Staphylococcus aureus (commonly known as staph) is a gram-positive bacteria on the skin that can infect open skin at mild wounds or susceptible pores. Although infections from staph are usually easily treated with antibiotics, symptoms may go unnoticed until the disease progresses to cause internal toxicities. Common skin infections caused by staph include impetigo and folliculitis.
Initial Localized Symptoms
Initial symptoms that occur early in a staph infection include redness and swelling on the skin. Sometimes, the area is painful to touch, although no immediate sign of bacteria or illness is present. Particular patterns of redness are specific to the location, disease and type of skin. For example, an early sign of folliculitis (at a follicle) is simply redness around a pore, often one with a hair follicle ingrown. Distinct from that infection is cellulitis, which is an infection of the skin layers that can occur on limbs with itching as an early symptom.
Progressive Staph Infection Symptoms
If early symptoms are not treated, they usually will progress to more irritating and noticeable symptoms, such as greater swelling, expanding redness and a bulge or bump under the skin. Especially with an abscessed infection, which is contained under the swollen skin, extreme heat becomes a common symptom.
Warning Signs
Continued progressive symptoms are pus at the wound site and a mild fever, both of which are signs of greater staph infection that could spread throughout the body. In addition, staph infection on skin that is already irritated, such as areas of eczema or other dermatitis, may cause bleeding in addition to pus. Although these symptoms indicate more severe skin disease, they can usually still be treated with topical or oral antibiotics to prevent additional infections.
