What is Impetigo?
It is a contagious bacterial skin infection that is mainly caused by Staphylococcus and Streptococcus bacteria. It is more common in children (particularly 2 to 5 year olds) than in adults. Impetigo mostly occurs in warm and humid environments. It is usually spread by close contact, like between family members or by sharing clothing, towels, sheets, toys, or other things.
What Causes Impetigo?
Impetigo is mainly caused by one of two types of bacteria – streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph). These bacteria normally enter the body when the skin has already been irritated or injured due to some other skin problems like poison ivy, eczema, insect bites, cuts, or burns. Kids might get this skin problem after they have had a cold or allergies that have made the skin under the nose raw. However, in some cases, impetigo can also develop in completely healthy skin.
What Are The Various Symptoms Of Impetigo?
Impetigo symptoms are generally very uncomfortable. Although the symptoms slightly differ from type to type of impetigo, but they are mostly similar and might include:
- red sores that arise easily and leave a yellow crust
- fluid-filled blisters
- itchy rashes
- skin lesions
- swollen lymph nodes
- They mostly begin as small red spots, and then develop into blisters that finally break open. Though the sores are not mostly painful, but they might be itchy.
- Their size and number keep increasing. Sores might be as small as a pimple or larger than a coin.
How Is Impetigo Diagnosed?
Doctors can easily diagnose impetigo just by examining your or your child’s skin. In some cases, doctor might gently remove a small piece of a sore and send it to a lab to spot the bacteria. In case if you or your child has other symptoms of disease, the doctor might ask you for blood or urine tests.
Medical examination and sometimes bacterial culture tests are used to make a decision that whether topical antibacterial creams will be sufficient or whether oral antibiotics will also be needed. Moreover, bacterial culture tests can enable a doctor to guide the proper use of oral therapy if necessary.
What Is The Treatment For Impetigo?
Impetigo is not a very serious infection and it is very treatable. Treatment for this mainly depends on the rigorousness of your symptoms, along with the type of bacteria causing the infection. In severe impetigo cases, the doctor might recommend treatment with antibiotics.
- Antibiotic cream
The doctor may prescribe you topical or oral antibiotics to treat mild impetigo. However, whether you’re prescribed any one of these antibiotics, it’s very essential to finish your prescription to prevent the infection from recurring. Stopping an antibiotic treatment only because symptoms have improved can result in a recurrence of the infection and antibiotic resistance. The doctor might recommend a topical antibiotic cream to apply directly to the skin. It is very important to clean the skin before applying the antibiotic cream as this helps the cream penetrate the sores. - Oral antibiotics
In case of more severe or widespread impetigo, your doctor might also prescribe oral antibiotics. These antibiotics come in liquid form for children and pill form for adults. Oral antibiotics that are generally very helpful in treating impetigo include penicillin derivatives like amoxicillin clavulanic acid and cephalosporins such as cephalexin.
Homeopathic Treatment For Impetigo
Homeopathy offers a very good scope in treating impetigo, which is a recurrent skin condition. Taking homeopathic treatment from a qualified and experienced homeopath will not only helps to heal the sores but will also prevent the appearance of new sores on the body.
Friends, as you all know very well that classical homeopathic medicines are prescribed only on the basis of TOTALITY OF SYMPTOMS with a clear cut identification of disease in patient and patient in disease also, even then we are providing here just a few homeopathic medicines for different types of medical problems in a short way.
But reader is advised very strongly to use the medicines only under medical supervision and these medicines should never ever consumed without proper consultation with your doctor or GP.
All types of ACUTE as well as CHRONIC COMPLEX diseases, (as described in this article) are being treated gently and harmoniously in our Singhal multispecialty homoeopathy clinic with best classical homoeopathy medicine available to us, by helping and correcting the internal immune system .
We, in our clinic treat all types of acute and chronic diseases and for this we are having best qualified homoeopathic doctors available with us.
As you all know that In this modern mobile and digital era, diseases are increasing day by day just because of our poor life style which includes improper nutrition with no exercise and working in high level of pollution as well as radiation ; this give rise to all type of life-style diseases which includes Obesity, Diabetes, Text neck, Hypertension, Stress Related Anxiety And Depression, Thyroid And Menses Related Problems, Eczema Or Dermatitis, Lichen Planus, Psoriasis Vulgaris, Hairfall, Skin Allergy And Allergies To Milk, Dust, Mites, Wheat And Perfumes Etc, Student’ Stress, I.B.S. (Ulcerative Colitis ),Rheumatoid Arthritis And Other Auto Immune as well as Hormonal Disorders And Diseases Etc.
