MRSA from an Ingrown Toenail

A local football player is battling MRSA for the 2nd time.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have confirmed that their guard, Carl Nicks is again being treated for MRSA.  Media sources indicate that the initial cause was an ingrown toenail.

MRSA is an infection of Staph aureus that is found to be resistant to the antibiotic Methicillin.  The media makes the population fearful of MRSA but we do have antibiotics that can fight it.

Additionally, ingrown toenails can become bacterially infected and MRSA can be the cause.  It is important to point out, however, that most ingrown toenails can be treated in the office through excision and oral antibiotics.

As is true with most foot problems, any pain or problems are easier to address earlier rather than later.  I do not know what happened with Carl Nicks but I suspect his ingrown toenail became so infected that the bone in the toe got infected necessitating IV antibiotics.

The moral of the story: If you think you have an ingrown nail, see a podiatrist as soon as you are able for treatment.

Tom Hanks Makes an Announcement

Earlier this week, on late night TV, Tom Hanks announced that he has been diagnosed with diabetes.  He talked about lifestyle changes he needed to make and also a little about how the disease effects the body.  I have had a few patients over the years that presented with foot problems that lead me to suspect that he or she could be a diabetic.  The patient usually knew something wasn't quite right but was completely unaware that this disease was present.

One of the earliest signs of diabetes in terms of the foot would be numbness or tingling.  Diabetes is a disease of high blood sugar and this high blood sugar can cause several problems with the body.  Diabetic neuropathy is caused when nerve fibers are damaged by the high blood sugar.  This can be uncomfortable as a bothersome numbness in the feet but also can lead to pain.  Besides the discomfort, this loss of feeling can but a patient at risk for injury.  For example, a stone in the shoe can cause a sore.  A person without diabetic neuropathy would remove his or her shoe and remove the stone, but a diabetic patient may not even know that there is a stone in his or her shoe.  Left in the shoe the stone can lead to a sore or ulceration.

If you think you have diabetes you should see a physician for testing.  Symptoms are not just tingling in the feet but also weight loss, increased thirst, and increased urination.