Staph Infection Photos

Staph infection is a highly contagious bacteria. It's proper name is Staphylococcus aureus, and it is normally found it about a fourth of the population already. They can carry it in their nose, mouth, and genitals and it is harmless until the skin becomes broken. The smallest cut can cause someone to become infected with the bacteria. This picture below shows a deep infection of staph.

Staph infection usually starts with an open sore, and it acts as a flesh eating infection. It can cause boils, cellulitis, inflammation which includes redness, warmth, swelling and pain, sores and ulcers, fevers and chills. Staph infections can be very painful, as you can see from the grimace on this man's face.

Cellulitis is the most common symptom of staph infection. It may appear as a rash on the skin and may be the follicles of the hair become infected and fill with pus. This is called folliculitis and it appears like a cluster of tiny bumps or pimples. This can crust over or become a worse condition, such as boils. Cellulitis is most common around the mouth, like the picture below.

Staph infection is spread from skin-to-skin contact and from touching contaminated surfaces. This is why it is so prevalent in sports teams and in children. Sharing equipment and toys and improper sanitation methods can cause the bacteria to spread among these groups of people. Also, people who live in close quarters are also more likely to spread staph to each other. This is all because it is very contagious.

Treating Staph Infection

Some staph infections do not require treatment from a doctor. Staph infection will mostly clear up on its own. Sometimes it does require treatment by a doctor. In this case, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics, and if they do, you should make sure to take the entire prescription or else the staph infection could come back and become resistant to the antibiotics previously prescribed.

Sometimes, however, antibiotics will not work. This is because some strains of staph infection have become resistant to antibiotics. This makes treatment difficult and the doctor must take samples of the staph infection in order to see which antibiotic will be best to treat it with. They may have to use very strong antibiotics to treat it. If it is not treated early enough, staph infection can be fatal, but this is rare.

Preventing Staph Infection

There is no way to completely eliminate the risk of developing staph infection, but you can reduce the risk. Washing your hands frequently with soap and water and by keeping cuts and woulds covered will help reduce your chances of developing the bacterial infection. To wash your hands properly, you should cover them completely with soap and use warm water and scrub them for at least 20 seconds.

You should not share items that could spread staph infection. These items include razors, towels, shoes, blankets, etc. You should also sanitize surfaces, sports equipment and toys after they are finished being used. This is to prevent germs from being spread from one person to another. Wash bedsheets, towels, and clothes in detergent and dry them completely. If you can, wear gloves and wash laundry with bleach to kill the germs completely and wash them in warm or hot water. Throw the gloves away after using them and wash your hands.

You should also clean items that are touched frequently, like doorknobs, light switches, toilets, sinks, and counter tops. If you clean these with a bleach solutions, this will kill the germs and prevent them from spreading so much to other people. If someone in your household has staph infection it is very imprortant you keep surfaces and items they use frequently sanitized to keep the rest of the family safe.

Also, keeping wounds covered with a bandage and sealed except when you are cleaning them with antiseptic is a good way also to keep from spreading germs and from becoming infected. The drainage from wounds is very infectious and should not come in contact with other people. Wounds should be kept clean and you should clean your hands thoroughly after cleaning them. You can also clean your hands with rubbing alcohol, which will kill the germs. You should also not go to a public gym, spa, pool or hot tub until your wound has healed. This is not only to protect others, but to protect yourself.