What is impetigo? What are the Symptoms and Treatment?

What kind of skin disease is impetigo? What symptoms does it present? How is impetigo treated? What needs attention? All you need to know about impetigo is in our article.

İmpetigo nedir?

Impetigo is a skin inflammation caused by bacteria mostly seen around the mouth, nose and ears. It is very contagious.

Because impetigo is mostly seen in school-aged children, it is also called “school sore”.

What causes impetigo?

Organisms called staphylococci and streptococci found in the nose and on the skin cause impetigo. Impetigo can also develop after injury or a fly bite.

If impetigo is caused by staphylococcal bacteria (bullous impetigo), the infection can cause blisters filled with clear fluid. These are easily opened and reveal a shiny open sore with honey-colored crusts.

If impetigo is caused by streptococcal bacteria (non-bullous), there are usually no fluid-filled blisters. However, larger wounds and ulcerations can be seen on the crusts.

What are the symptoms of impetigo disease?

Small, yellow, crusty blisters around the nose, mouth, and ears are possible signs of impetigo.

What are the factors that increase the risk of impetigo?

1. Crowded conditions

Impetigo can easily spread in environments where children are concentrated, such as schools and nurseries.

2. Hot and humid weather

Since hot and humid weather conditions increase the rate of transmission of impetigo, the disease is more common in the summer months.

3. Some types of sports

Skin-to-skin sports activities such as football and wrestling increase the risk of impetigo accelerating.

4. Skin wounds

Bacteria that cause impetigo can more easily enter the skin through skin wounds or insect bites.

5. Weak immune system

Those with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop impetigo.

How is impetigo transmitted?

There is a risk of transmission of impetigo until the redness disappears or 48 hours have passed since the drug taken.

You should not send your child to school until your doctor has diagnosed impetigo. You should keep your towel separate to prevent the infection from spreading to others. If careless, impetigo can easily spread and cause an epidemic.

How is impetigo treated?

First of all, you should avoid self-medicating your child. Usually, an oral antibiotic is used so that the child can completely rid the body of impetigo, or a cream is used to prevent the spread of inflammation to other areas.

Your doctor may order a culture to find out what bacteria is causing this lesion. You should make sure your child takes the medicine for the recommended amount of time. Otherwise, impetigo may recur.

If you notice symptoms such as darkening of your child’s urine color or swelling in your eyes, be sure to contact your doctor. This may indicate kidney inflammation due to impetigo and should be evaluated separately.

How to prevent impetigo?

• Staying away from those with active infections,
• Cleaning mild skin wounds with soap and water and then applying antibiotic ointments can prevent impetigo.

What should you pay attention to in impetigo disease?

• Before using the ointment, you should wash your child’s skin with warm water and soap and dry it with a paper towel to remove the crusts.
• Impetigo can cause itchy skin. The child himself can spread the infection on his spoon, touching other parts of his body. Be sure to warn him about it.
• You should be very careful if your child is thumb sucking, nail biting or picking their nose. These can cause the inflammation caused by impetigo to spread.
• You should cut your nails short to prevent the inflammation from spreading to other parts of your body.
• You have to be meticulous about cleaning. You should wash your hands before and after applying the treatment and prevent your child from touching your face.
• When the fire is completely gone, you should keep your child’s face moist with emollient creams.
• You should wash your child’s hands frequently.