There are many ways you can get a staph infection. You can get them from other people and objects in your environment. Even something seemingly harmless as a doorknob or pen you pick up from school could be one of many staph infection causes. They can carry staph bacteria such as staph aureus (golden staph). Staphylococcus bacteria is a common bacteria that live in your body. Most of the time, it doesn’t cause disease. But if it enters the body in certain ways, staph can cause a wide range of skin and health problems, sometimes serious.
How Do You Get a Staph Infection?
Several different types of staph bacteria can cause staph infections. These bacteria are normally found on the skin but can sometimes enter the body through cuts or open wounds.
Staph infection contagious is spread through contact with infected people or animals or contaminated items such as towels and sheets. Staph is also common in healthcare settings like hospitals and nursing homes.
There are several different types of staph bacteria, but the one that causes most staph infections is called Staphylococcus aureus (abbreviated S. aureus). Staphylococcus aureus can cause staph infection boils, abscesses, and other infections in people with cuts or other skin injuries.
S. aureus is also the source of some food poisoning cases and serious antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is a flesh-eating bacteria that can lead to serious health complications and death.
Staph infections can occur anywhere on the body, but they’re most common on the skin. Staph often causes boils or pimples (furuncles) that burst and drain pus when you squeeze them. With staph folliculitis these are called boils because they look like boil-like lumps under the skin. Boils may be red or swollen and tender to the touch. Boils are usually caused by staph that has entered the body through a cut or scratch in your skin.
Staph infections can be found on:
- The face
- Knees
- Belly button
- Ears
- Inside the nose
- Feet
- Hands
- Ingrown hairs
What Does a Staph Infection Look like?
Staph infection symptoms initially include small red bumps or pimples that may be filled with pus. They can appear on the face, back, and chest, and there may be many of them at first. The bumps are usually painful and tender to the touch.
Over time, these staph infection bumps can become larger, and pus may ooze out of them. As the infection gets worse, the skin around the bumps can become swollen and redder than normal. This is called cellulitis staph when it occurs in the skin.
In severe cases of coagulase-negative staph infection, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause systemic symptoms such as high fever, chills, nausea, or vomiting. The infection may also spread to other parts of your body, such as your joints (septic arthritis), bones (osteomyelitis), lungs (pneumonia), or heart valves (endocarditis). Severe staph infections are life-threatening conditions that require immediate medical attention.
Is a Staph Infection Serious?
Staph bacteria are part of the normal flora of the skin and are also found on the skin of up to 25% of people with no symptoms. If staph bacteria enter your body, they can cause various illnesses, including mild skin infections such as impetigo staph or cellulitis or more serious diseases like necrotizing fasciitis, toxic shock syndrome (TSS), and sepsis.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria usually cause staph infections. However, other staph bacteria can cause infection as well.
Staph infections include:
- Staph skin infections. These often appear as red bumps or pimples with pus, which can occur anywhere on the body. These are most common on the face and neck but can also occur under fingernails or toenails.
- Skin infections that have spread into the bloodstream (bacteremia). If you have cuts or wounds on your skin, staph bacteria may enter your bloodstream through these openings and travel throughout your body. This can lead to life-threatening infections in vital organs such as your heart, lungs, or kidneys.
- Bacterial pneumonia (lung infection). If you have a lung infection caused by staph bacteria, you may have a fever and cough with mucus production and shortness of breath (difficulty breathing).
Will the staph infection go away on its own?
If you have had a staph infection, you may wonder if it will go away. This depends on the type of staph infection you have and how severe it is.
Staphylococcus is a bacteria that can cause several infections, from minor skin infections to serious systemic infections. A staph infection can affect any part of your body, including your nose, skin, eyes, and lungs.
The symptoms of a staph infection depend on where it’s located. For example, if you have an infection in your nose or throat, you may experience nasal congestion or a sore throat. If the infection has spread to other parts of your body, you may experience fever, chills, and swelling around the affected area.
It’s not uncommon for a staph infection to go away on its own. If your doctor confirms that you have a staph infection, they may begin staph infection treatment by prescribing antibiotics for staph infection as a precaution. After all, is it worth the risk of becoming a far more severe condition?
How long are you contagious with staph?
Staph infections can spread from person to person. The good news is that you probably won’t get a staph infection from a public restroom or other shared spaces. You may be at higher risk for a staph infection if you have skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an active infection.
Staph infections are contagious, but they usually don’t spread quickly. For example, you can’t catch a staph infection from shaking hands or sitting next to someone on public transportation. You can only get staph by coming into direct contact with the bacteria themselves or with objects that have been contaminated with them — such as towels, bedding, or bandages — and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
How long you are contagious depends upon whether you receive treatment. With antibiotics, it should only be contagious for 48 hours.
When is a staph infection an emergency?
Common staph bacteria have become resistant to many antibiotics, including methicillin; this is why they are sometimes called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.
Staph infections can be dangerous if they get into the bloodstream or organs. They’re especially serious for people who have weakened immune systems — for example, those with diabetes or cancer — and for babies born prematurely who aren’t yet old enough to fight off infections.
Staph infections get worse quickly if they aren’t treated properly. Some staph infections can lead to serious complications requiring immediate medical attention. For example:
- A staph infection on your face can cause scarring or permanent blindness if not treated immediately.
- If you have diabetes and develop a staph infection in your foot, it could lead to gangrene and amputation of toes or even feet.
How do you know when staph is serious?
Staphylococcus bacteria cause staph infections. Staph infections can be mild, but they can also be serious. How do you know when staph is serious?
To answer this question, a medical professional will determine what type of staph infection you have, how it has progressed, whether it has responded to treatment, and more.
How do I know if my staph infection is spreading?
Staph infections are very common. Most people who have staph bacteria on their skin don’t get sick. But some people can develop serious infections that require treatment with antibiotics.
Some signs that your staph infection may be spreading include:
Fever: A high fever is usually the first sign that something is wrong with your body and can be caused by many conditions, including infections. If your temperature has risen above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), call your doctor immediately so he or she can determine what’s causing it.
Generalized swelling: This type occurs throughout your body and is often associated with redness or warmth around the affected area. Swelling from a staph infection may occur on one side of your face but not on the other or anywhere else on your body. However, generalized swelling — sometimes called edema — typically happens after the initial stages of infection have passed (when pus stops draining).
How do you know if staph is getting worse?
The symptoms you may notice if your staph is getting worse are similar to those if your staph is spreading. Suppose you have a fever, more swelling, sensitive lymph nodes, increased sensitivity, and more. If you notice anything getting worse, reach out to your medical professional immediately.
What are the stages of a staph infection?
Staph infections can progress through primary, secondary, and chronic stages. In most cases, people with a staph infection experience only one stage at a time; however, if you don’t receive proper treatment for your symptoms, it’s possible to develop additional stages of the disease over time.
At the beginning of an early-stage staph infection, the bacteria may be found only on your skin and not in deeper tissues. This is called a primary staph infection. The signs of staph infection are usually mild and may include:
- A red bump that looks like a pimple or boil (a boil is an infection inside the skin)
- A pimple or boil that doesn’t drain pus
- A staph rash that looks like insect bites
Secondary staph infections occur later when you already have an open wound and S. aureus enters that woundSecondary staph infections occur later on when you already have an open wound and S. aureus enters that wound.
A chronic staph infection lasts more than three weeks.
How do I clean my house after a staph infection?
Start by disinfecting your surfaces with bleach water to kill the bacteria. Make sure you wear gloves and eye protection when doing this. Then make sure to disinfect anything that an infected person may have touched. This includes bedding, towels, and clothing. You should also throw out items that cannot be washed in hot water or disinfected with bleach water, such as stuffed animals or cushions.
What are the chances of surviving a staph infection?
The chances of surviving a staph infection depend on its severity. A staph infection is usually treated with antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin or vancomycin. Left untreated can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and sepsis (blood poisoning). Sepsis is one cause of death among patients who contract staph infections while in the hospital.
Staph infections that occur outside hospitals tend to be less severe than those contracted in hospitals or other healthcare facilities.
In some cases, like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the infection can be life-threatening if not treated properly. Suppose your doctor suspects you have an infection caused by MRSA or another antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria. In that case, he or she may prescribe multiple rounds of antibiotics to avoid further complications.
Considering Vitastem Ultra for Treating Staph Infections
Vitastem Ultra has been developed and optimized by a team of doctors and scientists deeply focused on treating severe skin infections for over a decade. Vitastem Ultra’s extraordinary results can best be exemplified by restoring mobility in patients’ experience after avoiding amputations or treating debilitating skin conditions like staph.
Even for the most severe infections, Vitastem Ultra is capable of:
- Prevention of infection
- Increase blood flow to injured cells by restoring and improving blood circulation
- Reduce inflammation
- Support tissue growth
- All bacteria found in the affected areas must be removed and killed
Even though most bacterial skin infections aren’t as severe as others, Vitastem Ultra ensures that you won’t need to use any general first aid for wounds, cuts, or infections again. Vitastem Ultra provides the same results and relief for wounds, no matter what type.
To date, all antibiotics, except Vitastem Ultra, are based on what is known as a chemical mechanism to kill. The antibiotic slowly kills bacteria by applying it topically or orally, absorbing it over time. Although this can be very effective, it is slow. This process typically allows bacteria to evolve and become more resistant to the medicine.
Vitastem Ultra uses both chemical and physical mechanisms to kill and combat pathogens. The physical mechanism determines Vitastem Ultra’s killing power.
Vitastem Ultra uses a patent-pending, specialized combination of ingredients while developing the world’s strongest topical delivery system that allows the active ingredient bacitracin to penetrate 10x deeper than any other product on the market.
In addition, Vitastem Ultra also injects vitamin C or D3 to better treat the condition and leave one’s skin rejuvenated. In today’s world, where staph infection & MRSA are common occurrences at hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities as a result of HAIs (healthcare-acquired infections), Vitastem can help drastically reduce, if not completely eliminate these types of infections in patients.
If you or a loved one is suffering from a staph infection, ask your doctor if Vitastem Ultra can be a good fit for you to treat and heal your staph infection and prevent serious health risks that may result from the infection.
