Diagnosing and Treating a Staph Infection in Your Nose

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacteria that also goes by the names S. aureus and “staph.” You can get a staph infection in your nose. But carrying staph in your nose is far more common. Almost 1 in 3 people in the U.S. carry staph in their nose. Most of the time, this doesn’t cause any problems and doesn’t need treatment. Let's take a look at the difference between carrying staph and a staph infection in your nose. 

How do you get staph inside your nose?

Everyone has bacteria that live on and inside their body. Bacteria live on your skin, nose, mouth, intestines, and genitals. In most cases these bacteria aren’t harmful — some even help with digestion, and others prevent infection from more dangerous bacteria. “Colonization” occurs when a bacteria lives on you without causing damage. 

S. aureus, or staph, may live harmlessly on your skin and inside your nose. In fact, about 30% of people in the U.S. are colonized with staph. Staph can colonize you when you come into contact with another person who has the bacteria or if you touch a surface that has staph on it. 

Everyone will come into contact with staph bacteria at some point in their lives. But it isn’t clear why only some people become colonized and carry staph in their nose or on their skin.  

Is nasal staph infection serious?

A nasal staph infection can be serious because it can spread to other parts of the body and cause severe infections. The most common types of nasal staph infections are:

• Nasal folliculitis (vestibulitis)

• Nasal furunculosis 

• Chronic nasal sores

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People who carry staph in their nose can develop nasal staph infections. Some things increase the risk of developing a nasal staph infection:

• Picking your nose

• Blowing your nose often (from having an upper respiratory tract infection or allergies)

• Waxing or plucking nasal hair

• Having a nasal piercing

People who are receiving certain types of cancer treatment or who have diabetes may also be at higher risk of developing these types of nasal staph infections.

What are the symptoms of a nasal staph infection?

People with a nasal staph infection may notice:

• Pain

• Redness

• Crusting around the nostrils

• Bleeding from the nose

• Warmth of the nose

• A bump inside the nose

But people who are colonized with nasal staph do not have symptoms. They might never know it’s there. 

How do you diagnose staph infection in the nose? 

Your healthcare provider can test you for staph infections in your nose. They can also test if you carry staph in your nose.

In both cases, they will do a quick test where they rub a nasal swab on the inside of your nose. Then they test this swab for staph bacteria. If you need surgery, you might need to do this test a few days before your surgery. 

What’s the treatment for staph infection in the nose?

If you have a staph infection in your nose, treatment can include:

• Topical antibiotics, like mupirocin ointment

• Oral antibiotics, like clindamycin 

• Pain medication, like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil)

• Warm compresses and nasal saline rinses

You will also need to avoid touching your nose as much as possible until the infection heals.

If your test shows that you carry staph in your nose, you might need to use:

• Mupirocin 2% ointment: This is an antibacterial ointment. You apply it to the inside of your nose twice a day for 5 days.

• Chlorhexidine gluconate soap: This is an antibacterial liquid soap. Your care team will ask you to wash with this soap once a day until your surgery. 

Does mupirocin nasal ointment before surgery prevent staph infection?

Research shows that using mupirocin before surgery to reduce the amount of bacteria on your skin or in your nose can decrease the risk of an infection after surgery. This is especially true for people who are having cardiothoracic or orthopedic surgery. 

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Written by:

Christine Giordano, MD

Christine Giordano, MD, is board-certified in general internal medicine. She received her medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed residency at Thomas Jefferson University.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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