How serious is staph infection?

Question

It has been an issue at the high school in our town since 1999. We are barely 1 week into the school year and 6 kids in our athletic program have it.

Answer 1

very serious infection
VERY...........VERY............VERY...............IN JOB"S SYNDROME.
Nothing else left by "twinsisterwendy" above .

Answer 2

I cannot emphasis enough how serious a staph infection can become. I am a heavy person and I am prone to swelling in my legs that causes an infection known as cellulitis on my legs. I also have an unrelated psoriasis problem. For years I have had psoriasis on the backs of my thighs among other places. Right after Christmas 2003, I started to get sick. I had a high fever and my right hip was hurting sooooo badly. I just thought I had the flu and that my hip was hurting because a person often gets all achy when he/she has the flu. My step-mom came over and when I told her how I felt, she looked at my hip. She immediately saw a bunch of "bubbles" on the back of my right thigh that were filled with lots of infectious fluid. It was the worse case of cellulitis I had ever experienced. I had not even paid attention to the soreness on the back of my thigh because I was so used to having irritation with the psoriasis. Apparently some of my psoriasis had opened up allowing the infection to get in.

After a long time in the ER, I was seen and eventually admitted. Although, it was bad, they felt that lots of anti-biotics would fix me right up. While I was in the hospital, the infection got into my bloodstream. That's a form of staph infection known as sepsis. When a person has infection in the bloodstream, that infection travels throughout the body and a large majority of people die. Even if someone lives, they most often have some sort of damage to the organs.

I will try to shorten this story a bit by saying that they cut into me to take out the infection in the leg, but I was put in ICU on a respirator. My blood pressure was 28/15! That is very low...my heart was racing and my body was swollen all over like a ballon from the steroids they were giving me to help boost the power of the antibiotics. My kidneys were failing and my heart was too. I was getting 5 different antibiotics and the steroids and still not responding. They told my husband not to go to work, because it didnt look like I would live.

I was in the hospital for a month and then I had to go to a physical rehab facility for 3 more months so that I could learn to sit up, stand and eventually walk again. I remember nothing about ICU. I only know what my family told me. I believe that was a gift from God. I had lots of depression, but eventually accepted my lot and worked extremely hard to get back home as fast as I could.

Btw, I am the same now as before I went to the hospital. Not only did I make it, but I had no organ damage at all. God, in his love for me, and because of many, many prayers of friends, family and strangers as well, pulled me through with absolutely no after effects.

How serious is a staph infection? Now I think you know how serious it can be. Oh, and btw, I'm losing weight so that my chances of developing cellulitis again and again will be smaller. But a staph infection can come from anything and anywhere, not just an open sore. If anyone has a high fever that won't go away for any reason, SEE YOUR DOCTOR. Fever means infection and if the fever is not going away, the infection can be very serious.

Answer 3

Staph can cause death. It's very serious, and you'd be surprised at the amount of hospitals that DO NOT safeguard against it. My mother, before she passed on in 2001, had a hospital stay in 2000, and they diagnosed her with a staph infection, which can be very nasty. I know someone who witnessed an intern that gave a patient a shot WITHOUT applying alcohol to the injection site first. THAT'S how bad things can get in hospitals. I forgot the drug that they used to control my mother's staph infection, but it wasn't as simple as giving a shot. There were numerous tests done after each treatment.

Staph has gotten so bad that there is like one strain of it that is known to be be antibiotic resistant, which can be downright deadly. It is also related to flesh-eating bacteria, which is something you would see in a sci-fi movie, but is very real.

Scary stuff, indeed!

Answer 4

Staph (pronounced "staff") is medical quick speak for staphylococcus aureus bacteria. This pesky little bacterium is very common (many people have some living on their skin all the time), but when it enters the human body, usually through an open cut or break in the skin, it can cause infection and trouble anywhere in the body. Staph infections tend to be pus-producing. Common minor (or relatively minor) skin infections caused by staph include:

Folliculitis
Infections of hair follicles that cause itchy white pus-filled bumps on the skin (often where people shave or have irritations from skin rubbing against clothes)

Boils
Infections deeper within hair follicles that leave large, frequently red inflammations (often occur on the face or neck)

Sties
Infection of the follicle surrounding the eyelashes, causing a sore red bump in the eyelid

Impetigo
The infection kids often get around their mouths and noses that causes blisters and red scabby skin

Abscesses
Infection characterized by pus and swelling that can occur in the skin and in any other organ.

Staph infection is also the leading culprit behind cases of food poisoning, and can be to blame for larger life threatening conditions, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), pneumonia, bone infections (osteomyelitis), mastitis in nursing mothers, endocarditis (infection of the inside of the heart), and bacteremia (blood infection). People who are otherwise healthy typically do not usually become severely ill from staph infections, but those at special risk, who have weakened immune systems, include:

persons with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, lung disease, kidney disease, or HIV/AIDS
people with various skin conditions
the elderly
newborns
people recovering from major surgery
injection drug users (especially those who reuse needles)
people whose immune systems are weakened due to steroid use, radiation therapy, cancer treatment, immunosuppressive medications
women who are breastfeeding

Answer 5

Very serious. I spent 5 1/2 weeks in the hospital and almost died. I have a 6 inch scar on my rifgt side from the surgery to remove the infection. They had to do a thoracentesis to drain fluid from around my right lung. See a doctor ASAP!!!

Answer 6

I had a staph infection once that I got at the hospital from a surgery. They told me it could kill me and I had to take a LOT of antibiotics. It was so bad that they had to insert a line into my arm that went to my heart, sew it in, and I had to use an antibiotic that was $150 a DAY.

Joey Ramone died of a staph infection!

Answer 7

Psoriasis is a disease that takes place when the body’s immune system mistakenly believes healthy skin cells to be enemy cells and starts to produce many more new cells to replace these cells. This is the reason why there is no cure for psoriasis and medications applied to treat psoriasis are only able to remove the symptoms temporarily. Don't go the "cream route", it's only just a waste of time and money. Been there Done that!

You need to read "Psoriasis Free For Life" by Katy Wilson if you want to cure your psoriasis for good. Available online also @ http://www.psoriasisforeverfree.com It's a book that shows you how to cure psoriasis naturally in a few days. I cured my psoriasis permanently in 6 days after reading this book. Good luck!

Answer 8

It is one of the most serious infections you can get, especially if you get it while in a medical care facility. The strains in medical care facilities are especially virulent and hard to treat with medication. You may want to discuss this with a doctor if you have a reason to be concerned. Yahoo! News just had a news report today about the rise of this infection in areas outside of medical care facilities in the US.

Answer 9

go to a different doctor. not even kidding this guy sounds dumb. staph infections are dangerous.

Answer 10

There are different types of staph infections, untreated you could sustain loss of limbs or death; so I would say serious.

Answer 11

very serious if you have it you have have very bad pain so bad the highest amount of morphen wont make it go away all you family that come in contact with you or any thing you tuch will get it. you will have heart probloms much more it is the worst thing you can get you will die with out any medical attion and you go blind