Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is a group of common bacteria that typically causes skin infections with symptoms such as bumps, blisters, rashes, and boils.
If a staph infection progresses and invades the bloodstream or other internal organs, it can cause serious and possibly fatal complications.
Recognizing the early signs and symptoms of a staph infection is important, so that you can seek help and get appropriate treatment before the infection spreads or worsens.
Symptoms of staph infection may be contained to your skin or be systemic, meaning the infection enters your body and bloodstream.
Depending on what part of your body is affected, symptoms of a staph infection may be contained to your skin or systemic.Everyday Health
Staph Infection Symptoms
Symptoms of a staph infection vary widely according to the specific type and cause of the infection.
Symptoms of skin infections may include:
Bumps or boils that can be painful and filled with pus
Rashes
Blisters
Swelling and redness
Fever
Symptoms of invasive, or systemic, infections include:
Fever
Chills
Pain
Diarrhea
Low temperature
Low blood pressure
Swollen or painful joints
Dizziness
Types of Staph Infections:
The following types of skin infections may be caused by staph:
Folliculitis
Folliculitis occurs when hair follicles become infected. The infection causes small red bumps or pimples that may be filled with pus. The bumps can be itchy, painful, or burn. Sometimes the blisters break open and crust over.
Boils
Boils are a deeper, more severe version of folliculitis. They typically start as red, swollen bumps about the size of a pea that are painful to the touch. A boil may enlarge and gradually turn white as pus collects under the skin. Boils may rupture and drain spontaneously or may need to be lanced and drained by a doctor.
Skin Abscess
A skin abscess is a pus-filled pocket of infection that develops under your skin, similar to a boil but deeper in the body. The surrounding area may be painful, red, warm, and swollen. You might also have a fever and chills.
Cellulitis
Symptoms of cellulitis include redness, swelling, warmth, and pain where the infection is located. Cellulitis most often occurs on a person’s leg. As it spreads, you may feel feverish and sick. Additionally, you might have small, red spots around the reddened skin and blisters that burst open.
Impetigo
Impetigo causes red sores that break open and ooze. After a few days, the blisters form a yellowish-brown crust. This infection is sometimes painful, but not always. Most cases of impetigo develop on the face, hands, or feet.
MRSA
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a type of staph that is resistant to common antibiotics and enters the body via a cut, bite, or burn. Like typical staph, symptoms of MRSA include a skin lesion that worsens over a few days. People with weakened immune systems are more likely to get MRSA. The infection is treatable with certain antibiotics when caught early.
Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome
This serious skin infection most commonly affects babies and young children and is caused by toxins released by staph bacteria. Symptoms include a rash, fever, and blisters that break easily, leaving moist, painful areas of skin. Large sections of the top layer of skin may also peel off, giving the appearance of skin that’s been scalded or burned. Kids with this infection might also be irritable and tired.
Wound Infections
Wound infections usually crop up two or more days after you’ve had surgery or sustained an injury. They cause redness, pain, swelling, warmth, and pus drainage at the site of infection. You might also have a fever.
Potential Complications of Staph Infections
Invasive staph infections can lead to severe complications that may require immediate medical attention. Symptoms vary depending on the type of infection, your overall health, and the location of the infection.
Sepsis
Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of an infection. Symptoms of sepsis usually include fever, chills, fast breathing, a high heart rate, and disorientation.
Your doctor will diagnose you with sepsis if you have an infection and at least two of the following symptoms:
A body temperature that’s above 100.4 degrees F or below 96.8 degrees F
A heart rate that’s higher than 90 beats per minute
A respiratory rate that’s higher than 20 breaths per minute
A white blood cell count greater than 12,000, less than 4,000, or a band cell count of more than 10 percent (band cells are also known as immature neutrophils, a type of white blood cell)
Sepsis can sometimes develop into a more serious problem called septic shock. This causes dangerously low blood pressure.
Septic Arthritis
Septic arthritis is an infection in a joint. You may experience severe pain around the joint that makes movement difficult. Other symptoms include redness, warmth, or swelling around the joint, and a fever.
Toxic Shock Syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome, which can occur when staph bacteria get into your blood and produce toxins, can be deadly. Symptoms include:
A sudden, high fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Low blood pressure
A rash that looks like a sunburn (usually on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet)
If endocarditis goes untreated, it can lead to the spread of a staph infection to other parts of the body.
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis, an infection of a bone, can cause pain at the affected area along with:
Fever
Chills
Irritability
Swelling, warmth, or redness around the infected bone
Rarely, this type of infection has no symptoms.
Bacterial Pneumonia
Pneumonia causes inflammation and the accumulation of fluid and pus in the air sacs of your lungs. Staphylococcus is one of several types of bacteria that can cause pneumonia.
Signs and symptoms of food poisoning caused by toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria usually come on quickly — within hours of eating contaminated food — and go away promptly too.
If you eat food contaminated with these toxins, you may experience:
Stomach cramps
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Dehydration
Low blood pressure
Pyomyositis
Pyomyositis, which is an infection of the skeletal muscle, can cause the following symptoms:
Pain and tenderness near the affected muscle
Fever
An abscess or lump under the skin
When to See a Doctor
Given how serious staph can be, it’s important to see your doctor if you are experiencing symptoms of an infection.
To diagnose a staph, your doctor will take a detailed account of your symptoms and examine any visible signs or symptoms carefully.
Your provider might also collect a tissue sample, nasal secretion, or wound secretion to test for staph bacteria.
For internal infections, a blood sample may be drawn for testing, and in some cases, an X-ray or other imaging test may be done to locate an infection inside your body.
The Takeaway
A staphylococcus, or staph, infection affects the skin and can cause bumps, rashes, boils and abscesses.
Invasive staph infections can cause serious complications that require medical attention. These include sepsis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, and bacterial pneumonia.
Staph infections are treated with antibiotics.
If you are concerned you might have a staph infection, it’s important to get medical care as soon as possible to avoid serious complications.
Jane Yoon Scott, MD, is an infectious disease physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Scott enjoys connecting with her patients, empowering them to understand and take ownership of their health, and encouraging them to ask questions so that they can make informed and thoughtful decisions.
She graduated with the highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, then received her MD from the Medical College of Georgia. She completed her internal medicine residency training and chief residency at Temple University Hospital, as well as a fellowship in infectious diseases at Emory University. She is board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases.
When she is not seeing patients, Dr. Scott works with neighboring health departments to promote public health, especially to communities that have been historically underserved. She also teaches medical trainees and lectures medical students at the Emory University School of Medicine.
In her free time, Dr. Scott appreciates a good coffee shop, weekend hikes, playing guitar, strolling through cities, sampling restaurants, and traveling to new places.
Christina Frank is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor specializing in health and medical topics. Her work has been published in over 50 digital and print publications, including Berkeley Wellness, Health, The New York Times, Parenting, and WebMD.
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Staph Infections: Symptoms and Causes. Mayo Clinic. May 25, 2022.
