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. How Do Staph Infections Spread? Staph bacteria can spread: when someone touches a contaminated surface from person to person, especially in group living situations like college dorms. Usually this happens when people with skin infections share personal things like bed linens, towels, or clothing. How Are Staph Infections Treated? Most small staph skin infections can be treated at home: Soak the affected area in warm water or apply warm, moist washcloths.
Use a cloth or towel only once when you soak or clean an area of infected skin. Then, wash them in soap and hot water and dry them fully in a clothes dryer. Put a heating pad or a hot water bottle to the skin for about 20 minutes, three or four times a day. Apply antibiotic ointment, if recommended by your doctor. Staph bacteria can travel along the medical tubing that connects the outside world with your internal organs.
Examples include:. Staph bacteria can spread easily through cuts, abrasions and skin-to-skin contact. Staph infections may also spread in the locker room through shared razors, towels, uniforms or equipment. Food handlers who don't properly wash their hands can transfer staph from their skin to the food they're preparing.
Foods that are contaminated with staph look and taste normal. If staph bacteria invade your bloodstream, you may develop a type of infection that affects your entire body. Called sepsis, this infection can lead to septic shock — a life-threatening episode with extremely low blood pressure.
Wash your hands. Careful hand-washing is your best defense against germs. Wash your hands with soap and water briskly for at least 20 seconds.
Then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. If your hands aren't visibly dirty, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Wash your hands with soap and water regularly, such as before, during and after making food; after handling raw meat or poultry; before eating; after using the bathroom; and after touching an animal or animal waste.
Wash clothing and bedding in hot water. Staph bacteria can survive on clothing and bedding that isn't properly washed. To get bacteria off clothing and sheets, wash them in hot water whenever possible. Also, use bleach on any bleach-safe materials.
Drying in the dryer is better than air-drying, but staph bacteria may survive the clothes dryer. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version.
Overview Staph infections are caused by staphylococcus bacteria, types of germs commonly found on the skin or in the nose of even healthy individuals. Staph infection Open pop-up dialog box Close. 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. Other research, published in September in Clinical Infectious Diseases, found that racial disparities in healthcare-associated MRSA infections persisted from to , even while the overall incidence of such infections decreased, with Black Americans having a 2 to 3 times higher incidence than white Americans.
More studies need to be conducted to determine why MRSA affects difference races at different rates. These are some of the other germs to be aware of, per Medline Plus: Some of the same preventive steps that can lower your risk of a staph infection, including keeping your hands and body clean and not sharing personal items such as towels and razors, can also help to reduce your risk of skin infections from other causes as well.
Mayo Clinic. Trusted resource Mayo Clinic breaks down what you need to know about Staphylococcus aureus , or staph, in simple terms without dumbing it down. Yep, covered here. Different types of infections, from skin to food poisoning to blood infections?
When you want to dig deep into the topic of staph infections, MedlinePlus is the place to start, with links to articles on the kinds of infections staph can cause, research articles, Spanish-language resources, and ongoing clinical trials related to staph infections. Consumer Reports.
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