Infant Staph Infections

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), staph infections are one of the most common causes of skin infections in the United States. Although similar to the staph infections that adults develop, infant staph infections present special considerations that you should be aware of as a parent in order to best protect your baby's health.

The Facts

Officially called Staphylococcus aureus, staph is a bacterium frequently found on a healthy person's skin or nose. Statistics from the CDC indicate that this germ resides in the nose of up to 30 percent of healthy individuals without causing them to develop an infection, a condition called colonization. Usually staph bacteria cause minor skin infections in infants, but staph can also cause other more serious health risks, including wound infections, blood infections, urinary tract infections and pneumonia.

Types

Infants can develop two main types of staph infections: those caused by regular staph and those caused by methocillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA). Regular staph infections are caused by staph bacteria that can be treated with most types of antibiotics. The CDC states that MSRA infections are caused by varieties of staph that have developed a resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, a group of commonly-used antibiotics that includes methicillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. According to the Mayo Clinic, close to 50 percent of staph bacteria located in hospitals are resistant to methicillin.

Symptoms

Although staph infections range in severity and can affect infants in different ways, the most common type of symptoms that accompany infant staph infections are skin-related, including boils, impetigo and scalded skin syndrome. Red or swollen boils filled with pus may develop anywhere on an infant's body but occur most frequently under her arms or on her bottom. Impetigo, a contagious rash of crusty, fluid-filled blisters, may occur around your infant's nose and mouth. The Mayo Clinic states that newborns could also show signs of scalded skin syndrome, a condition characterized by a rash, a fever and blisters that peel to show the appearance of scalded skin.

Diagnosis and Treatment

If you suspect that your infant has developed a staph infection, arrange for an appointment with your baby's pediatrician for diagnosis. Typically, your baby's doctor will take a tissue sample or collect nasal fluids to check for the presence of the staph bacteria. Once your baby has been diagnosed with a staph infection, the doctor will determine the type of staph infection causing the problem in order to select the most appropriate antibiotic for treatment. Follow the doctor's instructions exactly when giving your infant the medication in order to eliminate the staph infection completely.

Prevention/Solution

Practicing good hygiene is the key to preventing infant staph infections. Washing your hands and keeping your baby's body clean reduce the likelihood that these germs will invade your little one's body. Try to avoid using changing stations in public restrooms, or sanitize and cover them before laying your infant down; this can lower your baby's chances of catching a staph infection from an infected infant that used the changing station. Lastly, wash personal items such as towels and sheets regularly with hot water and detergent, and keep your own wounds and your baby's cuts covered with a sterile bandage until healed.