What is impetigo?
This skin disease, which affects children most often, is accompanied by the appearance of superficial vesicle-pustular rashes. Impetigo begins with the formation of painful red spots, which turn into scabs, resembling crusts, through the stage of bubbles. Zones around the nose and mouth are especially prone to the appearance of spots, although often affected are the legs, arms, back of the hands. Despite the fact that impetigo affects children more often, people of any age can be infected by it.
There are several impetigo species:
Contagious impetigo (non-bullous impetigo) is caused by bacteria streptococcus, is a very contagious form of the disease. The areas of the lesion most often become the back of the hand, the area of the skin around the forearm, mouth, nose. Combing the rashes leads to the spread of infection to other parts of the body, so it is difficult to cure the contagious impetigo.
The first stage of the contagious impetigo is the appearance of red itchy spots, which turn into bubbles within a day. After a few days, the bubbles either dry out or burst, forming fairly thick brown crusts. After treatment, reddish spots remain on the skin for a while, but impetigo does not leave scars. Residual blemishes usually disappear after a few weeks.
Bullous impetigo is caused by bacteria of staphylococcus aureus. Bullous impetigo is diagnosed, as a rule, in children under 2 years of age, accompanied by the formation of the feet, hands, trunk of purulent vesicles on the skin. Pustules arising from bullous impetigo are not painful to humans, although they are an extremely unattractive sight. Lopa, they form a yellowish crust, which disappears during treatment. Unfortunately, a complete cure for bullous impetigo, unlike contagious, takes a much longer time.
Ectima is an especially serious form of the disease that affects the deepest layer of the skin - the dermis. Ectima is accompanied by the formation of ulcers, covered with a crust, and painful sensations. The main area of damage is most often the legs. Since bacteria reach the dermis, there is a high likelihood of scars and scars after healing of the ecthima.
The causes of impetigo.
The streptococcus and staphylococcus bacteria existing on the surface of the skin as a result of insect bites, cuts or other skin damage penetrate the body and are the cause of impetigo.
Bacteria spread in many ways, among them:
- Combing. The following skin diseases, such as scabies, chickenpox, dermatitis, herpes, eczema are often accompanied by the development of impetigo, because the itching of the skin that these diseases cause causes the affected areas to be combed. As a result of scratching, there are mechanical damages to the skin, which contribute to the penetration and further spread of bacteria. Even small skin lesions can cause bacteria to penetrate and impetigo.
- Contact with the patient. Impetigo can also be transmitted in the absence of skin damage - through direct contact with the infected disease in public places (for example, in a sauna, gym, public transport, school). You can get infected if you use the same items that the impetigo patient used - toys, dishes, clothing, etc.
Prevention of impetigo.
A key condition for preventing impetigo and maintaining healthy skin is thorough hygiene. For the prevention of the disease it is necessary:
- Take a shower regularly.
- Wash your hands systematically and with soap.
- Carefully handle wounds, especially in children. Insect bites, cuts, scratches, any kind of rash, irritation on the skin should be carefully treated and cleaned, as they contribute to the spread of bacteria causing impetigo.
Treatment of impetigo.
If you find symptoms of impetigo - purulent vesicles, red spots, etc., you need to urgently go to the hospital. The initial stage of impetigo is treated without the use of medications, as a rule, in more severe cases, antibiotics (ointments or tablets) are prescribed.
Affected areas of the skin should be kept clean, rinsing them with warm water and soap. Cysts must be removed before applying ointments with a clean cloth, otherwise crusts make it difficult to penetrate the skin of the drug. When applying medical ointment, immediately after applying it to damaged areas of the skin, wash hands thoroughly or use disposable gloves. This will help reduce the risk of bacteria spreading to other parts of the body.
Antibiotics should be taken strictly according to the doctor's instructions: the course of admission should be completed, even if the symptoms of impetigo begin to disappear. Otherwise, the infection can return and cause a worsening of the condition.
Damaged areas of the skin should be covered with a bandage to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to other parts of the body or infecting other people.
To reduce irritation and itching, use a softening cream.
You can not use general things: clothes, bed linen, towels. The personal belongings of a patient with impetigo must be washed and washed separately from the things of healthy people.
Until the complete cure of impetigo, you must avoid the sauna, swimming pool, hot tub.