Staph infection question

AshleeR20

Before you ask, no I don't have staph but it tends to stick to my family like glue. My sister has it, my uncle and my fiance. I am an CNA and I know some stuff like once you have staph you have the active virus inside your body. Does this mean when I concieved my daughter that staph could pass through to me and the baby, just by sex?

botanicalbliss

I don't think so.  I think if you get staph in your bloodstream, it's incredibly dangerous.  I don't think that people who have repeated staph infections have it in their bloodstreams.  Staph lives on the skin and in the nose and everyone has some on their skin.  Most staph is staph aureous and it's pretty harmless.  MRSA is the bad one, but that's still pretty rare.  Some people are more susceptible to having it colonize and infect skin wounds.

I would worry if you have on open sore caused by staph where baby could hit it while you're delivering.  Other than that, you're fine. 

AshleeR20

Thank you

birdsrock

Actually MRSA is methicillin resistant Staph Aureus...There are not a lot of strains of regular Staph Aureus left.  The more common Staph is Staph Epidermidis & this is the one that people carry on their skin (and is also the non-pathogenic one)  Also, it is not a  virus but a bacteria.

As for it being transferred to your baby, I don't think so, but I would check with your doctor.

botanicalbliss

crowlindsay:

Actually MRSA is methicillin resistant Staph Aureus...There are not a lot of strains of regular Staph Aureus left.  The more common Staph is Staph Epidermidis & this is the one that people carry on their skin (and is also the non-pathogenic one)  Also, it is not a  virus but a bacteria.

As for it being transferred to your baby, I don't think so, but I would check with your doctor.

Oh thanks for this!  I must have old info. 

hannahg

Basically everyone has staph on their skin.  Some people carry staph in their noses also.  Infection happens when the bacteria get inside an open wound.  As someone already stated a lot of the staph on your skin is Staph epidermidis which is generally harmless.  Staph aureus causes most staph infections and those caused by MRSA are particularly troublesome as far as treatment.  Lots of run of the mill skin infections are caused by staph including some pimples, impetigo etc...There is absolutely no way that this organism was passed to your daughter via conception.  What she could possibly inherit is a predisposition to getting staph infections since her immune system will be half yours.