How to Identify a Strep Rash

The staphylococcus aureus bacteria is carried on the skin and in the nose of many healthy people, according to kidshealth.org. If the skin has a minor cut or scrape that allows bacteria to enter, staph can cause infections that lead to more complicated health issues. Staph is in the air and on surfaces that infected people have touched. It can also spread from one part of the body to another by touching the infected area and not washing your hands. To help prevent the spread of staph, always wash your hands before cooking, eating, or touching your nose or mouth. Keep minor wounds clean with soap and water and cover them with a sterile bandage.

Instructions

• 1

  Boils often occur under the arms when a hair follicle becomes infected with staph bacteria.

  Examine the skin closely, especially around the hair follicles. If the skin is red, swollen and has a pocket of pus, according to the Mayo Clinic, you have a boil caused by the staph bacteria. Boils are usually found under your arms, around the groin area and on your buttocks.

• 2

  Scalded skin syndrome is mostly found in infants.

  Examine the skin for blisters when skin gathers into folds. These blisters will rupture and the skin will peel off in sheets. When this happens, the skin will be moist and red. This condition is called scalded skin syndrome.

• 3

  Children often scratch insect bites and break the skin, allowing the staph bacteria to enter.

  Search the skin for sores that seem to have filled with pus, then broken and crusted over with a honey-colored scab. These sores usually appear around the nose and mouth, but can be found on the arms and legs. Children are more prone to impetigo, but this staph infection is highly contagious. Sores due to other reasons, such as insect bites and scratches, can become infected with the staph bacteria if the skin is broken.

• 4

  Look for a sun-burned appearance when accompanied by high fever, low blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms. This infection would be toxic shock syndrome. It is most often caused by removing tampons that are mostly dry. As this disease progresses, petechiae will appear. "Petechiae -pronounced puh-TEE-kee-ee - are pinpoint, round spots that appear on the skin as a result of bleeding under the skin. The bleeding causes the petechiae to appear red, brown or purple. Petechiae may look like a rash. Usually flat to the touch, petechiae don't lose color (blanch) when you press on them," according to the Mayo Clinic.

• 5

  Examining the skin, look for red and swollen areas that look and feel much like an orange peel. This would be cellulitis, appearing most often on the lower legs and feet of older adults. This infection is very painful, but not contagious.