My father has MRSA, do I have it now?

Question

My father was just diagnosed with MRSA and was immediately put on some form of antibiotics. The past week I had noticed a zit or pimple developing on my nose, right above the nostril, and thought nothing of it. A week later, it is really no longer a zit, but an irritated, embarrassing, red bump on my nose. Is it possible that I've contracted it?

I do not normally suffer from acne.

Answer 1

The same staph bacteria that causes your father's trouble lives on the skin of nearly everyone on the planet. It causes trouble when it gets into the skin, and the drug resistant types have gotten a lot of sensational media coverage of late. So I understand you feeling nervous. But it is not likely you have caught anything from your father, it isn't spread through casual contact that way. What you have is most likely a super pimple coming on. It happens to us all. Apply heat, and keep your face and hands clean. Don't squeeze or press on it at all, and don't try lotions or potions to try to do anything. In a few days with the heat applications, usually a day or so, it will make a whitehead like all zits and drain all by itself. When you notice it starts to drain, apply heat and it will completely drain and start to heal. You can clean the area with a witch hazel or a regular acne skin wash, and apply a gel with benzylperoxide to dry up any excess oil. Keep your hands clean and away from the face, and don't go messing with it. If you do mess with it, you can spread the bacteria to other spots, and get more breakouts. If you squeeze the spot before it's ready to drain you can rupture it under the skin and just make matters worse. So just relax and apply heat. So long as you aren't running a fever and feeling ill, it's likely just a super zit.

Answer 2

you probably just have acne.Keep in mind, mrsa is a highly contagious viral infection.It wouldn't hurt to get yourself on some antibiotics to be on the safe side.If you contract mrsa and your farther gets treated,there is a chance that you'll keep passing it back and forth.