Impetigo...how contagious?

[funnylittlekaty]

Ds (nearly 1) has impetigo-damn that germ ridden nursery- and looks terrible, poor mite. He's coping v well, still as noisy and destructive as ever, but I'm wondering how likely I am to get it? He's been on antibiotics since weds night but he slept in our bed weds night as he had the extreme sads, and has been keen for lots of cuddles which seems fair enough. Will I get the pox too? When will I know if I'm free of it? Will our house be no longer unclean unclean by next sat for little man's first birthday party? Being a mum sure is non stop glamour!

Ime it can be very very contageous. I know one year they nearly closed the boarding house at school because so many of them had it.

I think however if you are very careful about not touching it, washing all towels, possibly sheets, anything else that touches (you may need to do it on a very hot wash) it will reduce the risk. I think it needs an open sore to get in, so if you have any it could be worth putting a plaster over.

Thanks dewe. I'm pretty sure I've touched it lots, or at least had it rubbed all over me as it's on the palms of his hands. Dh just called from work to say he feels ill. Oh dear. Nothing like a bit of bank holiday bacteria! X

You might be lucky, my ds had it last year and I didn't catch it even though we shared towels etc for a few days before I realised what it was. He was older though (4) so easier to tell him to leave the poxy bits alone! The nursery had a policy that they could return 48 hours after starting antibiotics and it cleared up pretty quickly so you should be ok by next week.

Hope he's better soon :)