Impetigo

What Is Impetigo?

If your child gets red sores, especially around the nose and mouth, he could have impetigo. It's a skin infection caused by a bacteria, and it spreads easily. It's most common in babies and young children, but adults can get it too.

Symptoms

Impetigo sores can appear anywhere on the body, but children tend to get them on their face. Sometimes they show up on their arms or legs.

The infected areas range from dime to quarter size. They start as tiny blisters that break and reveal moist, red skin. After a few days, it gets covered with a grainy, golden crust that gradually spreads at the edges.

In serious cases, the infection invades a deeper layer of skin and turns into a form of impetigo called ecthyma. When that happens, your child gets pus-filled bumps with a crust that's much darker and thicker than ordinary impetigo.

Ecthyma can be very itchy. If your child scratches the irritated area, it can cause the infection to spread quickly. If you don't get it treated, the sores may cause permanent scars and changes in skin color.

Causes

The most common cause of impetigo is bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. Another bacteria source is group A streptococcus.

These bacteria lurk everywhere. The most common way for your child to get impetigo is when he has contact with someone who has the infection, such as playing contact sports like wrestling. It's especially easy to pick it up if your kid has an open wound or a fresh scratch.

You can also catch impetigo if you share the same clothes, bedding, towels, or other objects with someone with the infection.

Your child is more likely to get impetigo if he has other skin problems, such as eczema, body lice, insect bites, or fungal infections.

What Are the Signs of Impetigo?

Impetigo starts out as a small cluster of blisters that after a few hours breaks into a red, moist area that oozes or weeps fluid. Impetigo appears mainly on the face but also can develop on exposed areas of the arms and legs.

In a few days, there is the formation of a golden or dark-yellow crust resembling grains of brown sugar. The infection may continue to spread at the edges of the infected area or affect other areas of skin.

Impetigo can be spread by skin-to-skin or infected surface-to-skin (such as towels) contact.

What Are the Treatments for Impetigo?

The key to treating -- and preventing -- impetigo is to practice good personal hygiene and maintain a clean environment. Once the infection occurs, prompt attention will keep it under control and prevent it from spreading.

Even if only one family member has impetigo, everyone in the household should follow the same sanitary regimen. Wash regularly with soap and water. This should help clear up mild forms of the infection. If this does not help, seek care from your doctor. You may need a prescription medication. Topical mupirocin ointment, available only by prescription, is highly successful in treating mild forms of the infection. Don't try over-the-counter antibacterial ointments; they are too weak to kill strep and staph infections, and applying the ointment carelessly may actually spread the impetigo. If you have a more severe infection, you may need to take oral antibiotics.

Anyone in a household who develops impetigo should use a clean towel with each washing. Be sure to launder those towels separately. Keep sores covered to prevent spread of the infection to other parts of the body or other people.