Confused about strep A

[Gammara]

Sorry, probably the millionth post on this.

I keep reading that impertigo is linked to strep A…my son had impertigo a few years ago and he was given an antibiotic cream, he was never given oral antibiotics to take. Surely if it can lead to strep A he should have had penicillin? Sorry I’m just so confused by it all!

Impetigo is a Strep A infection on your skin, so applying the antibiotic to your skin is more effective at treating it.

Does that stop it from entering the blood stream though?

No, antibiotic cream is all you need for impetigo. It’s localised to the skin so does not need oral penicillin.

Impetigo can trigger scarlet fever, for which you would then need penicillin.

Why oh why don’t people realise that strep a is a bacteria that is present in around 30% of all kids sore throats and many people walk around with strep a bacteria on their skin and throats with no symptoms and have done for years.
It wasn’t going to ‘lead’ to strep a- your child had strep a on their skin that caused impetigo.