If a patient has 4+ staph aureus on their bacterial superficial wound culture (swab of a rash on her chest) - is this contagious? Is a patient having staph aureus found on the skin considered to have "impetigo"? She asked if she should avoid her grandchildren and i told her yes as I was staying on the cautious side, but I was not too sure. I know MRSA infections of the skin/wound we inform patients to avoid immunosuppressed patients, elderly, children and pregnant women.
rnforforty 74 Posts Specializes in Infection Control, Med/Surg, LTC. Has 41 years experience. Nov 22, 2014 Contagious? yes. Good hand washing. impetigo? yes. Avoid granddumplings? Cover rash, wear freshly laundered clothing and wash hands very frequently. Transmission by skin to skin contact, often seen in people who play contact sports. Probably got it FROM the dumplings who carried it home from school.Not being MRSA does not make it less contagious just easier to cure.
J.Skyler 3 Posts Has 2 years experience. Nov 22, 2014 Staph aureus is considered normal flora on the skin. Even though yes, it is contagious, it's probable that most people already have it on their skin.
