Staph Infection - Infectious Diseases Message Board

horizon697 · 10-04-2003, 11:02 AM

I have never had a staph infection or had to deal with one before, so I am really concerned about this. Everyone I know keeps saying "Wow, you can die from that" and it only increases my anxiety about it. I started with a bite that turned into a boil about 2 weeks ago. I treated that one at home, with draw out salve and hot compresses, and did mess with it some, because it hurt so much. I just wanted to get all of the stuff out. That one had the head come out and it was starting to clear up, but I noticed some little red bumps beside it, like where the tape was for the gauze I had over it. I thought they were just heat bumps. This was about a week after I first got the boil. Then more bumps started appearing and they turned hard like the first one, so I went the doctor this last wednesday. She said I had a staph infection, and that it was systemic and traveling down my leg, but I wasn't running any fever, so that was a good thing. I have a hard time taking strong antibiotics, but she wanted me to take Avelox (quinolone) for a few days at least, to knock out most of the infection if possible. I took it wed, thurs, and friday afternoon, but I can not tolerate it, so I am getting the prescription of Keflex filled that she gave me in case I couldn't handle the Avelox. I am really concerned that I may not get this cleared up, and it will get worse. Has anyone else had to deal with these, and how bad could this get, even with me taking antibiotics? Thanks so much.

cattys · 10-05-2003, 03:04 PM

I had a boil on my side as big as a baseball . It was so hard painfull and red. It would not drain on its own. My lymph nodes in my groin were really swollen so I knew it must be really infected.

I went ot the Dr. and was put on antibiotis and had to have surgery to cut out the boil. It was also a staph infection. It all cleared up and a month later I got another one that went away on its own.

Keep taking your antibiotics and it will go away. Staph is everywhere. You don't have the real bad kind where it actually eats away at our skin. This was my fear with mine and my Dr. said it was not that kind.

Good luck

besafe20 · 10-07-2003, 07:21 PM

Hi I have had a staph infection from boils twice. Mine started spreading like yours. Did your doctor do a culture to see which antibiotics will work? This is very important. Both times I was prescribed antibiotics (Keflex was one of them) and they were not sensitive. I found out when the lab report came back and then I was prescribed the proper antibiotics. My brother and my dad have had the same thing. Sometimes you don't need the antibiotics because it goes away on its own. I would recommend taking them just incase.

rubindj · 10-12-2003, 11:43 PM

As of now, all staff is sustable to Avelox, and since regions of the country differ, in her region Keflex may have that same advantage.

If it continues to get worse, go back to your doctor. Do not pass go, do not wait out the weekend, do not go to work. This is a very serious infection, and kills tens of thousands of people every year. You have a early version of it, are realively healthy, and shouldn't have an issue; however, if you wake up and its grown twice as large even with the antibiotics it needs to be treated now and not 12 hours from now.

horizon697 · 10-28-2003, 02:52 PM

Thanks for all the advice. Those did indeed heal up well with the 3 days of Avelox and the 7 days of Keflex. I still have some purplish color where the 2 bad ones were, but the doctor said that will fade over time. However, this past weekend, 2 weeks after all of that cleared up, I got two more small bumps close to where the others had been. One started to feel a little tender, so I put salve on it and it went away (had a tiny amount of whitish pus come out, like what comes out of a pimple or ingrown hair) in 2 days. The second one just started feeling tender yesterday morning and hurts a bit more than the other did, but not near as bad as the boils I had at the first of the month. I am concerned that maybe all of the staph infection did not clear up? The doctor says it did, with the antibiotics I took, and that she doesn't think this is a reinfection. I am supposed to put the draw out salve on it and hot compresses to see if it comes out. It is reddish only, and does not have the purplish color with it like the boils I had did when they started rising up. I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks.