Potentially Deadly Infection, Once
Seen Primarily in Hospitalized Patients, Is Now Linked to Common Foot
Conditions in the Community
![MRSA]()
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Americans are developing drug-resistant staph infections, known as MRSA, from
common, relatively minor foot problems such as cuts, cracks in the skin,
athlete’s foot and ingrown toenails.
“If you have a cut or a scrape that gets infected and it’s
not healing in a timely fashion, don’t hesitate to get it checked out,” said
Karl Collins, DPM, FACFAS, a foot and ankle surgeon in St. Louis. Dr. Collins
said he’s diagnosed community-associated MRSA infections in patients with
athlete’s foot and even a six-year-old who stubbed his toe.
Brandi Johnson, DPM, AACFAS, has treated
numerous patients for community-associated MRSA. The Brandon, Fla., foot
and ankle surgeon says half of those patients had infected ingrown toenails.
Puncture wounds, pedicures and cuts from glass and seashells caused the rest of
the infections.
One of Johnson’s patients was a teenage boy. He waited
months before seeing a doctor for an infected ingrown toenail. After the boy’s
primary care doctor referred him to Johnson, she ran several tests. Results
showed a community-associated MRSA infection. Even worse, it had spread to bone
in the teen’s big toe. He recovered after six weeks of intravenous antibiotics.
“I’ve had several high schoolers come in with ingrown
toenails,” Dr. Johnson said. “Their pediatricians started them on antibiotics
and sent them to my office. Lab results showed they all had MRSA.”
Preventing Infection
Staph bacteria such as MRSA are common. One in three people
carry them. The bacteria live on the skin and in the nose and are spread
through skin contact. Even minor tears in the skin’s surface open the door to
bacteria and infection. Skin conditions such as athlete’s foot, calluses,
corns, eczema and psoriasis can create breaks in the skin. Walking barefoot
increases the risk of cuts and puncture wounds. Foot and ankle surgeons say
simple steps can prevent community-associated MRSA infections:
- Wash
and bandage cuts.
- See a
doctor within 24 hours for any puncture wound.
- Never
perform “bathroom surgeries” to cut or dig out an ingrown toenail.
- Keep
feet clean and dry to prevent fungal infections such as athlete’s foot.
Information provided by The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons