When MRSA travels to the lungs, it would make anyone one panic in fear. It is serious because it can affect the amount of oxygen that your body is able to acquire and utilize. To increase the chance of survival from MRSA in the lungs, an early diagnosis is a must.
When the diagnosis is prompt, the treatment can begin and prevent the spread to other parts of the body (brain or spinal cord) or to other people. When the infection spread to other parts of the body it can become life threatening very quickly.
This staph infection is highly contagious and resistant to most antibiotics, which makes it difficult to treat.
Beginning In The Lungs
A MRSA infection may start in the lungs. This occurs when surgery or other medical procedure isn’t done with properly sterilized equipment or sanitary guidelines aren’t followed by healthcare workers, which results in it being spread from one patient to another. Hospital Acquired (HA-MRSA) is spread by contaminated equipment being shared.
About Contaminated Equipment
Some types of equipment include the following:
- Ventilators
- Tubes
- Surgery tools
- IV’s
- Catheters
When in the hospital, a person is in a weakened state and more susceptible to a bacterial infection, so extra precautions are needed.
The infection can also travel to the lungs from an infection that starts on the skin and isn’t treated. (Recommended reading – MRSA Early Stages) Surgery and other procedures can cause a break in the skin which will allow the MRSA bacteria to enter the body. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, the infection can spread quickly to other parts of the body, like the lungs.
Unlike other lung infections, this type of lung infection will have fewer antibiotics that will be effective in treating it.
What Are Signs To Watch For?
When a MRSA infection is being treated, signs that the infection is under control should be noticeable within a few days after treatment begins. When there are new symptoms, the infected area grows, or symptoms get worse, it is important to immediately contact your health care professional because those are signs (MRSA Symptoms of Pneumonia – livestrong.com) that the treatment is not effective and the bacteria are continuing to grow. Possible signs and symptoms has spread to the lungs include the following:
- Flu like symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing
- Pneumonia symptoms
- Excessive fatigue
- Fever
Treating MRSA promptly will prevent it from spreading to the lungs or other parts of the body and becoming serious.
Using Tests To Diagnose
MRSA in the lungs is diagnosed with a blood test or with a biopsy. Unlike an infection on the skin, an infection in the lungs cannot be swabbed. A MRSA strain is identified by a blood test to determine its DNA or by a culture. Both are need to accurately diagnose the bacteria strain, because a culture can reveal a new strain of bacteria that has mutated or evolved to become resistant to some antibiotics. Once the bacterium is accurately identified, it can be treated with the most effective antibiotic.
When MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is in the lungs, it is serious because it can affect the amount of oxygen that the body is able to acquire and utilize. Quick diagnoses of MRSA in its early stages and prompt treatment will normally prevent it from traveling to the lungs, unless this infection begins initially in the lungs.
