Atopic Dermatitis, Humid Climate, and Other Risk Factors for Impetigo: What It Is, Causes, and Treatment. Impetigo manifests as bumps and sores around the mouth, nose, hands, and feet.
What is impetigo and how is it spread? More than 60% of the population suffers from dermatitis on the hands due to “excessive hygiene” to avoid contagion of Covid.
It is known as impetigo to the contagious skin infection that appears on the face, hands and feet with special frequency in babies and children. Impetigo manifests itself as reddish sores that turn into scabs over time.
The sores caused by this infection usually appear around the mouth and nose in young people, they break shortly after appearing and exude for several days, so that with the contact of clothing or towels the infection can be spread to other healthy body parts. After about a week it turns into a yellowish crust.
There are other less common types of impetigo known as bullous impetigo , which causes blisters in one place of the sores, or ecthyma , which is the most serious type as it causes painful, pus-filled blisters.
Why does impetigo appear
This infection is caused by bacteria, usually staphylococci , it can be spread by contact with an infected person or item. In addition to close contact, there are other risk factors for this disease, such as being between 2 and 5 years old , which is the most common age range for those affected by impetigo, living in a place with a hot and humid climate or suffering from other conditions skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis , people with a weakened immune system or diabetics.
How to treat impetigo
Impetigo is usually treated with antibiotics in the form of a cream or ointment containing mupirocin , applied to the sores for at least 10 days.
To apply the ointment and make it soak inside the scabs, it is recommended to moisten them and then dry them with a cloth so that the mupirocin penetrates inside the sores and is more effective.
In the case of ecthyma, which is the most serious and painful type of impetigo, it is usual for treatment to be through oral antibiotics until the scabs have disappeared.
