Risks of MRSA & piercings

[kimmel]

My daughter who is just graduated high school has had 4 cases of MRSA in the last 12 months. She was last treated with a nasal antibiotic; twice daily for 5 days. While cleaning her room I found 3 unused doses... will this make the treatment less effective & can the MRSA return? She also wants to get her belly button pierced which I think is unwise given her recent health history. Am I overreacting & what are the potential health risks?

[jerrydub]

not finishing antibiotics will only make the MRSA resistant to whatever antibiotic your daughter used! I should know...I have MRSA.  If you want more information please feel free to contact me. Best wishes.

[leighanne143]

she will always have the MRSA.  she needs to take car eof herself especially when she has a cut.  she is suseptable to MRSA all the time now.  i would not recomment a piercing because if it gets infected, it could easily turn to MRSA>

[jesslee83]

mrsa is a highly contagious issue(MOST healthy people will not get it, but bacteria can be strange on its own)....i worked in a nursing home a few years ago, and remember several of the residents getting it at once, and they had to be quarantined...she should NOT get any more piercings, at least till they find why she keeps getting this.....when she does this, she runs a high risk of transferring it to others...this disease is very easily spread through touch, even though it's not airborne...it typically "resides" in the nasal areas, urine, blood, and the skin....in 2005, apparently more teens were killed by mrsa than hiv!  alot of people don't realize how bad this disease is, and if untreated it can lead to open oozing sores that can affect ANYONE within reach of the person.....when that happens, you end up with a full out outbreak, a very contagious one at that....mrsa generally repeatedly affects persons like the elderly, who have less than good immune systems....i think your daughter needs to have a 100% blood mark up done, and find out if there is an underlying, yet previously undectected reason for this....also, if she is getting it repeatedly, i think you may want to spend the $ to have your whole family tested, and also speak to her about getting her friends tested.....if she has a friend who is in her position who says "oh i'm fine it'll go away" and is not being treated nor diagnosed correctly, then your community could end up with a very large issue at hand....from what i could learn online about elderly who had the right to refuse meds, the bacteria often spread and made it harder to treat....so there is a possiblility that if your daughter is willfully neglecting her meds, then she is somewhat the cause of the returning of mrsa.....i'm sorry for her unforunate experience, but it kind of seems your daughter is not very well educated about how this can affect her.....