How to Get Rid of Impetigo

Impetigo is a skin infection caused by bacteria. Usually the cause is staphylococcal (staph) but sometimes streptococcus (strep) can cause it, also. It is most general in children among the ages of two and six. Impetigo usually appears as red wounds on the face, particularly around a child's nose and mouth. Impetigo forms round, crusted, oozing spots which develop bigger day by day. The hands and face are the preferred places for impetigo, but it often appears on other parts of the body. Impetigo is rarely serious, and usually clears on its own in two to three weeks. But because impetigo can occasionally lead to complications, your child's doctor can choose to treat impetigo with an antibiotic ointment or oral antibiotics.

Symptoms begin with red or pimple-like wounds surrounded by red skin. These wounds can be somewhere, but usually they occur on your face, arms, and legs. The wounds fill with pus, then break open after some days and form a thick crust. These rather common bacteria are found on the skin of healthy people. Somebody whose skin becomes infected develops blisters whish usually burst, ooze fluid, and then harden into a honey-colored crust. Impetigo is infectious from person to person. When somebody in a household has impetigo then it is heavy chances that the infection can be passed to other family members. In family members, it spread by clothe, towels, and bed linens, which have touch the infected person's skin. Certain risk factors - such as poor hygiene, anemia, malnutrition, and a hot climate - can increase the probability of an outbreak of this infection.

Causes of Impetigo

Common causes and risk factors of Impetigo

1. Streptococcus pyogenes.
2. Staphylococcus aureus.
3 .Poor hygiene.
4. Warm, moist weather.
5. Lice infections (like scabies, chief or public lice), which cause scratch are also the main factor of impetigo.

Symptoms of Impetigo

Common symptoms of a Impetigo include:

1.Weakness.
2. Rash.
3.Fever
4.Diarrhea.
5.Itching.
6. Painless, fluid-filled blisters

Treatment of Impetigo

1. Oral Antibiotics: The oral antibiotic for ecthyma and serious cases of impetigo contagiosa can be prescribed by the physician in some chronic cases of impetigo.
2. Dicloxacillin should be given as first treatment for impetigo because erythromycin-resistant strains of S aureus are widespread at that time.
3. Use separate towels and flannels.
4. Topical Steroids: Topical steroids can be used to decrease the inflammation caused by impetigo. A soft steroid or moderate steroid can be used.
5. Topical antibiotics: In some cases, doctors can dictate an antibiotic which you apply to your child's skin (topical antibiotic), such as mupirocin ointment (Bactroban).   
6. It is very important to remove the scabs before applying ointment, because the bacteria which cause the disease live below them.