Skin Infections

Skin infections often cause a sudden red rash or angry swelling. Such infections can take a long time to go away if they’re under the skin and large, but proper diagnosis and early care can keep them from getting any worse.

If you have suddenly developed a red rash, hot patch or painful swelling, you may be experiencing skin infections. They are surprisingly common. As you might expect, most people don’t talk about such things, even though they can be extremely painful and life changing experiences in extreme situations.

Staph

Probably the most common and sometimes the most dangerous type of infection comes from Staphylococcus aureus, often simply called staph. There are also 29 other species of Staphylococcus spices, but S. aureus seems to be the peskiest by far.

Types of staph infections

These bacteria are responsible for the swelling of the oil ducts under eyelashes known as styes, but also called hordeolum. Hair follicles that become infected and can swell into large masses on your skin are called boils (technically called furuncles) and clusters of boils called carbuncles. These are quite painful and can take as long as a month to go away.

Especially dangerous is cellulitis, an infection below the skin that causes a large area of (usually) the arms or legs that becomes red and can very quickly become systemic. Of less concern is the impetigo that usually affects children. These itchy pimples form on the face, hands and feet, eventually forming a crust. Very common is razor burn or the little folliculitis pimples that sometimes form around shaved skin.

Extremities

Among the most serious of these infections are those involving the hands and feet, though skin infections of the finger are the most common, now that most people wear shoes. These most commonly include staph bacteria as well, such as those caused by biting off hangnails and introducing bacteria though saliva. Some more serious infections are caused by the Hepatitis virus.

Deep tissue wounds to the hands and feet are especially prone to infection and such puncture wounds should almost always be treated by a doctor, especially if you haven’t had a tetanus shot in the last decade. Even the thorns from plants can cause serious side effects.

If you carefully determine what sort of skin infections you may have, you’ll know whether they are safe to treat at home or are in danger of travelling through your bloodstream. Such infections can kill, so caution is warranted.