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Impetigo

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Treatment:

The goal is to cure the infection and relieve the symptoms.

A mild infection may be treated with a prescription antibacterial cream. More severe cases may require antibiotics, taken by mouth.

Wash the skin several times a day, preferably with an antibacterial soap, to remove crusts and drainage.

Expectations (prognosis):

The sores of impetigo heal slowly and seldom scar. The cure rate is extremely high, but they often come back in young children.

Complications:

• The infection could spread to other parts of the body. This is common.
• Children often have multiple patches of impetigo.
• A systemic infection could lead to kidney failure (post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis ). This is a rare occurrence.
• Permanent skin damage and scarring may occur (also extremely rare).

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if symptoms indicating impetigo are present.

• Review Date: 10/16/2006
• Reviewed By: Michael S. Lehrer, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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