MRSA in Children : Causes and Treatment by Dr. Srikanta J T

When a child gets hurt and has a wound, a cut or a scrape, bacteria find any entryway into the body. In most cases, the wound heals itself and sometimes children may need additional antibiotics to ensure that the wound does not get infected.

In the case of MRSA bacteria, there are no antibiotics that can efficiently fight this bacterium. For this reason, MRSA in children can be quite difficult to treat

Signs of MRSA in Children

If your kid is showing the following symptoms then you should immediately contact your family doctor. It is better to handle MRSA with a doctor’s advice and not by yourself as the infection can spread if not cured properly. The MRSA symptoms are:

• Having painful, red, push-filled, swollen bumps on the skin that looks like a boil or pimple.
• Having these red bumps near the place of any cut or wound. The skin around the sore is hot or warm.
• Fluid-filled blisters or rash. Sometimes the sore can leak fluid.
• If the child and other family members have similar spots and fever, weakness at the same time.
• Along with the skin-related symptoms, other MRSA in children symptoms are chills, fever, sleepiness or dizziness, headache, fainting, etc.

If you notice these signs of MRSA passing between your family members or at your kid’s school then take extra precautions.

What Are the Causes of MRSA in Children?

MRSA in children can spread potentially in schools, playgrounds, gymnasiums, sports locker rooms, or changing rooms. In these places, your kid will have skin-to-skin contact with other kids.

They may have to share the same sports equipment or toys; while playing, they may get cuts and scrapes or insect bites, and from this little access to the inner skin, this tiny MRSA bacteria can infect your child.

What Are the Possible Complications of MRSA in Children?

MRSA infection generally affects the skin. But, if not treated early, it can spread to the lungs, bloodstream, heart, joints, and other organs. MRSA can happen to anyone at any age. But as children have a relatively low immunity power or as they are more prone to touches from their friends while playing, the parents need to take special care.

The cases of the new antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection have doubled during the last 5 years. A healthy person and even children are getting head and neck infections from MRSA.

It is a community-associated MRSA that can easily transfer from one person to another and spread through the entire community. MRSA in children generally causes skin infection only. But in rare cases, it can lead up to pneumonia.

[Read : Pneumonia in Children]

How to Treat MRSA in Children?

If your kid is showing these MRSA symptoms take the doctor’s advice:

• The doctor can treat the sore by draining out the pus or fluid.
• S/he can prescribe antibiotic ointment to apply on the infected area.
• S/he can give you effective antibiotics to take orally.
• In a mild case, the doctor will advise you to bandage and clean the infected area, but in a severe case, s/he may admit your kid to the hospital.
• In such a severe case, the intravenous antibiotics have to be fed directly through the child’s vein by a small plastic tube.
• The doctor can even arrange a minor surgery to remove the infection.

Treating MRSA at Home

To treat MRSA in children at home, while you are changing the bandage of your kid or cleaning the infected area, you will have to maintain some precautions so that the bacteria do not spread further:

• Do not touch the area with naked hands; use clean disinfected gloves.
• Use a dry and clean bandage over the infected area. Change the bandage daily.
• Properly dispose of the used bandage in the dustbin.
• Wash your hands properly after disposal.
• Change and wash your kid’s used clothes, towels, and bed sheets daily.
• Disinfect the areas your kid touched, especially the washbasin, door handles, etc.
• Make sure your kid does not touch the infected area, if so, then wash their hands properly.
• Make sure that your kid is taking every dose of the medicine on time, even if s/he feels quite better.

When to See a Doctor?

You may need to take your child to a doctor for MRSA in the following conditions.

1. Your child is showing typical signs of an MRSA infection such as areas of skin that show redness and pain, swelling, pus-filled, and is warm to the touch.
2. Any other family member is showing signs of MRSA.
3. The child or family member is showing additional signs of fever apart from the above symptoms.
4. The infection is spreading between members of the family.

So, MRSA in children is typically a skin disease that can be cured within a week if you notice it early and take proper precautions. But carelessness can lead to dangerous situations, that can even turn fatal. To avoid MRSA, teach your kid to quickly wash hands just in case they have touched their wounds.

Make them understand the reason why they should not wear or use other’s personal items or products and the need to wash their hands before eating. Most important, immediately call the doctor if you see MRSA symptoms in your child at any point in time.

Read Also: Staph Infection In Toddlers – Everything You Need To Know