1 year
My 18 month old baby has a few pimples around her diaper which I think are a bacterial infection (mrsa). Which specialist should see her? A pediatrician or someone specialized in bacterial diseases?
Jun 4, 2014
First let her be checked by her pediatrician. If she doesn't respond to his treatment then let her be checked by a dermatologist.
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Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be acquired from the hospital, but it the past few years a community acquired strain (CA-MRSA) has been identified ; this strain may be carried (resides without causing active infection) mostly in the perineal and rectal areas, in children more so than in adults.
Staph aureus is known to cause a number of skin conditions, distinguishedbased uupon the skin lesion appearance and the location of the lesions, and systemic/other organ involvement (ifany) :
-Skin and soft tissue (impetigo): A small area of redness that progresses into bullae (filled with cloudy fluid) that rupture and heal with the formation of a honey-colored crust
-Scalded skin syndrome (Ritter disease): relatively rare, results from atoxin rreleased by the bacteria, with superficial fragile blisters that burst, leaving a painful base; often accompanied by fever and occasionally by thick eye discharge
-Folliculitis: A tender pustule (small lesion that contains pus) that involves the hair follicle
-Furuncle: Small abscesses (accollection of pus) characterized by producing pus-like material from a single opening; involves both the skin and the tissues underneath the skin areas with hair follicles
-Carbuncle: An aggregate of connected furuncles, with several pustular openings
In the case of your child, it does not sound like a staph infection - more likely to be a fungal infection (what you're describing sounds like what we call satellite lesions seen in fungal diaper rash). Besides vigorouslyccleaning the area, keeping it dry, your child needs to be examined in order to identify the exact nature of these lesions and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Staph aureus is known to cause a number of skin conditions, distinguishedbased uupon the skin lesion appearance and the location of the lesions, and systemic/other organ involvement (ifany) :
-Skin and soft tissue (impetigo): A small area of redness that progresses into bullae (filled with cloudy fluid) that rupture and heal with the formation of a honey-colored crust
-Scalded skin syndrome (Ritter disease): relatively rare, results from atoxin rreleased by the bacteria, with superficial fragile blisters that burst, leaving a painful base; often accompanied by fever and occasionally by thick eye discharge
-Folliculitis: A tender pustule (small lesion that contains pus) that involves the hair follicle
-Furuncle: Small abscesses (accollection of pus) characterized by producing pus-like material from a single opening; involves both the skin and the tissues underneath the skin areas with hair follicles
-Carbuncle: An aggregate of connected furuncles, with several pustular openings
In the case of your child, it does not sound like a staph infection - more likely to be a fungal infection (what you're describing sounds like what we call satellite lesions seen in fungal diaper rash). Besides vigorouslyccleaning the area, keeping it dry, your child needs to be examined in order to identify the exact nature of these lesions and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
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