staph

I was diagnosed with a staph in my lungs. My doctor says that the only medication that will kill it is Cipro. He also says that you can pick it up from shopping carts or shaking hands. I was under the impression that you could only pick-up staph in a hospital or doctors office.  Which is true. Shopping cart or doctors office and how many different kinds of staph are there.

[xxbowiexx]

Hi there,

Staphylococcus genus has roughly 30+ difference species, most of which are harmless to human.  They can be found on many different type of surfaces.  The staphyloccocus aureus strand of bacteria seems to be the most prevalent staph species that can cause infection.  Since staph can be presented on many different surfaces, you can pick it up from just about any surfaces, including shopping carts, hands and hospital.  Therefore, it is vital to have good hand-washing technique. Staphyloccocus aureus that are found in the hospital tends to be the super bug that caused MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphyloccocus aureus) since it mutated into a more antibiotic resistant strand that conventional antibiotic can't kill.  

Cipro is a potent antibiotic that can kills your staph infection.  I hope you feel better soon.