Should you keep an impetigo-infected child out of school? And is it serious enough for A&E?

[Medea]

Two questions:

1. If your child has a small spot of impetigoi.e. it's not rampant around the bodyshould you keep him out of school?

2. My GP surgery is completely booked for the day. Should I take him to A&E to get him treated right away? Or can it wait another day? I'm never sure when it's OK to go to A&E and when it's not. (Maybe someone can explain that to me, too.)

Don't know whether you should but I would.

Nooooooooooo NOT A & E - its not an emergency!

not A&E, have you tried your pharmacist?

I'd have thought you'd be right about A & E wartybosoms. . .but last time ds had impetigo (a similar small spot) it was a weekend, and we a doctor out of hours who said THANK GOODNESS we sought treatment that same day, otherwise it could have spread all over his face etc. So she seemed to view it as a KIND of emergency, even if not a life-threatening one.

Very good suggestion, Bundle, but ds has life-threatening allergies to 2 dif families of antibiotics. . .just wouldn't want to take a risk even on a topical agent given by a pharmacist who may know for sure if an ingredient would cause ds a reaction, know what I mean? Because I'm quite sure antibiotics are what's needed in this instance.

we consult the pharmacist about anything skin related - quicker than the docs!

pharmacist would be across what's in the ointments, and you could ring the hospital pharmacy who may have more detailed reference books on treating impetigo in children like your son.

if you can tell the pharmacist which are the problem antibiotics, then you will get the right one- they know far more than GPs about drugs

OK, then, off to the pharmacist! Thanks, everyone.

also completely cover the spot with a dressing (or huge plaster) so that he can't spread it around his body at all.

Probable that you will be advised to keep DS off school and it is very infectious. Having said that my DS had it last year when we went on holiday with friends.. 5 children all in a house together, nobody caught it off him.

It needs flucloxacillin.. it's caused by the staph aureous germ.. my DS was put on it right away so maybe it made him less infectious to the others. It didn't chear up properly though until he was given fluxlox medicine AND cream.

SJ x

(fluclox. not fluxclox!)

Doctor will give a course of antibiotics for impetigo and after taking them for 48 hours child will be okay to go to school. I'd get the antibiotics as soon as poss, could you go to an out of hours clinic?

An out of hours clinic doesn't seem to be on offer, ssd. I mean, they have one for weekends, but not for weekdays, it seems. But I agree he needs the antibiotics asap.

My friend's daughter just had this. She was told by the gp to keep her off school until it had been treated because it is v infectious