Intravenous drug use provokes terrible conditions on a person’s body. Someone who shoots mind-altering drugs into their veins to gain the quickest high is putting themselves at risk for harmful physical infections which could turn into a chronic disease. Staph infections, abscesses, HIV, and Hepatitis C are just a few of the serious maladies that can occur which if not taken care of, could turn into MRSA.
What is MRSA?
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an infectious disease that can result when the bacteria of staph infections are not responding to the antibiotics used to treat it. These bacteria are typically harmless unless they come in contact with a wound or a cut such as the infected track marks from intravenous drug use. In healthy people, the bacteria may only cause minor skin irritation, but in people who are sick, especially from drug addiction, they can become seriously infected straight away.
Is MRSA Deadly?
The answer is yes. Although antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, years of unnecessary antibiotic use has resulted in MRSA to affect anyone susceptible. MRSA tends to be resistant to antibiotics making this illness very difficult to treat and causing infections to spread in a life-threatening way. The bloodstream, lungs, heart, bones, spine, brain and joints become much more vulnerable to MRSA because the infection starts taking over the body. Once the bacteria have contact with skin near an area that is afflicted such as an abscess, the bacteria will get into the bloodstream to be transported to all areas of the body.
How Are Drug Users Affected?
Drug users are the cause of staph infections being spread in communities. According to The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people who inject drugs are an estimated 16 times more likely to develop invasive MRSA infections than others. Sharing needles, having unprotected sex, or touching unsanitary surfaces can begin an outbreak of MRSA that is commonly found in drug communities.
Are There Ways to Prevent MRSA?
First and foremost, getting sober from drug and alcohol addiction is imperative. Cessation from intravenous drugs can tremendously cut down on infected areas being the culprit for staph infections or MRSA. Keeping the drug environment sterile or using new needles for every use is hard to uphold and getting sober is a person’s best bet to stay alive.
If you, or someone you know, are struggling with drugs and alcohol, Detox Center of Colorado offers an “Expanded Recovery” program to help you find the solution to your addiction in recovery. With the power of recovery, clients are restored to full health and experience life-changing healing. Call us today for more information: 303-536-5463
