The GI tract is also known as the gut. Trillions of bacteria and tiny organisms, called flora, live there. In fact, the flora make up about 60% of our feces. Three main types of flora live in the gut:
In brief: Depends on severity. A tiny pimple or pustule on the skin, caused by regular staph, should heal up in 3-5 days after the pus comes out. A deeper abscess may take 1 week of treatment to clear up, and another week for the remaining wound to heal. People who have internal abscesses in their bodies, or have suppressed immune systems, can take several weeks of treatment with IV antibiotics (even longer in bone infections).
The answer to how long does food poisoning last and how long does it take for symptoms to show also depends upon where the poison came from. If the tainted food contained staph, the symptoms can begin within one hour of eating. If the problem came from campylobacter, the symptoms might not show up for 10 days or more.