Staph Infection In Legs
Posted in January 12th, 2012 by admin | Filed under Staph Infection Diseases, Types Of Staph | Comments (0)
Staph infection in legs is manifested by warmth, pain, swelling and redness in legs. The body lymph nodes become tender and swollen. Staph infection in lower leg can affect people of all ages. The infection can appear on any human organ. But it’s the hands, feet and legs that are attacked the most.
The signs and symptoms of staph infection in legs take place at location of infected region of the skin. They can also appear at several other parts of humans. The following information is about symptoms of this medical condition.
Staph infection in legs is caused by bacteria. In healthy adults the streptococcus group A is the causal agent for the disease. The bacteria are mostly found on the skin and throat. Another cause of Staph infection in legs streptococcus aureus, found in the mucous membrane of the mouth and nose and on the skin. In children this disease is caused by Hemophilus influenza type B. It causes serious infection in the affected people.
The conditions causing the disease include insect or a spider bite, animal bite, tattoo, skin rash, pruritic, eczema, athlete foot, dry skin, injecting drugs, obesity and many other similar conditions affecting the blood flow.
The skin appearance assists a doctor to determine the diagnosis. The physician may suggest a wound culture, a blood test or any other similar test to rule out blood clots deep in the leg’s vein.
Discoveries in the field of medicine have showed that there is an increased tendency in the persons with certain risk factors for getting staph infection in legs. The general risk factors include lymphatic system problems, leg swelling, skin breaks and obesity. While the special risk factors include cardiac failure, dyshidrosis, lupus, psoriasis, lymphoma, leukemia, diabetes, AIDS, HIV, pregnancy, chemotherapy, use of IV antibiotics, bypass surgery of coronary artery and a previous cellulitis episode.
The risk factors for staph infection in leg are not a direct cause of this disease. But these risk factors increase the chance of the disease development. The individuals believing that they are at the risk of developing staph infection in legs must talk with their medical practitioner about this.
This disease affects blood circulation in feet and legs like varicose veins and venous insufficiency. Hence both of these are included in the risk factors.
This disease is very common in thickly populated areas sharing the hygiene facilities and same living places like homeless shelters, oil platforms, nursing homes, college dormitories and military installations. If such places are shared with a patient, medical treatment should be sought immediately.
The staph infection in leg can be identified by a doctor after conducting patient’s blood test, analyzing his medical history and performing his physical examination. The most reliable way of diagnosing is by looking at the infected area of the skin. Probably the affected area is warm, red, swollen and is painful to touch. The medical advisors normally look for the skin breaks (including the skin condition, ulcers, bruises, cuts and scrapes) from where bacteria can invade the body. Your doctor can ask you to go for a blood test if he founds any indication of staph infection in you.
Immunosuppressive drugs or ailments which weaken the immune system can be a factor contributing to this disease. Bursting open of blisters in Shingles and chickenpox can provide bacteria a source of entry. Lymphedema is a disease causing the swelling of arm and legs can also put a person’s life at risk of getting this disease.
Diabetic patients are more prone getting this disease as the lack of glucose level causes more rapid growth of bacteria in the affected tissues that it would be otherwise. This causes a rapid progress in the disease by entering the blood stream.
The main aim of treating staph infection in leg is treating the affected skin. The treatment also includes the treatment of underlying shapes that can increase the return of the disease. Healing process is included in the treatment using the recurrence prevention and antibiotics. During the treatment process you must keep the infected leg elevated. For reducing pain use a cold compress. The recovery period can last from forty eight hours to as long as six months.
