Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection that typically effects younger children, yet can affect older children and adults as well. Generally it is seen in children ages 2 to 5 and can be caused by many different things. The usual treatment for Impetigo is with antibiotics, orally or applied to the skin.


Impetigo can be caused by two types of bacteria and they are Staphylococcus aureus (staph for short) and Streptococcus (strep throat). Staph infections is the main cause for impetigo, whereas as strep causes a minor amount of cases. Now there are certain risk factors that will make it more likely that someone will get impetigo, and they are:

* Being between the ages of 2 and 5 years old

* Warm, humid conditions

* Trauma to the skin ( cuts, sores, shaving, insect bites)

* People with scabies

* Living in crowded or unsanitary places, such as prisons, military barracks and homeless shelters.

* Physical contact with someone who has an open and draining sore or someone who is a carrier of staph.

Do remember that impetigo is very contagious so you need to take precautions when possible to avoid contracting. There are a couple different ways that it can be transmitted from one person to another. Mainly is through that of an opening in the skin, this can be a cut, scrape, sore etc. That area will contain lots of impetigo and the slightest contact with that area and then applied to another part of a person’s body is enough for successful transmission. Skin to skin contact is the most common yet it can be shared by way of items as well. It can also be transmitted from one person to another by way of nasal discharge. Shared items such as towels, razors etc can transmit impetigo as well.

The impetigo incubation period is approximately 1 to 3 days. This means that symptoms don’t usually appear right away and take 1 to 3 days to surface. If you have the symptoms you will usually see it start with red flat spots or a pimple like bump which is surrounded by red skin. The most common places for these to appear are the arms, legs, face and in younger ones the diaper area. Even though these are the common areas they can show anywhere on the body. Everyone is different and you can have a few of these blisters to quite a few of them. They do turn to blisters after a few days that are filled with pus. Eventually they burst and ooze, during this whole time they are so highly contagious.

Treatment of impetigo can be ordered in a few different ways and usually depends on type and the severity. For a mild case a doctor may choose not to treat with drugs and just suggest hygienic measures to clear it up. As mentioned previously, a topical treatment or oral medication can be prescribed. There may also be some recommendations for some life changes after it’s gone away to hopefully prevent it from returning.

Obviously no matter what precautions you take you will never be able to prevent everything. Yet that doesn’t mean you should try to do all you can do to try. Keeping one self clean and their environment is a key here. Also make sure cuts, scrapes, etc are cleaned well immediately and covered with an antibiotic cream right away. In addition if someone around you has it make sure to use universal precautions to do your best to avoid the spreading. If you suspect that you have it go in to your doctor right away and get it checked out.

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