# Friend with staph infection **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2026, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628 "2026-10-06T19:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/1 "2026-10-06T19:49:30Z")
70-year old woman with several significant health problems, from diabetes to COPD to urinary incontinence and more, including, we increasingly suspect, some form of dementia or cognitive impairment. She is unable or unwilling to clean her house or prepare meals, and refuses care help or food delivery. She is unable or unwilling to follow medication instructions. We get that this is all indicative of big problems requiring intervention if possible. Here is our immediate concern. We have invited her for dinner. But she has just been diagnosed with a staph infection. We not know which staph variety. She has received antibiotics for this but it is not clear she is taking them as prescribed. Here’s the question. How contagious may she be? How much of a hazard is she to others, all 70 or older, some with various 70+ ailments? Is it a risk to invite her to this dinner? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/2 "2026-10-06T23:56:27Z")
Generally staph infections are skin and soft tissue, NOT very contagious in a dinner party type context. Any lesions should be covered with a dressing of some sort. She should wash her hands after dressing it. If she is otherwise ill, like a fever, a different answer. Extra precaution justified for another guest with recent surgery, or a dialysis port, or an open wound of their own, or very medically fragile (not just standard 70 year plus crap). Bigger risks incurred playing with a preschooler grandkid. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/3 "2026-10-08T03:46:31Z")
Thanks. An update. Said friend was incommunicado all day. We went over, met someone with a key, and she was lying on her back in the bathroom. We called the paramedics who took her to the hospital. No easy feat as she weights 200+ and couldn’t walk or assist in getting up. The staph infection is in her nose and there are uncovered lesions on her torso. She is swearing at the nurses, demanding to be allowed out of bed (she tried herself and fell, now the guard rails are up) and pulling the electrodes and IVs out. It’s clear from the pill counts she has not been taking the antibiotics and other medications. She doesn’t know how she fell, though she says she was doing a pushup, which, given she was found lying on her back, must have been a Cirque de Soleil move. She won’t be at this weekend’s dinner! It’s sad and awful, but she is in the system and can get the attention, diagnoses, and home care she needs. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/4 "2026-10-08T04:13:47Z")
Is it a flesh-eating necrotizing risk situation? I recall an NFL team actually disinfected an entire locker room because an opposing team had staph/MRSA. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/5 "2026-10-08T04:59:56Z")
She is lucky to have friends that were in contact enough to know that no contact meant something! Glad she is in the right place to get help. Still sad. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/6 "2026-10-08T13:05:42Z")
Oh. I’m sorry for her. Poor thing. Here’s hoping they can get her calmed down and the right meds on board. 🤞 ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/7 "2026-10-08T13:09:52Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > But she has just been diagnosed with a staph infection. We not know which staph variety. Couple that with her record of not doing anything for herself that she is supposed to do, and you have your answer. Don’t risk your family’s health until the issue is resolved. How about calling her and arranging a food delivery. You can arrange to ring the bell and leave it on her doorstep. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-with-staph-infection/1033628/8 "2026-10-08T14:55:41Z")
Thanks, everyone. In a way, this seems the best possible outcome, as our friend has refused help of all kinds for a few years now and has been declining while refusing medical advice and instructions. We were literally calling social services the day she fell to see what kind of intervention or assessments could be made even if she was more or less uncooperative. She seems to have suffered no harm from the fall apart from dehydration and, well, we’ll see. That much of the health decline was in a sense self-inflicted is tragic and raises all sorts of other questions, of course. Part of the problem has been the changes in behaviour were gradual and not out of character, sort of “Kropotkin has always run around the house naked shouting about capitalism and the nation-state. But now he’s doing it outside and is scaring the chickens. Should we be concerned?” She’s always been grumpy and kind of angry and resistant to medical advice, and so it was easy to think, “well, that’s Donna, only turned up to eleven today” and so miss warning signs. Again, thanks, folks, for your good wishes and advice.