To ask if this looks like impetigo or just an allergic reaction?

[SunnyL97]

My 4 year has developed this and it seems to be getting worse. Thank you

How long have they had it OP?

When my Dd had impetigo, I dropped her at school with what I thought was a small patch of eczema on her chin on a Monday morning. I was away with work that night, but when I picked her up on theTuesday afternoon and it had doubled in size and another patch was starting above her lip. Obviously I kept her off on the Wednesday, but overnight it had spread much further.

The speed for us was what set it apart from anything I've ever seen on our children before, but it had a scabby texture too that was quite different to what your photo seems to show.

Is it a cold sore. Can the pharmacist or gp advise you

DH has just pointed out there was no scabbing straight away, or I'd have twigged what it was on the Monday when I dropped her off!

I'm probably being no help whatsoever, but I think you'll probably have more idea what it is, or isn't, in the morning.

When and what did they last have to eat? If it was tomato or melon eaten directly off the skin I’d be more inclined to say allergy.

Long time coldsore sufferer here, and have had impetigo a couple of times too.

To my entirely untrained non-medical eye, that could be the start of a coldsore. Could also be many other things though! I always know if it’s a coldsore coming through vs say just some sore skin because of how uncomfortable it is. I’d say if your son finds himself constantly wanting to touch it / rub it / it’s distracting him, then it could be a coldsore. If it is, get aciclovir cream, ibuprofen + paracetamol and try the coldsore patches. They don’t work amazingly in terms of actual speeding up healing, but are great to stop the constant touching. I have more drastic measures to get rid of my coldsores but none are 4yo friendly.

The most recent time I had impetigo, I thought it was actually just VERY bad coldsores. It felt similar at the start in terms of wanting to touch it because of the discomfort. In hindsight, the severity of how awful I felt and the sheer volume / size of it (it was literally all over my mouth and lower face, I could barely open my mouth to drink) means I wouldn’t confuse the two now.