Staph Infection Risk Factors
Anyone can develop a staph infection, although certain groups of people are at greater risk, including newborn infants, breastfeeding women, and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, vascular disease, and lung disease. Injecting drug users, those with skin injuries or disorders, intravenous catheters, surgical incisions, and those with a weakened immune system due either to disease or a result of immune suppressing medications all have an increased risk of developing staph infections.
What is the incubation period for a staph infection?
The incubation period for staph infections unfortunately is variable and considered to be indefinite. This is because many staph infections arise from bacteria that are already present on the skin and/or mucous membranes. However, for most staph infections, the incubation period commonly ranges from about four to 10 days.
How will I know if I have a staph infection?
The most common staph infections (for example, boils, impetigo, and MRSA) occur in the skin.
- Common features include redness and swelling of the skin; there may be abscess formation and/or pus production.
- More serious infections may develop if staph infections spread (pneumonia, heart failure, organ infections, and sepsis); serious infections can cause
- Staph infections may occur in individuals of any age group.
Staphylococcal food poisoning produces symptoms of
These symptoms usually come on quickly (from about one to six hours after eating the contaminated food) and usually resolve in one to three days.
Toxic shock syndrome, originally described in menstruating women using tampons, occurs rapidly with
Although the majority of staph infections are fairly benign in the skin, some can become severe. Although usually a physician will not need to run laboratory tests for a diagnosis, if MRSA, food poisoning, or toxic shock syndrome is suspected, samples from blood and tissue can be examined and cultures may be performed to identify the specific type of staph.