Symptoms

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  Staph often goes untreated because when a person initially contracts a staph infection its appearance is similar to that of a spider bite or pimple. Most people leave staph untreated at first because they think it's a pimple that will go away in a few days. This results in these bumps turning into deep and painful abscesses. Surgical draining is often required to get rid of these deep abscesses. Staph sometimes only infects the skin, but other times staph infections can reach the inside of the body. This can cause infections to bones, joints, as well as the lungs which can often result in death. People that have staph often have a high fever as well.
  
  

Causes

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  Staph disease is a bacterial infection which means that it can enter the body through a cut or wound. Staph disease can easily spread between people when they share personal items. In recent years, staph disease has spread from one high school athlete to another after they've shared athletic equipment.
  
  

Risk Factors

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  People that have weaker immune systems tend to get staph infection most often. Old people usually have the weakest immune systems. Children are also more susceptible to staph infections because they have immune systems that are not fully developed. Athletes that participate in contact sports are also more susceptible to staff infections. Healthcare workers are also susceptible to staph infections because of how frequently they're in contact with people that are sick.
  
  

Prevention

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  One of the best ways to prevent yourself from getting staph disease is by washing your hands frequently according to the Mayo Clinic. Some people don't wash their hands properly. The proper way to wash your hands is to wash your hands between 15 and 30 seconds after lathering your hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizers can also help to prevent the contraction of staph disease. If you're going to use a hand sanitizer, use one that contains at least 62 percent alcohol.
  
  

Treatment

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  Antibiotics are usually prescribed to patients that have staph, according to Medline Plus. There are many strains of staph in the world that are resistant to some types of antibiotics. This makes it extremely difficult to treat some cases of staph. Kidney dialysis is sometimes another treatment option that's used to treat staph. If you have staph, speak to your doctor about some of the different treatment options that are available to you.