Do staph and strep infections travel "together"? Would I have contracted the infection from exposure once, or would it have been twice?
2006-10-28 07:13:50 · 4 answers · asked by tje 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Infectious Diseases
I did have a piercing there, but it was done 6 years ago, and suddenly became inflamed, infected, etc.
2006-10-28 07:22:18 · update #1
Look, we ALL carry around staph and multiple bacteria all of the time without being sick. When something goes wrong in an area and you get inflammation, those bacteria will naturally multiply causing an infection. It might not have been contracted; maybe you just scratched it or put in an earring that irritated the area. Either way, you should see a doc for antibiotics and keep your jewelry and hands clean to prevent future outbreaks. Godloveya, honey!
2006-10-28 12:06:50 · answer #1 · answered by Sassy OLD Broad 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Staph and strep are two different bacteria, but both of them usually live on your skin your entire life and don't cause any problems. If you have this in the catrilage of your ear, it would most likely be caused by tissue damage that allowed the bacteria normally on the skin to enter the tissue of your ear. Recent trauma? Peircing? Tattoo? These can all result in staph/strep infections. When on the antibiotics, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE ALL OF THEM! If you don't, you may end up with an infection affectionately termed MRSA (multiple resistant staph aureus) which is a staph that is resistant to most all antibiotics and is really hard to kill. Oh, and watch out for flesh eating strep. That's not cool either, but it is rare. You ear will probably be really red and swollen, and this can because by strep because the bacteria secrete a chemical that destroys the tisse (if you really want to know, it is called beta hemolytic).
2006-10-28 07:22:50 · answer #2 · answered by lilia_164 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have pierced ears:
Staph and strep infections are transmitted by salive (spit) in the mouth mostly, if you had saliva on your fingers and then touched the piercing then it could explain why you have the infections or if your boyfriend or husband had sucked on your ears (like my husband likes to do to me) it could also explain why and how. Strep and staph infections DO NOT travel togeather unless someone you have been in close contact with had them.
2006-10-28 07:23:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you or have--or have you had a recent piercing in the ear area that is affected? That my be the culprit.
2006-10-28 07:16:22 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋