• cellulitis (infection of the skin or the fat and tissues that lie immediately beneath the skin, usually starting as small red bumps in the skin),
• boils (pus-filled infections of hair follicles),
• abscesses (collections of pus in under the skin),
• sty (infection of eyelid gland),
• carbuncles (infections larger than an abscess, usually with several openings to the skin), and
• impetigo (a skin infection with pus-filled blisters).

MRSA infections can look exactly like ordinary staph infections of the skin: a small red bump, pimple, or boil. The area may be red, painful, swollen, or warm to the touch. Pus or other fluids may drain from the sore. Most MRSA skin infections are mild, but they can change, becoming deeper and more serious.

Bug bites, rashes, and other skin conditions can be confused with MRSA because the symptoms may be similar: red, swollen, warm, or tender. ER doctors routinely ask patients who arrive with a painful spider bite whether they actually saw the spider, because these "bites" so often turn out to be MRSA instead. When a skin infection spreads or does not improve after 2-3 days on usual antibiotics, it may be MRSA.

MRSA can sometimes cause a deeper infection called an abscess, which is a collection of pus that can be underneath the skin. A minor skin infection that goes without proper, timely treatment, can develop into an abscess. This type of infection may require surgical drainage and antibiotics to heal.