Page last reviewed: 10 June Next review due: 10 June Staph infection. Check if you have a staph skin infection Symptoms of a staph skin infection can include: A painful red lump or bump on the skin This is often a boil or carbuncle cluster of boils.
This could be an infection called cellulitis. This could be impetigo, which often affects the face. A red, swollen eyelid could be a stye. Information: Staph bacteria can also cause more serious infections, like blood poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. This happens often where people shave or have irritated skin from rubbing against clothing. A furuncle fyoor-UNK-ul , commonly known as a boil : These swollen, red, painful lumps in the skin usually are due to an infected hair follicle.
The lump fills with pus, growing larger and more painful until it ruptures and drains. Furuncles often begin as folliculitis and then worsen. They most often appear on the face, neck, buttocks, armpits, and inner thighs, where small hairs can get irritated. A cluster of several furuncles is called a carbuncle KAR-bunk-ul. Someone with a carbuncle may feel ill and and have a fever. Impetigo im-puh-TYE-go : This superficial skin infection is most common in young children, usually on the face, hands, or feet.
It begins as a small blister or pimple, and then develops a honey-colored crust. Cellulitis sell-yuh-LYE-tus : This begins as a small area of redness, pain, swelling, and warmth on the skin, usually on the legs.
As this area spreads, a child may feel feverish and ill. A stye : Kids with one of these have a red, warm, uncomfortable bump near the edge of the eyelid. MRSA : This type of staph bacteria is resistant to the antibiotics used treat staph infections. MRSA infections can be harder to treat, but most heal with proper care. Most MRSA infections involve the skin. Scalded skin syndrome: This most often affects newborns and kids under age 5. It starts with a small staph skin infection, but the staph bacteria make a toxin that affects skin all over the body.
The child has a fever, rash, and sometimes blisters. As blisters burst and the rash passes, the top layer of skin sheds and the skin surface becomes red and raw, like a burn. This serious illness affects the body in the same way as serious burns. It needs to be treated in a hospital. After treatment, most kids make a full recovery.
Wound infections: These cause symptoms redness, pain, swelling, and warmth similar to those from cellulitis. A person might have fever and feel sick in general. Pus or a cloudy fluid can drain from the wound and a yellow crust can develop. Additionally, staph infections are more common in individuals who use illegal drugs. Sometimes staph bacteria spreads through medical tubing, such as dialysis tubes, urinary catheters, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, or intravascular catheters.
You might have a greater chance of getting staph if you use certain devices that require tubing. Playing a contact sport is another risk factor for staph. The bacteria can spread through skin-to-skin contact while playing or through touching equipment, towels, razors, or other items that are shared in the locker room.
Recent research has shown household environments play an important role in how staph infections, such as MRSA, are spread. One study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found that staph is more likely spread from person to person in a residence that: 5. Hygiene habits that reduced the risk of staph spread among household members include showering instead of taking baths, brushing teeth twice daily, and practicing frequent hand-washing.
To diagnose a staph infection, your doctor will examine any skin lesions you have and possibly take a skin or tissue sample or throat or nasal swab for a lab test to identify the cause of the infection. In some cases a doctor may order certain imaging tests if a deeper or internal infection is suspected.
An echocardiogram , for example, can help your provider determine if the infection has affected your heart. Be sure to include the following items:. Any underlying medical conditions you have may also influence how quickly you heal and recover. Most superficial skin infections can be easily treated. But if you develop a serious infection that turns into sepsis, your prognosis is much worse. Some studies, such as one published in in The American Journal of Medicine , show death rates from staph infection of the bloodstream range from 20 to 40 percent.
The healing time for a staph infection depends on your age, your overall health, the type of infection you have, and what treatment you use. For instance, a boil can take 10 to 20 days to heal without treatment, but certain medicines may speed up the process, notes Kids Health. Antibiotics are the main line of treatment for most staph infections. The choice of antibiotic depends in part on how serious your infection is and what type of staph you have.
Some minor skin infections will heal on their own with no drug treatment. Invasive staph infections usually require hospitalization for IV antibiotic treatment to fight the infection and other supportive treatment to help you heal.
Antibiotics commonly used to treat staph infections include: 3. Some people are interested in alternative therapies to treat their staph infections. Many internet claims tout applying natural substances, such as coconut oil , tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar , and essential oils, to the skin.
One natural remedy that has shown promise is manuka honey. This type of honey has demonstrated antimicrobial activity and the ability to enhance the effects of some antibiotics. Still, more research needs to be done before manuka honey can safely be used to treat staph, according to an article published in in Letters in Applied Microbiology.
Staph bacteria are everywhere. Stay clean. Keeping your hands and body clean is the most important way to prevent a staph infection. Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds at a time, and shower daily. Clean any wounds. Clean cuts, scrapes, and other injuries thoroughly with soap and water to rinse out dirt and bacteria. Avoid sharing personal items. Change tampons frequently. If you use tampons, change them at least every four to eight hours to avoid developing toxic shock syndrome.
Keeping tampons in for extended periods creates an environment that can cause bacteria to grow. Wash clothing and linens in hot water. If you or someone in your household has a staph infection, wash your clothes, towels, and bedding in hot water, using bleach, if possible.
Dry the laundry in the dryer, making sure it is completely dry before you remove it. Be careful about the food you eat. Wash your hands before preparing food or eating finger foods. Make sure that the hot foods you eat stay hot until you serve them, and the cold foods stay cold. The temperature of hot foods should be above degrees F, and the temperature of cold foods should be below 40 degrees F.
Use clean razors to shave. If you get a staph infection in an area you normally shave, avoid shaving until the infection clears. If you must shave, use a clean, disposable razor. Wash yourself and your clothing after playing sports. Athletes should shower right after a game, competition, or practice. Also, wash your workout clothes and uniforms regularly, and keep your equipment clean.
One of the most serious complications of a staph infection happens when the bacteria invade the bloodstream and cause an inflammatory response known as sepsis. Sepsis can turn into septic shock , a life-threatening condition that causes your blood pressure to drop dramatically and additionally causes organ damage. More than 1. In the United States, sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitals.
Sepsis is more common in very young children, older adults, and those with chronic diseases or weakened immune systems. Still, a CDC report released in March found that more than , people had a bloodstream staph infection in the United States in , and nearly 20, died. The report also stated that while rates of MRSA bloodstream infections acquired in hospital settings declined by about 17 percent annually from to , the rate of decline slowed from to Meanwhile, the rate of community-onset MRSA declined by an average of 6.
The rate of hospital-onset methicillin-susceptible S. Staph infections, including MRSA, can affect children and may be more common in those who spend time at daycare facilities, and in kids who play team sports, notes the University of Rochester.
Sometimes staph bacteria can transfer from one animal to another, from a human to an animal, and in some cases, from an animal to a human. Talk to your veterinarian if you think your pet might have an infection, notes PetMD. Anyone can develop a staph infection, but some research suggests that Black Americans in particular may be more susceptible to staph infections than people of other backgrounds. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Black Americans and people age 65 and older were among the most likely to contract a serious MRSA infection.
The researchers theorized that Black people may be more susceptible to the infection than white people because they have higher rates of underlying medical conditions.
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