To clarify, nasal colonization by Staph. Aureus is not equivalent to a "sinus infection". In college I took a class on plagues -- as an experiment, everyone in

To clarify, nasal colonization by Staph. Aureus is not equivalent to a "sinus infection". In college I took a class on plagues -- as an experiment, everyone in the class tested themselves for nasal colonization of S. Aureus. Over 60% of the class was found to be colonized by Methicillin-Susceptible S. Aureus (MSSA). However, nobody tested had an active infection. The risks of nasal colonization are somewhat unclear. Some papers have found positive correlations between colonization and subsequent infection. Other papers have found a negative correlation between nasal colonization and mortality rates for subsequent infections. Here are a handful of papers on the topic: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374690 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374690 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15325812 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15325812 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24996783 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24996783