After a staphylococcal infection with a clindmycin 6-day treatment, do I still have staph bacteria on my skin?
371503
The bacteria are likely still present on your skin.  All of us have staph species on our skin.  The problem in an abscess is that too many bacteria got through your protective barrier and were multiplying too fast for the body to control it.  Clindamycin does not KILL these bacteria, it is called a BACTERIOSTATIC antibiotic, which means that it slows or halts the multiplication of the microbes.  This allows the immune system to catch up and kill off the bacteria causing all the trouble.\n\nThe other major curative is incision and drainage of the abscess.  Without I+D, most abscesses will not get better.  There is a very long explanation for why this is, but the bottom line is that the drainage brings the bacterial count down and the presence of oxygen slows (and sometimes kills) the bacteria.\n\nIf you are wondering if you are infectious, it is not likely.  All people have staph species on their skin and have a potential to get it if they have cuts, etc.  The most common sufferers of repeat infections from skin bacteria are those who inject often (like diabetics or IV drug users).  Good sterile technique will avoid this problem.
393053
It depends on the cause.  If it is bacterial, it would be best to get a prescription to get rid of it.  It should go away in a couple weeks if you don't get a prescription.  But get to the doctor if it persists.
754721
go back to the doctor...or get a second opinion...most likely the doctor ran some tests and grew a few cultures to diagnose you...he/she just didn't look and say that's what it was...if they did you need to find a new doctor...did you finish off your cream?? did you follow the directions on the bottle?? alot of times something is applied incorrectly or not enough times...usually with something bacterial you finish off the treatment...even if you are feeling better or it gets better half way through...you may even have a different bacterial strain or a reoccurance of the same bacteria...either way...go back to the doctor and get it checked out...
536855
go see your doctor ASAP, but in the meantime you should apply Antibacterial cream to it, you can get it over the counter at the pharmacy, just ask the pharmacist.
698434
I want you to get yourself - F.A.S.T. to a  Skin Specialist! Steroids are so,so, dangerous to take continually and it appears they are not working. I do not wish to alarm you, but I believe you have a  "strep" virus. This virus, if it invades your blood stream can/and has killed. My mother had the same symptoms as you have. Is it itchy? I bet it is. They treated my mother with steroids and prednisone - but this "virus" entered her blood stream and after 4-days in a coma, God took my mother HOME. Get a handle on this "rash" NOW. It could be the "flesh eating disease", which has been in our countries/hospitals for over 20-years. A test is simple - it is called a "culture and sensitivity" - swabs will be taken of the infection and cultured and allowed to grow for a minimum of 48-hr, then the Bacteriologist will test different antibiotics for the most effective. Get this TEST right away! and don't put this off. A prolonged use of steroids will effect your health in many Negative ways. Good Luck and take my advice.
776902
Bactrim is very effective against community acquired MRSA.\nEven if it is (ask your doctor), as long as you're reasonably healthy, you should be okay. \n\n\nListen to your doctor, not a boyfriend's mother for accurate info.
88816
No, it is a bacterial infection that usually goes away on its own within a few days, and if it doesn't, you need to see a doctor. Otherwise, the best thing to do is to put a warm compress on it for 5 - 10 minutes about 4 times a day.
990353
NO.. First of all staph is a pesky little   bacterium and is very common (many people have some living on their skin all the time), but when it enters the human body, usually through an open cut or break in the skin, it can cause infection and trouble anywhere in the body. Staph infections tend to be pus-producing. \n\nStaph infection is also the leading culprit behind cases of food poisoning, and can be to blame for larger life threatening conditions, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), pneumonia, bone infections (osteomyelitis), mastitis in nursing mothers, endocarditis (infection of the inside of the heart), and bacteremia (blood infection). People who are otherwise healthy typically do not usually become severely ill from staph infections, but those at special risk, who have weakened immune systems, include:\n\npersons with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, lung disease, kidney disease, or HIV/AIDS \npeople with various skin conditions \nthe elderly \nnewborns \npeople recovering from major surgery \ninjection drug users (especially those who reuse needles) \npeople whose immune systems are weakened due to steroid use, radiation therapy, cancer treatment, immunosuppressive medications \nwomen who are breastfeeding \nHealth \n\nThere is no relation between staph and diabetes
896402
The question is...is this simply acne...or are they truly boils of infection caused by MRSA?\n\nIf simply acne, then yes...Yasmin can cause acne or worsen acne in women who take it.\n\nIf boils of MRSA, then no...Yasmin is unrelated to this problem (and it is completely different than acne).  If the boils keep recurring, then you likely have MRSA living (colonized) in your nose.  It just hangs out there...and then you get these nasty boils popping up all over your body.  If this is the case, ask your doctor for some antibiotic ointment to put up in your nose to get rid of the MRSA (it is called Bactroban).  Other people you live with would have to be treated with this, as well.  It is likely just a coincidence that you started Yasmin at the same time...\n-\n\nBirth control pills have all sort of side effects...not the least of which are strokes that can kill you (if you smoke).  To start and stop birth control pills three times in 1 year is very odd, too.  Hopefully (but not likely), your doctor has also informed you that ALL birth control pills act as an abortificant, as well.  Most of the effect of birth control pills is to prevent ovulation (so, no egg comes at all).  However, they are not perfect...and some eggs do come (shown by women who do get pregnant while on the pill; they are not perfect).  Then, brith control pills also thin your endometrium...so that a fertilized egg (a human being) is unable to implant...and is aborted.\n\nYou may be "OK" with abortion...in which case, why not just abort all the babies you make (instead of taking birth control pills)?\n\nBut if you are not "OK" with abortion, perhaps you should think twice about taking birth control pills...and consider a different method.\n\nBut I am digressing from your question.\n\nHope this helped some, though...
238921
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a specific strain of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that has developed antibiotic resistance to all penicillins, including methicillin and other narrow-spectrum β-lactamase-resistant penicillin antibiotics. It was first discovered in the UK in 1961 and is now widespread, particularly in the hospital setting where it is commonly termed a superbug.\n\nMRSA may also be known as oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) and multiply-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.\n\nNon-methicillin resistant strains of S. aureus are sometimes called methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) if an explicit distincition must be made.\n\nMicrobiology\nMethicillin resistance is conferred by the mecA gene. Expression of this gene yields PBP2a, a penicillin binding protein with reduced affinity for β-lactam rings (the primary active-site of the β-lactam antibiotics).\n\nSome strains of S. aureus over-express β-lactamase and appear to be resistant to oxacillin and, rarely, methicillin despite being mecA-negative. They have slightly raised minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and may thus be described as "minimally resistant". Other strains express modified PBPs (not PBP2) and exhibit varying degrees of β-lactam antibiotic resistance.\n\n\nClinical presentation and concerns\nS. aureus most commonly colonises the anterior nares (the nostrils) although the respiratory tract, open wounds, intravenous catheters and urinary tract are also potential sites for infection.\n\nMRSA infections are usually asymptomatic in healthy individuals and may last from a few weeks to many years. Patients with compromised immune systems are at significantly greater risk of a symptomatic secondary infection.\n\n\nTreatment and infection control initiatives\nVancomycin and teicoplanin are glycopeptide antibiotics used to treat MRSA infections. These drugs are administered intravenously. Several new strains of the bacterium have been found showing antibiotic resistance even to vancomycin and teicoplanin; those new evolutions of the MRSA bacteria are dubbed "vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus" (VISA). Linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin, daptomycin, tigecycline are more recent additions to the therapeutic arsenal, generally reserved for severe infections which do not respond to glycopeptides. Less severe infections may be treated by oral agents including: linezolid, rifampicin+fusidic acid, pristinamycin, co-trimoxazole (trimethoprim+sulfamethoxazole), doxycycline, and clindamycin.\n\nAt the end of August 2004, after a successful pilot scheme to tackle MRSA, the British National Health Service announced its Clean Your Hands campaign. Wards will be required to ensure that alcohol-based hand rubs are placed near to all beds so that staff can hand wash more regularly. It is thought that if this cuts infection by just 1% the plan will pay for itself many times over. Health care workers in the United States are reportedly largely neglecting the simple-yet-effective practice of hand-washing, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s report that hand-washing alone would save the lives of roughly 30,000 patients per year, not from MRSA alone, but from all nosocomial infections\n\n\nEpidemiology\nBecause cystic fibrosis patients are often treated with multiple antibiotics in hospital settings, they are often colonised with MRSA, potentially increasing the rate of life-threatening MRSA pneumonia in this group. The risk of cross-colonisation has led to increased use of isolation protocols among these patients.\n\nIn the US there are increasing reports of outbreaks of MRSA colonisation and infection through skin contact in locker rooms and gymnasiums, even among healthy populations. MRSA causes as many as 20% of Staphylococcus aureus infections in populations that use intravenous drugs. These out-of-hospital strains of MRSA, now designated a
110430
If the rest of your question is: "... kill staph." \n\nThen, I would have to ask if you can test with only one herb, or if you can use an herbal compound.\n\nIf using compounds is acceptable, I suggest a sufficiently strong mixture of:  White Thyme, Tea Tree Oil, Lemon, and Oregano.\n\nIf you just grab these items off the shelf, it's not likely that you'll experience great success at killing the Staph. \n\nRather, use pure essential oils, which are a highly concentrated, water distilled version of the herbs/juice.  There is no alcohol present in pure essential oils, so the success you experience will truly be from the property of the herbs.
705352
obviously, you go to the Dr. but I have been misdiagnosed before, so they aren't totally accurate either.  I was given a topical antibiotic called Clotrimazile and Betamethasone.  It didn't help because as I said, it was misdiagnosed.  After starting the treatment, it should go away in 7-10 days.  Apparently it is cause by openings in the skin and has something to do with the hair folicle.  Sorry that I couldn't help more.
791974
Registered Nurse Here; The pharmacist gave a 100% accurate answer.  I'm personally very glad to see a pharmacist on here, for a large amount of incorrect information is being given by some people.  Furthermore Health Care in today's society is very complex, and people should consider very carefully the accuracy of there information, prior to posting it. \nPharmacist, I have had 4 MRSA outbreaks since April of this year. Believe me it's taken it's toll on me.  I pray your correct that ones immune system will eventually take over, and recurrent episodes of MRSA don't just reoccur and reoccur.
749254
take them, and try to do it according to the original schedule. you should take the whole course because if you don't, all you do is make the germ, whatever it may be, resistant to the drug you're taking, and when it comes back, you'll have to get something else to cure it. This is why they only give penicillin for strep throat now, everything else has become resistant to it coz of people only taking part of their anitbiotics
76364
Staph is a very dangerous infection that can be life threatening. I had a staph infection after a hysterectomy and almost died from it.  I was in the hospital 8 days on multiple IV antibiotics, and my doctor told me later he wasn't too sure I was going to make it.  My sister-in-law's father died from one that got into his system through a cut in the skin. The infection can migrate to various areas of the body and be very difficult to find and treat. It's nothing to mess around with.
472876
to me it just looks like u hav an infection which is resistant to this particular antibiotic, and u might need to change the drug.consult your doctor for further advice on which antibiotic to use.usually symptoms decrease in intensity within 1-2 days and vanish in 5-7.
296223
My doctor always told me 24 hours.  However, it was not in reference to kissing or sharing a drink; it was in reference to just being around other people.  I wouldn't risk kissing or sharing a drink until the entire round of antibiotics have been taken.