What Are the Signs of a Staph Skin Infection?
Staph skin infections show up in lots of different ways. Some of the more common conditions often caused by S. aureus skin infections are: • Folliculitis (pronounced: fuh-lih-kyoo-lie-tus) is an infection of the hair follicles, the tiny pockets under the skin where hair shafts (strands) grow. In folliculitis, tiny white-headed pimples appear at the base of hair shafts, sometimes with a small red area around each pimple. This occurs often where people shave or have irritated skin from rubbing against clothing. • A furuncle (pronounced: fyoor-un-kul), commonly known as a boil, is a swollen, red, painful lump in the skin, usually due to an infected hair follicle. The lump usually fills with pus, growing larger and more painful until it ruptures and drains. Furuncles often begin as folliculitis and then worsen. They are most frequently found on the face, neck, buttocks, armpits, and inner thighs, where small hairs can often be irritated. A cluster of several furuncles is called a carbuncle
