What Is Impetigo ?

Impetigo is a highly contagoious infection of the skin that usually affects children between the ages of 2 to 6 years. Individuals who already have sore or damaged skin resulting from conditions such as Eczema or insect bites are more susceptible to develop an impetigo  infection easily. Impetigo is not usually serious and will run its course and eventually clear up on its own. However in some cases impetigo can lead to certain serious complications which is why most doctors today treat the infection using antibiotic ointments or antibiotic  pills.

Symptoms:

Impetigo is usually found to affect children near the mouth (or) nose but it can also affect other areas of the body as well. Symptoms of the infection are classified base on the type of the Impetigo infection. There are basically three types of Impetigo infections:

Non Bullous Impetigo:

This type of impetigo is characterised by the formation of tiny red blisters on the skin which eventually break out and release a pus or fluid substance before turning into a yellowish brown crusty layer. The crusty layer will eventually heal and form a red spot without leaving any scars on the skin. This is the most common type of impetigo infection that affects children.

Bullous Impetigo:

Bullous impetigo is characterised by the formation of larger fluid filled blisters on the skin's surface causing itchiness around the affected region. The blisters in bullous impetigo are painless, and less likely to open up and release the fluid. These blisters will usually stay on for longer periods on the skin and your doctor might prescribe certain antibiotic medications to treat them.

Ecthyma:

In ecthyma the impetigo infection moves further into the skin's dermis resulting in the formation of painful and large fluid filled blisters.The blisters  eventually break out and ooze out their fluid to form a thich yellowish grey crust layer on the skin. However unlike Non bullous impetigo the scars left by Ecthyma usually remain on the skin even after the sores have healed.

Causes:

Impetigo is usually caused by the Staphylococcal Aureus bacteria (S.Aureus) but can also be caused by the Streptococcus Pyogenes bacteria. An impetigo infection results when a staph bacteria manages to enter the body either through a breakage or opening in the skin or by penetrating through weak skin.Once the bacteria enters the body it attempts to break the protein which binds the skin cells tightly together. Once the protein bond is damaged or broken the infection can quickly spread to other areas of the body. As impetigo is contagious one can also get it by coming into contact with an infected person or with their clothing and personal things.

Impetigo Complications:

In certain extreme cases impetigo can result in deadly complications such as,

Poststreptococcal Glomerulonephritis (PSGN) :

PSGN is a conition in which the kidney gets inflammed due to an impetigo infection. The condition occurs when the glomeruli (responsible for filtering kidney waste) gets damaged by the antibodies formed from the impetigo infection. Most people do recover from PSGN but in some cases it can lead to kidney failure. Typical symptoms of PSGN include swelling around the face and eyes, reduced output of urine, blood present in urine and joint pains. 

Complications from impetigo can also lead to other staph infections such as Cellulitis and MRSA.

Treatment:

An impetigo infection is treated either by applying bactericidal ointments or by taking antibiotic pills  If the impetigo is mild your doctor may advise you to apply a bactericidal ointment such as fusidic acid (or) mupricin. If the infection is severe such as in Ecthyma your doctor may then prescribe oral antibiotics such as Neosporin, flucloxacillin, erythromycin, (or) Dicloxacillin.

Prevention:

Maintaining good levels of physical hygiene and cleanlinesscan help in preventing an impetigo infection. Some important meadures on should take to prevent an impetigo infection are,

1. Treating any sort of wound whether it is just a bruise (or) a deep cut immediately by cleaning the wound with warm water and an antibacterial soap as well as applying a topical ointment to prevent spread of an infection.

2. Taking regular showers and baths with clean water and keeping one's fingernails and toenails trim and clean.

3. An infected person's clothing should be washed seperately in hot water to prevent the infection from spreading from one person to another.

4. the skin sores on an infectd person should be carefully and gently covered with a clean gauze to avoid further spreading of the infection.