Do I have staph infection? What are the symptoms and how painful is it?

Question

I started by having a rough area on the back of my thigh about 2 weeks ago. My mom said it was just eczema (sorry about spelling) so I didnt do anything. Then within this past week, I have been getting ALOT of bumps on my legs that are red and raised and most of them have puss in them. Is it staph? If not, what else could it be? They don't hurt unless I touch them or pop the puss out of them. What do I do about this rash/infection? Thanks for all the help!

--Katie

Answer 1

A rough area does sound like eczema (spelled just right by the way), and a rash could be caused by many things. Pus does suggest an infection, but it could be acne as easily as Staph, which would not necessarily be painful. The only way to know is to go to your doctor and have the pus cultured and the bacteria identified.  I wouldn't panic that it's MRSA, I'd just have my doctor take a look.  And I'd stop popping them in the unlikely case that some seriously infectious bacterium was involved, as well as to not further irritate my skin.

Personally I had some red raised bumps this past week while out camping, and I think it was just an odd sunburn reaction or a reaction to dust in the desert.  They went away when I got home, and I'll never know what they were.  I'm sure there are lots of possible causes for such things.

Answer 2

STAPH!!! Go to the doctor yesterday!!! And don't pop them... it'll spread!

Answer 3

GET TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM NOW!!!  I CANNOT STRESS IT ENOUGH~!!!!  STAPH INFECTIONS KILL PEOPLE.  my father lost his life cuz he had a staph infection, it was like a boil.

Answer 4

It actually does not sound like a staph infection I have seen.  But, you can go online and look at rash pics to get an idea.  I do suggest makking a Dr. appointment as it does sound like some sort of infection.  I also suggest taking a pic of the rash as it can change in different stages of infection and it may help a Dr. with diagnosis.