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Impetigo

Impetigo is a common and highly contagious condition in children. Here we can see a boy with impetigo affecting large parts of his body.

antibiotic, bacterial skin infection, impetigo, small pus-filled blisters

What is...
Symptoms
Complications
Home treatment
Prevention

What is...

What is impetigo?

Impetigo is a common bacterial skin infection.

It is easily spread from one person to another, and often is seen as an outbreak in families, day cares, and schools.

Impetigo is usually caused by one of two types of bacteria: Staphylococcus (staph) or Streptococcus (strep).

These bacteria can be found normally on the surface of the skin and in the nose or mouth. They do not usually cause harm unless they overpopulate a particular area, or invade through an opening in the skin.

Impetigo often develops around the nose or mouth, and in places where the skin is broken, for example, near a cut, a bug bite that is scratched, a patch of eczema, or a chicken pox lesion.

Symptoms

Symptoms and signs

Impetigo usually starts with one cut or sore on the skin. If the child scratches it, the sore may become infected with bacteria that are on the surface of the skin, or inside the mouth or nose.

This causes the sore to become red, warm and swollen, itchy, and sensitive to the touch. Small pus-filled blisters may appear which eventually burst open and form a golden yellow scab.

If your child keeps scratching or picking at the sore, the infection can be spread, creating new sores on other parts of the skin, usually near the original sore.

Impetigo is usually found on the face, around the mouth or nose, and on the fingers, but it can also be found on other parts of the body where the child touches.

The sores develop over the course of a few days, and last several more days before forming scabs.

Complications

Impetigo rarely leads to serious complications.

The sores may leave scars, but this is not common. In rare cases, the bacteria can reach the blood supply, causing blood poisoning (bacteremia), which can damage internal organs such as the heart valves and kidneys.

Another rare complication is "scalded skin syndrome", which may be caused by staphylococci bacteria. This condition most often affects very small children. The illness begins as a localized staphylococcus infection, like impetigo, but a toxin that is produced by the bacteria then goes on to cause a generalized skin reaction. The rash begins around the mouth and spreads to the rest of the body. Blisters burst open leaving sores on the surface of the skin that look like burns. The child will often have fever and pain.

This serious condition needs be treated in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics.

Luckily, the majority of children recover completely after this skin infection, without scarring or other long-term complications.

Home treatment

Treatment / What you should do

Call your doctor if you suspect that your child has impetigo.

Impetigo, in most cases, can be treated at home.

Wash the affected skin with an antibacterial soap and water several times a day, then apply some antibacterial ointment. This treatment should get better within a week or so.

If there is no sign of any improvement within a few days, if the child has lots of impetigo blisters all over, or has fever and is not feeling well, you should contact a doctor.

The doctor will decide if the child needs a prescription-strength antibiotic ointment or an oral antibiotic (taken by mouth). It is always important to take antibiotics exactly as the doctor prescribes them.

Prevention

Thorough hand washing is the best prevention against spreading impetigo.

The child should wash his hands often and only use his own towel and washcloth.

Children who have any type of skin infection should be discouraged from touching or scratching the sores.

Fingernails should be cut short so that they will not harbor germs and the child will not create new sores if he scratches somewhere else.

Covering the sores will reduce the risk of transmitting the infection to others.

Children with impetigo can attend school or daycare if the sores are well bandaged. If the child has numerous sores that cannot be covered, he should not be sent to school until all the sores have dried up and scabbed over.

If there are many children at the school or day care with impetigo, steps should be taken to prevent further spread. Examples of this are daily washing of toys, using disposable gloves, and cleaning other objects that can cause the infection to spread. Local health departments can help with preventative measures.

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About Child Health Guide

Child Health Guide (CHG) is a health web site for parents that uses actual video examples of how children look and act during illness and traumatic injuries.

The CHG helps parents by providing clear, easy-to-understand, accessible, actionable information about their child’s condition.

The Child Health Guide is a major advance in the delivery of healthcare information.

The CHG includes video clips of more than 100 of the most common childhood illnesses and injuries. Organized by symptoms and cross-referenced by disease, the CHG enables parents to easily find the information that is most useful to them.

It also has an important section about home-accidents and how to prevent them.

The video clips show children with symptoms at various stages of a disease – both more and less serious. The accompanying “narrative” explains the symptoms, the illness, and what a parent should do.

The CHG is not a substitute for a physician’s advice or a doctor’s office visit.

Rather, it is to help parents better understand and articulate their child’s condition, making visits to the doctor – and follow-up care -- more effective.

Both the videos and supporting text are vetted by physicians at the Harvard Medical School and Dartmouth Medical School.

Terms and Conditions

The "Child Health Guide" is intended to provide helpful, informative material on the subjects addressed. The material reflects the more common circumstances related to a symptom or a condition without any attempt at being all-inclusive. The material is not intended to be a substitute for consultation, evaluation, and treatment by trained medical professionals.

Contact The Child Health Guide

If you have any questions regarding The Child Health Guide, don't hesitate to send us an email: contact [at] multimedicus [dot] com

Impetigo

What is...

What is impetigo?

Symptoms

Symptoms and signs

Complications

Complications

Home treatment

Treatment / What you should do

Prevention

Prevention

Images

Videos

Related topics

Partners