The "skin"ny on "Staph"

I'm sure you've all heard about the Staph bug by now. It seems to have made all the news networks at one point or another. Having said that, what do you really need to know? What do you really need to do about it?

At any given point, all of us have millions of bacteria living on our skin. There is absolutely no way to completely eliminate them all, nor is there evidence that eliminating them all is a good idea. One of those "free loaders" is inevitably Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph). Most of the time, humans and staph bacteria coexist happily, but on occasion, this coexistance becomes strained and the staph gets a little out of hand.

Staph infections have a wide variety of common names indicating the wide variety of skin illnesses they cause. Impetigo is a yellow, crusty, weepy sore that is generally found around the nose, but can be found anywhere on the body. It is relatively contagious, but usually can be treated with topical creams. Pustular impetigo is a staph infection that causes small blisters that are filled with pus that can be found anywhere on the body. Cellulitis is an infection in which the staph has actually gotten into the layers of the skin rather than on top of the skin. It shows up as gradually enlarging, painful, swollen red areas on the skin. Usually, it is only located as an isolated lesion unlike impetigo which is usually many lesions. Folliculitis is a skin infection in which the hair follicles or pores have become clogged and the staph multiply in the follicle leading to a small red irritation of each involved follicle. Usually many follicles at a time are involved. Both cellulitis and folliculitis can lead to abcess formation, a large accumulation of pus under the sking that generally increases in size, redness and pain before either spontaneously emptying or being actively drained. Each of these infections are potentially serious and worthy of being discussed and/or treated by your physician.

MRSA has become a hot topic in medicine these days. This stands for methicillin resistant staphylococcal aureus. These staph have adapted to the antibiotics that are usually used for skin infections. In so doing, they've made themselves resistant so these antibiotics no longer work against them. Unfortunately, they have become so common that many physicians, myself included, no longer even use the usual antibiotics. The problem, of course, is as resistance patterns continue to change, we are quickly arriving at a point where we do not have the antibiotics to treat some of these infections.

For most, a skin infection here and there is not a cause for concern. Physicians are seeing an increasing number of individuals and families that tend to have recurring problems with serious skin infections from staph, however. Physicians are unclear on why this is occuring, but it doesn't seem to be particularly dependant on hygeine, but rather genetic and other environmental factors. There is a great deal of discussion, but no clear guidelines or good studies on what to do to help these families avoid future infections. Some have advised bleach baths twice a week, others have recommended the use of antibacterial soaps with bathing, while others suggest that none of these methods work and that these families should just get treated anytime they get the infection.

Needless to say, these infections can be quite serious. Any evidence of a skin infection is a cause for concern and should be brought to the attention of your physician. Sometimes, a simple cream is all you need. Other times, IV antibiotics and or surgical treatment are required. As usual, don't hesitate to call your physician if you're concerned.