Staph Infection: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Staphylococcal Aureus.

Staph infection treatment mostly includes the drainage of the infection. Using antibiotics can also help cure the condition. Staphylococcus bacteria are the cause for staph infections which can occur in the healthiest of people. This infection is usually found on the skin and in the nose. In most cases, staph infection remains innocuous or result in minor skin infections. However, sometimes staph infections can become life threatening when they invade deeper in the body and gets access to the patient’s bloodstream, bones, lungs, hearts and joints. The most common treatment for staph infection involves using antibiotics or a drainage procedure. In certain cases, the infection stops responding to common antibiotics as well.

The staph bacteria can get transferred from one person to another. However, many people carry the bacteria for their lives without developing the infection. The staph infection needs to be treated as soon as detected as if the bacteria stay in the body for long it may invade the patient’s bloodstream and cause a life threating situation by developing sepsis. Antibiotics or wound drainage can be suitable treatments options for people suffering from this condition. When the infection involves a device or prosthetic, the removal of the device may be recommended by the doctors.

If the doctors suggest using antibiotics to treat the condition then, flucloxacillin and dicloxacillin are often suggested to manage the problem. The doctor may perform tests on the infection to determine which antibiotic may work the best. Vancomycin is often suggested to treat serious staph infection as many strains of staph infection have become resistant to ordinary antibiotics. Sometimes, oral antibiotics may also be given to patients. When doctors notice the presence of abscesses, surgical drainage is often prescribed by doctors

The type and severity of the infection determines the type of antibiotic which will be used by the doctors. Antibiotics like cefazolin, vancomycin, clindamycin, ccephalexin, and telavancin among others have been often suggested by doctors to get rid of the infection. The use of vancomycin has become common for staph infection as many of the strains of staph bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics like penicillin.

People who show symptoms like having an area of the skin turn red, swollen, tender or painful. Pockets of puss or abscesses where these pockets of puss may hurt when they come in contact with anything should get themselves checked and treated immediately if tested positive for staph infection.

People who do not show any symptoms leading to staph infection should avoid using antibiotics or any other treatment which are used by [patients of the condition.

Many a times staph infections become resistant to various antibiotics like penicillin and vancomycin. This occurrence of antibiotic-resistant strains of staph bacteria are usually called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA. Therefore, using certain antibiotics can be of no use at all. Other than that, there are no major side effects to the procedure of drainage required to the removal of staph infection from the body at times.

Staph infections can be easily cured unless they invade the bloodstreams or the joints. Once the drainage of the collected puss is done or when the antibiotics heal the condition, there is no special safety precautions required to be taken. Patients, however, need to be careful about not exposing the infected area to any other kind of bacteria.

The amount of time required for the staph infection to heal depends on the kind of infection and if the person has opted to go for a treatment for the infection or not. Patients may need 10 to 20 days to heal from the condition without any kind of treatment. However, a treatment may speed up the process of healing.

The price of the treatment in India starts from Rs 500 for doctor’s consultation. It can go up to Rs 5,000.

Once the infection has been treated, it may not come back again if the area is not exposed to the same bacteria again.