Staph Infections: Health Story
Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, July 8 and August 26, 2007
Show 415
Brendan Shaffer is the picture of health today, dominating the soccer field and playing tough, but last fall he nearly lost his dream of playing college soccer and his life. It all started out as back pain, but then developed into life threatening high fevers, constant vomiting and plummeting blood pressure.
Four days into Brendan's 11 day hospital stay, doctors determined he had staphylococcus aureus sepsis or a staph infection; something thousands of people die from every year.
"Somebody could walk around for years carrying staph on their skin and never have a problem. But should they have a cut and their immune system isn't healthy in that area, you'll start to see a change of an infection," says Dr. Mary Schmidt.
For athletes, sharing personal items like razors or towels increase the chances of developing a staph infection. So does hitting the shower without protecting your feet. Today, thanks to a course of the most powerful antibiotics available, Brendan is back to his old self again.