Impetigo is a contagious bacterial skin infection most common among preschool children. Impetigo is a highly contagious skin condition. It usually occurs on the face, neck, and hands of young children and infants. Children who wear diapers also tend to get it around the diaper area. Impetigo occurs more rarely in adults, usually following another skin condition or an infection.
Predisposing factors include poor hygiene, malnutrition, and anemia. Impetigo occurs more frequently among people who live in warm climates.
The infection is spread by direct contact with lesions or with nasal carriers. The incubation period is 1–3 days after exposure to Streptococcus and 4–10 days for Staphylococcus.
TYPES
IMPETIGO
Contagious impetigo
This most common form of impetigo, also called non bullous impetigo, most often begins as a red sore near the nose or mouth which soon breaks, leaking pus or fluid, and forms a honey-colored scab, followed by a red mark which heals without leaving a scar. Sores are not painful, but they may be itchy. Lymph nodes in the affected area may be swollen, but fever is rare.
Bullous impetigo
This form of impetigo is most common in children under age two. Blisters usually appear first on the torso, arms, and legs. These blisters may initially appear clear and then turn cloudy.
Blisters caused by bullous impetigo tend to last longer than blisters caused by other types of impetigo. The areas around the blisters may be red and itchy.
Ecthyma
This is the most serious form of impetigo because it affects the second layer of the skin, rather than just the top layer. Blisters tend to be painful and may turn into ulcers, or aggravated, open sores. Swollen lymph nodes and scars may also occur.
SYMPTOMS
Impetigo symptoms can be uncomfortable and embarrassing, particularly when they are present on the face. Though the symptoms vary slightly from type to type of impetigo, they are similar and can include:
red sores that pop easily and leave a yellow crust
fluid-filled blisters
itchy rash
skin lesions
swollen lymph nodes
Impetigo is usually diagnosed based on its appearance. It generally appears as honey-colored scabs formed from dried serum, and is often found on the arms, legs, or face.
The gravest potential complication of impetigo is post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, a severe kidney disease that occurs following a strep infection in less than 1% of cases, mainly in children.
HOMOEOPATHIC APPROACH
Being an acute disease Impetigo is easily curable with Homoeopathy. It never goes for complications like kidney affections with genuine homoeopathic treatment. Body’s healing process is stimulated via prescriptions based on peculiar symptoms of a case. body itself become able to battle against the bacteria and hence to remove the disease.