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.
Treatment usually involves antibiotics and cleaning of the infected area. However, some staph infections no longer respond, or become resistant, to common antibiotics. To treat antibiotic-resistant staph infections, health care providers may need to use antibiotics that can cause more side effects.
Staph infections are caused by bacteria called staphylococcus. They most often affect the skin. They can go away on their own, but often they need to be treated with antibiotics.
Recovery time and outlook
The recovery time for a staph infection depends on the type and severity of the infection, as well as the strength of a person's immune system. Food poisoning staph will usually pass within 24–48 hours, but it may take 3 days or longer to feel well.
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.
It is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections such as abscesses (boils), furuncles, and cellulitis. Although most staph infections are not serious, S. aureus can cause serious infections such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia, or bone and joint infections.
Symptoms of a Staph infection include redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness of the skin, and boils or blisters. How do Staph skin infections spread? Staph/MRSA lives on the skin and survives on objects for 24 hours or more.
Septicemia: Staph bacteria in your bloodstream can cause blood poisoning, also called sepsis. Symptoms include fever and dangerously low blood pressure (hypotension). Toxic shock syndrome: A severe form of septicemia, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) symptoms include fever, muscle aches and a rash that looks like sunburn.
Antibiotics commonly prescribed to treat staph infections include cefazolin, nafcillin, oxacillin, vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid. For serious staph infections, vancomycin may be required. This is because so many strains of staph bacteria have become resistant to other traditional antibiotics.
Doctors often prescribe antibiotics for 7 to 10 days, although they may be taken for longer periods, depending on how the infection responds. Most people who take antibiotics for a staph infection feel better in two or three days.
Reduce the amount of staph on your skin or in your nose
To decrease the amount of staph on your body your doctor may, for a short period of time: Tell you to shower daily with antibacterial soap. Prescribe antibiotic ointment to put in your nose for several days.
Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is a type of bacteria found on people's skin. MRSA and MSSA are types of staph infections that are hard to treat. They can lead to serious infections or even death. These infections can come back or spread to other people.
The pus must drain for the infection to heal. You may use warm compresses to “ripen” the abscess, but DO NOT try to pop or puncture the abscess yourself. If your abscess is not draining on its own, your doctor may help the pus to drain through a small incision.
Invasive staph infections, such as sepsis (also called septicemia), endocarditis, and pneumonia, typically cause significant illness that may include fever, fast breathing or shortness of breath, fatigue, and sometimes confusion or disorientation.
They may be red, swollen, and painful. Sometimes there is pus or other drainage. They can turn into impetigo, which turns into a crust on the skin, or cellulitis, a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot. Bone infections can cause pain, swelling, warmth, and redness in the infected area.
Most of the time this means human skin bacteria, which for the most part won't be a problem. However, Staphylococcus aureus (also known as MRSA) has the potential to live in washing machines, as well as other parts of the home.
What may appear to be recurrent staph infections may in fact be due to failure to eradicate the original staph infection. Recurrent staph infections can also be due to seeding of staph from the bloodstream, a condition known as staph sepsis or staph bacteremia.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can survive on some surfaces, like towels, razors, furniture, and athletic equipment for hours, days, or even weeks.
Laundry. You need to be careful when you do laundry. Dirty clothes and bedding can spread staph or MRSA bacteria. When touching your laundry or changing your sheets, hold the dirty laundry away from your body and clothes to prevent bacteria from getting on your clothes.
If items have been contaminated by infectious material (like blood or puss), they can be laundered separately, but it is not absolutely necessary. In general, wash and dry in the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label.
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.