Patients who harbor the highly contagious bacterium causing staph infections can develop serious and sometimes deadly symptoms a year or longer after initial detection, a UC Irvine infectious disease researcher has found.
If left untreated, staph infections can be deadly. Rarely, staph germs are resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat them. This infection, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), causes severe infection and death.
Each case of staph infection is different, but most often staph will resolve in 1-3 weeks. Once you complete your antibiotic treatment, you'll no longer be contagious, but you should keep any skin infection clean and covered until it is completely gone.
Staphylococcus aureus (or 'staph') is a kind of germ (bacteria) that is a common cause of skin infections. For most people staph skin infections clear up after treatment and seldom return, but for some people staph skin infections can recur or be an ongoing problem.
Are you embarrassed, or believe it's just a cut that won't heal or a rash that won't go away? Think again. Although most staph infections may not be severe, you still want to seek medical attention. Staph infection can become deadly if not properly treated, by entering your bloodstream or organs.
Antibiotics commonly prescribed to treat staph infections include cefazolin, nafcillin, oxacillin, vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid. For serious staph infections, vancomycin may be required.
Staph infections are caused by bacteria called staphylococcus. They most often affect the skin. They can go away on their own, but sometimes they need to be treated with antibiotics.
Epidemiologic and environmental factors, such as exposure to health care, age, household contacts with S. aureus SSTI, and contaminated household fomites are associated with recurrence.
Yes. Many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not require antibiotics. Drainage of skin boils or abscesses should only be done by a healthcare provider. Do not try to drain the infection yourself.
Symptoms of a staphylococcus infection can range from irritated skin, to painful lumps and swelling, to fever, racing heart, and confusion if the bacteria enter your bloodstream. Some people carry staph bacteria on their skin or in their nose but never experience any symptoms from it.
In healthy people, the body's natural immune defenses typically keep CA-MRSA infections in the skin, and appropriate antibiotics can effectively treat them. However, patients who are immunocompromised have difficulty fighting the bacteria, which can become invasive and cause life-threating infections.
Any suspicious area of red or painful skin. A high fever or fever accompanying skin symptoms. Pus-filled blisters. Two or more family members who have been diagnosed with a staph infection.
Staph bacteria can be lying dormant on your skin; however, this dormancy can be broken and lead to an active infection if you have an injury or cut.
If the sore becomes unusually painful or red, get prompt medical attention. If red lines develop, that's a sign the infection is spreading and needs immediate medical attention.
How long it takes for a staph skin infection to heal depends on the type of infection and whether it's treated. A boil, for example, may take 10 to 20 days to heal without treatment, but treatment may speed up the healing process.
When common antibiotics don't kill the staph bacteria, it means the bacteria have become resistant to those antibiotics. This type of staph is called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
Infections of the skin or other soft tissues by the hard-to-treat MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria appear to permanently compromise the lymphatic system, which is crucial to immune system function.
Vitamin A deficiency predisposes to Staphylococcus aureus infection.
Fever and low blood pressure
This can cause a blood infection known as bacteremia, which can initially lead to a fever and low blood pressure. Once in your blood, this kind of staph infection can spread to your heart, bones, and other organs—and result in a number of serious or even deadly infections.
The only way to know for sure if you have a staph infection is by seeing a health care provider. A cotton swab is used to collect a sample from an open skin rash or skin sore.
Blood Test
A test can also be used to determine whether you're infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph that's resistant to common antibiotics. Like other staph infections, MRSA can spread to bones, joints, blood, and organs, causing serious damage.
Some people carry staph bacteria on their skin or in their noses, but they do not get an infection. But if they get a cut or wound, the bacteria can enter the body and cause an infection. Staph bacteria can spread from person to person.
Even healthy people often carry these bacteria, experiencing no related issues most of the time (or only minor infections). However, if the staphylococcus bacteria manage to enter a person's bloodstream, lungs, heart, joints, or bones, a staph infection can become a serious concern.