If hospital staff think that you may be carrying MRSA,
they will arrange for you to have one or more tests, such
as swabbing of the nose, groin and any open wounds. If
you are found to be colonised with MRSA (i.e. carrying it
on your skin), but not infected, then you may be asked to
use antiseptic washes, powders or creams. These will help
to reduce the risk of an infection developing or of spreading
the bacterium to other patients.

If you are infected with MRSA, further tests will be carried
out to decide the best course of treatment. There are many
different strains of MRSA, with varying degrees of resistance
to antibiotics. Serious infections will be treated with one of the
few broad-spectrum antibiotics that are still effective against
MRSA. These drugs can have severe side effects and so you
will usually need to stay in hospital while you are treated.
Patients infected with MRSA are often isolated to reduce the
risk of spreading the infection to other patients.

If you have an open wound which is infected with MRSA,
you may also receive a specialist barrier dressing, such as
those impregnated with silver. These dressings help to destroy
MRSA and prevent cross infection. This is important since
MRSA often develops in wounds and can easily be spread
from one wound to another.

MRSA can be difficult to treat and you may need to remain in
hospital for a number of weeks or even months. On average,
the length of stay of a patient infected with MRSA is increased
by 11 days (NAO Report 2004).