One of the groups of bacteria that live on the skin and mucous membranes of a person is called staphylococci. With a decrease in immunity, they become the cause of various diseases. This often occurs in newborns, because the favorite place of residence of staphylococcus is the hospital. You will find out about the symptoms and ways of treating these infections below.
What is staphylococcus and where does it come from
? Medicine defines the concept of staphylococcus as one of the types of bacteria. Translation of it from the ancient Greek is the phrase "grape grape".When viewed under a microscope, the bacterium looks like a bunch of these berries. Staphylococcus is Gram-positive because it does not discolour in laboratory tests, but retains its golden color. In nature, bacteria are found in soil or in air. The risk factors for the appearance of a pathogenic agent in newborns are:
- problems in childbirth;
- incorrect process of care for newborns;
- pathology during pregnancy;
- premature delivery.
Medical statistics indicate a large number of cases of the appearance of staphylococcus in the hospital. In this institution, all people due to diseases weakened immunity. This situation "opens the gates" for any infection, including staphylococcal infection. Another cause of infection may be carriers of bacteria from among medical staff or newborn patients. They themselves may not be aware of their status, but at the same time have an infection in one form or another. Staphylococcus in the baby also causes various diseases. Depending on them, it is classified:
- Hemolytic. It affects the respiratory tract, therefore it is the cause of tonsillitis or tonsillitis.
- Saprophytic. Causes cystitis or urethritis.
- Golden. More dangerous for newborns. It causes purulent inflammation of all organs and tissues.
How is it transmitted Staphylococcus aureus
It enters the body of a Staphylococcus immediately after birth. The colonization of the baby's body with this and other bacteria is considered a normal process of adaptation to the environment. After giving birth, the baby is completely sterile, but already during the first minute of life, his stomach, intestine, nasopharynx, skin and all other organs are exposed to the most diverse microorganisms. Infection often occurs through the mother's milk or a crack on the nipples.
Where does the staphylococcus take in the hospital? Any hospital periodically carries out disinfection. In this procedure all bacteria die: pathogenic and useful. The liberated space and occupies staphylococcus aureus. He is carried in the hospital by the same medical personnel. Staphylococcus aureus in a child is considered a frequent phenomenon, therefore in maternity hospitals there are even outbreaks of infections caused by this bacterium.
Symptoms of staphylococcal infection
As mentioned above, this type of bacteria in newborns can affect the skin, mucous membranes or internal organs. The signs of staphylococcus in the infants depend on the type of infection. Infection is manifested:
- on the skin: carbuncles, boils, or other eruptions;
- on the mucous membranes of the throat and noses, as an ordinary cold, i.e.coryza, frequent sneezing, coughing;
- in the intestine: a digestive disorder with a frequent mucous or watery stool, accompanied by the capriciousness of the newborn;
- on the mucosa of the eyes with their redness, tear and conjunctivitis;
- is less common in the blood in the form of sepsis, which is characterized by poor appetite and skin discoloration;
- with general symptoms: malaise, insomnia, fever, vomiting, or lethargy.
In the intestine
Staphylococcus infection in the newborn occurs after eating food, where this bacterium is present. Breastmilk also applies here. The causative agent can have different places of localization in the digestive tract, so the infection proceeds in different forms. In most babies at such an early age, it manifests itself in the form of food poisoning, gastroenteritis, or gastritis. The peculiarity of the diseases is that their incubation period is only a few hours. The following signs indicate the development of pathology:
- frequent attacks of vomiting;
- painful or swollen tummy;
- regurgitation;
- frequent crying;
- blanching of the skin;
- attacks of cold sweat;
- a chair of a liquid watery consistency up to 4-6 times a day;
- breast-failure;
- high temperature.
In the feces of infants
More accurately detect staphylococcus in newborns in the feces is possible only by analysis in the laboratory. If the assumption is confirmed, this indicates the appearance of the bacterium in the intestine. Any mother should be alerted to the following symptoms:
- the baby became less active, fussy and refuses to eat;
- increased temperature;
- a painful abdomen is noted;
- feces have a watery, foamy and liquid consistency, as well as a green color;
- in the stool is found mucus.
Some changes in feces are allowed in the first weeks of the baby's life, because his body is only populated by microflora and does not produce all the necessary enzymes. For this reason, treatment is often not prescribed even if staphylococcus is detected in a newborn in feces. Drug therapy is necessary only if the child has the above symptoms.
Staphylococcus in the blood
The most severe form of infection with staphylococcus is sepsis. This disease has a popular name - blood poisoning. Than it is dangerous? From another locus of localization, the bacterium enters the bloodstream and then spreads to all organs: the lungs, the brain, the heart, the abdominal cavity, the kidneys, the bones. As a consequence, additional diseases develop, for example, pneumonia or meningitis.
If a suspected sepsis is a prerequisite is the hospitalization of a newborn, because this disease has the highest percentage of deaths. Among the symptoms of infection of the blood are:
- cardiac and renal failure;
- low blood pressure;
- elevated temperature;
- weakness and moody behavior of the baby.
On the skin
Staphylococcus in neonates can cause even the most common pimple. With normal immunity, the baby's body cope with this problem. If the body is weakened, then there is a rash of vesicles inside which there is pus. All of them are itchy, and with improper treatment, they increase lesions. Then the staphylococcus in children penetrates the sweat glands, resulting in furuncles, carbuncles or barley. Suppuration can lead to sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia.
How to take an analysis for staphylococcus
If doctors have a suspicion of a staphylococcal infection, then the analysis is sent to take not only the newborn, but his mother. The woman on the sowing seed should only hand breast milk. Staphylococcus in newborns is determined by the following materials:
- mucus from the nose with symptoms similar to ARI or ARVI;
- feces in the presence of signs of dysbiosis;
- blood under condition of display of signs of its infection, i.e.sepsis.
The count of the amount of staphylococcus in the taken material is done manually. If the value exceeds the norm and there are symptoms that indicate a certain disease, then immediately appropriate treatment is prescribed. When the baby was active and not capricious, but the result of the analysis is still bad, therapy is not performed. For several days just observe the state of the newborn, and then again take the tank seed. If a staphilococcus is found in breast milk, the baby is treated with the mother.
How to treat staphylococcal infection
Among the methods of treatment of staphylococcus in newborns are often used and folk remedies. The peculiarity is that the baby can not eat anything, except the mother's milk. For this reason, herbal decoctions are used for baths. Effective are the bark of a bast, chamomile and ayr. In addition, folk treatment of staphylococcal infection involves maintaining the hygiene of the child, complete sterilization of the surrounding things and the use of green for the treatment of skin rashes.
With such methods, parents should be careful and pay more attention to the prescriptions of doctors. To cure staphylococcus, different groups of drugs are used:
- vitamins;
- probiotics in intestinal staphylococcus: Bifidumbacterin, Bifikol;
- preparations against staphylococcus: staphylococcal anatoxin, bacteriophage, immunoglobulin;
- from intoxication: glucose or saline, which is injected with the help of droppers;
- antibiotics for staphylococcal pneumonia and meningitis: penicillins and cephalosporins permitted for newborns.