What are the symptoms of MRSA?

Question

A couple months ago, I developed ringworm on my leg that starting becoming surrounded with decent-sized blisters (not boils). At first, my doctor believed it was MRSA that was contracted through the ringworm. But when tests came back, another doctor told me that I was negative for MRSA and that it was just a staph infection.

She perscribed me to meds that cured both the ringworm and the blisters, although the area in which the blister/ringworm was looks as if it were bruised (barely visible today)

But a couple days ago, I noticed a single blister near my armpit no more than a quarter of an inch wide. At first, it hurt much as the staph blisters on my leg did has since developed a scab and doesn't hurt much at all.

Here are my concerns:

Could this be MRSA? Even though my doctor told me it wasn't, a recent MRSA cover-up I heard about has me worried as well as many surrounding schools infected with it.

What are the symptoms of MRSA and how deadly is it?

Answer 1

MRSA is a sub-species of staphylococcus. The symptoms of a MRSA infection would be the same as that of any bacterial infection, that is, fever, malaise, aches and the like. Locally, you cannot distinguish a staph infection from MRSA. You are more likely to get MRSA from a hospital than from outside in the general populations. Media hype aside, you are more likely to be in an automobile accident than to develop MRSA infection. MRSA is mostly fatal in the immunocompromised, that is the very young, the very old and those who's immune systems are already under seige from surgery, trauma or other infections.
Your blister was likely caused by the garden variety staphylococcus that lives on all of us all the time. It could have been an infected sweat gland or pimple. It's already healed (scabbed over) so your chances of having MRSA at this time are virtually nil.
You are fine.

Answer 2

Go to www.webmd.com.