Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus is primarily treated by incision and drainage. A name for these bacteria without methacillin such as Skin Abscess Staph needs to be used. This type of Staph Aureus has a particular propensity to cause abscess formation around hair follicles. Antibiotic treatment with methacillin or any antibiotic is not usually needed and will never replace incision and drainage of an abscess. Since antibiotic treatment is not needed the issue of methacillin resistance is not important, perhaps irrelevant.
There are cases where these bacteria can penetrate the skin and infect deeper structures. Fever is a significant sign and would prompt the use of antibiotics effective against this organism. Antibiotic resistance is a complex topic and the complexities will not be discussed here. Sufice it to say that antibiotics effective against the organism should be used in the case of fever. Methicillin is however, no longer used due to an issue with damage to the kidneys. There are guidelines that suggest how much erythema of the skin around an abscess would suggest the use of antibiotics. These guidelines are manufactured with consensus by so called experts. However, there would be no quibble with the use of antibiotics in the case of fever.
The important characteristic of this organism is its propensity for infection in skin structures particularly hair follicles. Incision of the abscess allows the abscess to drain and heal but the drainage is teeming with this bacteria. It spreads easily across adjacent skin surfaces in normal skin to other hair follicles, even tiny ones that don’t produce noticeable hair. The skin surface is not supplied with blood and systemically administered antibiotics are not effective in eradicating these staph from the skin surface.
Bacteria on the skin can be killed by drying them, even antibiotic resistant bacteria. Drying the skin after bathing or showering is particularly important. Using a hair dryer to thoroughly dry the skin is better than to rely completely on toweling off. If towels are used for multiple days they should be thoroughly dry between use.
In addition to Community Acquired Methacillin resistant Staph Aureus there is Hospital Acquired Methacillin resistant Staph Aureus. In this case antibiotics are used but not Methacillin.