.
Staphylococcus is notable for its diversity of types. Very often, infections are caused not by one but two or more types of staphylococcus.
