Staph Infection Facts

Staph infections are bacterial invasion by the organism Staphylococcus aureus. The bacteria are normally on your skin, but poor hygiene and skin damage allow the invasion of the bacteria into the bloodstream. The infection leads to several clinical diseases treated through antibiotics and supportive care.

Skin Infections

• When damage is done to the skin, like a scratch or cut, staph is able to enter the wound and infect skin. Symptoms include boils, rash and painful cellulitis.

Food Poisoning

• Handled meat can transfer the bacteria to the food. Within hours, the patient has violent vomiting and stomach cramps. Recovery from staph food poisoning is usually within 24 hours.

Bacteremia

• Bacteremia is caused by bacteria circulating in the blood. This is a dangerous condition, allowing bacteria to spread to multiple organs for infection. Intravenous antibiotics are administered in cases of bacteremia.

Toxic Shock

• Toxic shock is a disease caused by poor hygiene and tampon use. Patients have severely high fevers. If not treated quickly, the patient can go into anaphylactic shock.

Septic Arthritis

• Septic arthritis is caused by staph infection targeting the joints in the bones. The most common place for infection is the knees, but staph also attacks wrists, elbows and fingers.