My own BS10 has MRSA. There are many different strains of this. Some are the flesh eating type that you see on TV. Some are just a virus.
My son got it a few years and now every.single.time. he skins his knee (which is alot) once the scrap heals he'll get a boil on his leg, near the scab. I've taken him to the doc and they've lanced it before (which he HATED) and ran tests of the stuff that came out of the boil. My DS's doctor isn't concerned so i try to take his word for it.
BS's school has never sent him home but we keep them covered, clean and have taken him to the doc before for this.
I'd try to get some info from the BM or have your DH contact the Doctor to find out for sure.

God will forgive me. It's his job.
~~Heinrich Heine

MRSA is not a normal staph infection. Almost everyone has normal staph on their skin and in their mucous membranes. MRSA is a particular strain of staph that is resistant to antibiotics normally prescribed to fight a staph infection.

MRSA can be colonized (or present) on a person without causing an infection. It usually has to get into an open sore to cause infection. If she tested negative for MRSA, there's nothing to worry about. But even if she was positive for MRSA, it is not necessary to quarantine her or keep her out of your home. Just practice proper infection control habits like you would for any other communicable disease.

• Wash hands frequently
• Wash surfaces that come into contact with the infected area often with hot soapy water
• Wash bed linens, towels, and clothes in hot water and dry on hot, if possible.
• Cover all wounds on everyone - not just the infected person
• Keep hand sanitizer around the house
• Only use antibiotics or other medicines IF prescribed and take them AS prescribed for AS LONG AS they are prescribed.

Since she tested negative for MRSA, I would not worry too much about it. Really, I wouldn't worry much about it even if she did. Just make sure that all new skin infections are tested by the doctor and that you follow their advice on treatment so that it doesn't develop into something more serious.

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

MRSA is a type of staph infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is what MRSA stands for. It is a more drug resistant type of staph infection and it does not respond to the first line of drug treatments of a normal staph infection. MRSA is the type of staph more commonly found in hospitals and nursing home settings but is now being found out in the community. (DH and I both contracted MRSA in the fall of 2007 and we have no idea how).

Nearly everybody carries staph on their bodies and it is most commonly found in the nose however not every type of staph carried is in fact MRSA staph. If she has an active boil on her body then she needs to keep it clean and keep it covered and wash her hands very often to keep from spreading the staph because it is definitely contagious. She also needs to be 100% what type of staph infection she is dealing with so she can properly treat it. Guessing at treatment can be deadly when you're dealing with a MRSA infection.

Having had this myself, I would not want her in my house unless I knew she had been tested and was following strict doctor's orders on treatment.

DH and I had to shower twice a day with special soap, take 2 sets of medicines (I even had to have 2 full days of IV antibiotics) for 30 days, thoroughly clean EVERYTHING in the house, and use a special antibiotic ointment on the sore as well as in our noses to beat out the infection. It was HORRIBLE but none of our kids contracted it from us thankfully.

It is nothing to mess with I assure you. Take it seriously.

I agree with the above posters. My BD5 had it and I had to explain to dbf with the number of kids all together not just in our home but moomoo's (BM) home that it wouldn't hurt anything for skids to stay with their mom longer. Gives the chance to clear up the situation rather than spread it and infect more people. BD5 had to go through 2 rounds of ointment and antibiotics to kick hers-took about 3 wks to get it to the point where people in our community would stop freaking out about it. I explained to him I was not being hateful just responsible. Not the first time I've had to do this-BD5 had pneumonia (she and her sister are asthmatics) and somehow SS7 had contracted mono and he was actually going to accept him coming and staying with us. We had no one and no way to stay at home with him the recommended time before he was considered not contagious and return to school. Sucks that us gals always have to think through the logistics of these things but get made to feel like the villain if we say "no". I had to tell mine I could not keep affording the $20 copay plus cost of meds when serious germs happen and there wasnt a type of "quarantine" put in place. I often separated my littlest one from them and vice versa when they had sniffles or showed any signs of illness. He thought I was being mean-this from a man who couldn't be bothered to make sure they washed their hands when they were done in the bathroom. WTH?!? told me to become the bathroom cop and I said his problem not mine. UGHH!!!!

**I only have one shot at a truly great life and not one spent waiting for a man to notice me, want me, love me and be true to only me. 2010 is the year of "me" - if you don't want to be a has-been in '10 where I'm concerned better get it in gear and catch up**