What is Impetigo?
The body is truly capable of countless wonders. From our first breath to our last, our bodies work to keep us healthy and thriving. However, the body is also capable of contracting various conditions that leave us feeling less than our best. Skin conditions are especially challenging, as they can have both serious physical and aesthetic impacts on our wellbeing.
Understanding Impetigo
One of the most contagious and common skin conditions is impetigo. Caused by the bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, this condition is spread from person-to-person contact. There are many factors that contribute to the risk of impetigo. These include age, crowds, humid environments and open skin injuries. Often affecting children and infants, impetigo appears as red sores around the nose and mouth. In many cases, the sores will ooze, developing a golden crust.
Although less common, two other forms of the condition–bullous impetigo and ecthyma–can cause additional discomfort and present different symptoms. With bullous impetigo, larger blisters may appear on the torso. With ecthyma, painful fluid or pus-filled sores may appear deeper within the skin. These can turn into ulcers if left untreated.
A major obstacle to treating impetigo is the fact that the bacteria can live actively in clothing, bed sheets, towels, toys–essentially any object the infected individual may have come into contact with. This means that if a child develops impetigo while at daycare, proper measures should be taken to ensure the condition is not spread to other children.
Impetigo Treatment
Fortunately, impetigo can be successfully treated with antibiotics. In most cases, it takes 24 hours for the antibiotics to take full effect and for the infected child or adult to no longer be considered contagious.
The best way to decrease your risk or your child’s risk for receiving the infection is to keep the skin clean at all times, and properly wash and dress wounds as soon as possible.
If you believe that you or your child have developed impetigo, Skin Laser & Surgery Specialists of NY and NJ can help. Led by Dr. Goldberg, our team has experience treating a wide range of impetigo cases for patients in the New York City and New Jersey area. You can rest assured that you are in good hands.
Do not let the symptoms of impetigo persist. Instead, get the treatment you need, by contacting us to schedule an appointment today.