i'm sorry to hear what you went through. mrsa can be a very nasty bug indeed. as you probably know (but for the benefit of others reading this response) mrsa stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas. this bacterium is resistant to treatment by many antibiotics. thankfully vancomycin still works to kill it. i understand your concern about the infection coming back. you are not being paranoid in thinking this way. usually the iv vancomycin treatment completely eradicates the bug but not always. here are things you should watch for: fever over 101. 3f localized heat in any joint but especially on the finger or hand where the mrsa originally was colonized localized swelling especially on the originally affected hand swollen hot angry red tissue -- especially on the originally affected hand any of those signs should send you quickly back to your treating physician. while i noted you should mainly focus your attention on the hand that was originally infected don't ignore other limbs. basically if you get any weird symptoms -- whether around your knee or in the opposite arm or whatever -- you should check back with your healthcare provider. also if your physician agrees it wouldn't hurt to have your sed (sedimentation) rate monitored for awhile. this blood test basically measures inflammation in your body. people with a serious infection like mrsa have an elevated sed rate. in some people who have had mrsa the sed rate remains elevated for a long time and it's nothing to worry about. but it's a test infectious disease professionals routinely look at in people who have or had mrsa. chances are you will never have a problem with mrsa again but you're wise to stay vigilant for awhile. and if you ever decide to have joint replacement surgery pacemaker implantation or any surgery that puts hardware into your body be sure to mention your mrsa history to your surgeon. wishing you well!
i had mrsa that penetrated bone in what ways will mrsa reapear what do i look for to prevent another serious ocurance? . bone infection was removed from finger. underwent surgery and 6 weeks of vancomycin iv treatment. i am an otherwise very healthy 32 yr old woman.