Impetigo....give me your best tips

[heavenis]

I have just got back from the doctors with ds1 (7) and he has impetigo. On his face. What are your best tips for clearing it up and keeping it away.
He's got antibiotics.
He already has his own towel and flannel
I washed them at high temp (is 60 high enough)
Just about to wash all his bedding.
Thanks in advance.

You're doing all the right things. My ds has had it twice (quite easy to catch as he has eczema) and no-one else in the family caught it.

Does he have cream or oral antibiotics? They should work quite quickly. The first time he had it i went back to the Gp for oral antibiotics as we were going abroad. Last month i noticed it on holiday (thought he had grazed his leg at first and spanish pharmacist gave antibiotic cream. Good luck

Hi Mell2 He's got the cream.
Nobody else has got it so far,I think he must have got it from school.
I keep feeling itchy now.

heavenis, my mother had it (in her seventies!) and no one else caught it....but she was probably good at obeying orders and keeping her hands off her face.

Whatever stops it itching, so the poor lad doesn't feel impelled to touch it, is probably good...sorry, not much help. Just want to reassure you it does'nt have to be caught!

Message withdrawn

Agree with elibean - We never caught it. I was putting cream on him twice a day and thought if anybody is going to catch it, it would be me!

He had a patch come up on his fingers and as he is always scratching (coz of the eczema) i thought it would spread everywhere but the cream got it under control.

We too are just back from the doctors, DS1 (age 5) has impetigo aswell.
He has been given oral antibiotics and an antibiotic cream. He is not allowed back to school til Monday.
Doctor said that an antihistamine medicine would help with the itching, so that might be an idea.
So far DD2 (18 months) is showing no signs, hope it stays that way.
Good luck to you, hope your son recovers soon.

Do you think something like pirton would help.
He has got about four spots it doesn't look like pictures of impetigo I've seen on the web.(I suppose there are different serverities)

DS1 has piriton and it is helping with the itching.
Might be worth a go.

Yes piriton will help the itching. The spots may not look the same as they haven't scabbed over. I would put the cream on them.

I used medised as it hurt mine as well. ALl three of mine are just gettting over it but I have been really tough on their own towels and hand washing and applying cream three times a day!

Message withdrawn

I've put the cream on all of it. He has to have it three times a day.
He had two red bumps on his chin last night but this morning they had scabed over.
We took a photo so we could compare what the difference was this morning.

We've all had impetigo (on knees, chin, up noses and in ears - yuck) - dd1, dd2, dd3 and me. We passed it back and forth despite anti biotics, separate towels, 60 degree washes etc. Doc gave us a bottle of Hibi (?) scrub to wash with in shower (I think its what drs use to scrub with before ops etc).

I eventually googled impetigo and found that tea tree oil products help. Subsequently got rid of it by using Thursday Plantation tea tree antiseptic lotion morning and night when applying clean dressings. Website also recommended bathing affected areas with warm water with few drops of tea tree oil in it.

Worked for us.

BTW, patience and persistence helps - took a few days to see a difference and over a week to clear entirely.

EmmyLou - Thanks for the tip about tea tree oil. I have just added it to the towels wash that I am doing to see if that helps too. I will bathe his leg and arm sores with it, but I am a bit worried about the sore he has in his nose as I think that tea tree oil might sting there. Will probably just stick with the fucidin stuff there.
Let's hope we don't all get it.

JoPG - you're right, I wouldn't apply the tea tree oil directly to skin unless diluted as a wash (ie few drops in dish of water) but the tea tree antiseptic lotion is pretty mild and used it on my kids (and even up my nose ).

My DD2 had impetigo at about 2 months old. GP prescribed antibiotics & cream and it healed up v. quickly. But then she had it again a month or so later, I noticed on a Friday or Saturday night that her neck crease was v. red, yellow scabs, weepy and it stank (right under my nose when b/feeding too - horrid!). In desperation, I smeared it with Sudocrem, just to try and keep it clean etc until I could see the GP. But by the next morning it had cleared up?!? Nobody else caught it btw.

I went out after tea time yesterday and bought piriton, cotton wool buds and some cosmetic cotton wool pads. I forgot tea tree oil.

I think ds has impetigo bullous as it isn't all weepy. It's looks like inividual spots that are raised,scabed over but still red underneath.

Message withdrawn

heavenis - How is your DS's impetigo now? Is he back at school?
DS1's impetigo is all gone, but unfortuntely he was allergic to the antibiotics the doctor prescribed! He is off today cos he is so itchy and uncomfortable that he really couldn't go to school, have got some more antihistamine now from the doctor, so hopefully he will be ok to go back tomorrow.