Impetigo? Yuck!

[hillaryb]

My 4 year old had a tiny cut on the side of her nose. I noticed after a month or so that she kept picking at it and it wasn't healing as a result. She is a bit of a picker. I started covering it with band-aids and treating it, but every morning she would get up and the band-aid would be gone and the wound was re-opened. Now she has impetigo. She has little bumps all over her face and even her nostrils are affected. I'm attempting to home-treat this before going to the doc, as sometimes you can clear it up if it isn't ALL over the body. I bought good wound-wash, antibiotic ointment, and a nail brush. I cut all her nails off as short as they would go as well. My husband switched companies and we are uninsured for another 2 weeks or so (90-day probationary period). If she runs a fever or gets worse, I will most definately take her to the doctor.

I know it is possible that we will have to go ahead and go to the doctor. I'm giving her a day or so to see if she improves with home treatment. Anyone have any tips or experience with this? I know I got impetigo as a toddler due to a bug-bite. I'm doing everything I've read about on the web and in our medical reference book we keep at home. Do you think with diligent care I can clear this up?

[Luka Mullens]

If you are absolutely sure it is impetigo, you could call a doctor and just ask to be prescribed some bactroban. It will clear it up in 3 to 5 days, and it isn't too expensive. And you will not use the whole tube in one go, so the next time you will have some handy! (Impetigo is very common).
If you home treat make sure to soak the crusts in warm water long enough so you can gently peel them off. Then apply antibiotic ointment and cover the area with some gauze. Wash hands many many many times! The bacteria are in the fluids just under and in the crusts, so you need to keep that area clean.
If your kid develops a fever you should definitely go see a doctor because the stahpylococci or streptoccocci (the bacteria that cause impetigo) can enter the bloodstream and wreck havoc (isn't very common, but just be careful).
Hope this helps.

Karen