anyone got experience of impetigo?

[CatIsSleepy]

dd has had a few red spots on her face and arms for a few days now
I was merrily assuming they were insect bites of some kind and wasn't too bothered, today the childminder suggested it might be impetigo-
now when I googled impetigo the images that came up were pretty grim
but maybe these were extreme cases
can it start off looking like harmless spots and then turn nasty? am wondering if am being too laid back about it

my friends DD had Impetigo a couple of months back. she went to school with a tiny spot under her lip.
she came home with what looked like a scab all over her chin. it seemed to spread all over the bottom of her face, and very quickly.

Gp gave her some cream and it healed reasonably quickly.

thanks mamazon
am sort of thinking as the spots are not going crusty or anything it's unlikely to be impetigo
at least that's what am hoping

DD had it, get her to gp to have a look, the cream didn't clear dds up, had to have oral abs, tbh I think dd would still test positive for it, her nostrils still look a bit sore, but no other effects so just leaving it for now. ime it's a bugger to shift

well IME impetigo does not affect lots of different areas all at once. It happens when a trauma to the skin gets infected - it doesn't have to be a huge trauma - just a little scratch can get infected.

What do the spots look like? My DDs get red spots a bit like acne crossed with CP where I have been applying suncream (esp on the face).

gosh me too DS2 has had bad nbose for a while - school said is it imetigo, I think no, pics too gastly, but how do you know???

Minky how did it develop? dd has had these spots for almost a week now

Last summer DS got impetigo from an insect bite. Apparently this is quite common so I would get it checked out. Started off as a little bite then got bigger until it was nearly two inches wide . We had cream prescribed first which was impossible to keep on a newly crawling DS's leg. Once I took him to a different GP and got oral antibiotics it cleared up really quickly though and no scar either.

BB they are red spots, one or two started off looking almost like little blisters, most just look like pink/red spots, not crusty, no pus or anything

actually interesting you say that about suncream-we were on holiday a couple of weeks ago and were applying lots of suncream
a few spots came up on her face while we were away, then seemed to go away
then they came back in greater numbers after we'd got back (and had stopped putting the cream on)

She had sore red nostrils with yellow floaty scabs in ech nostril, it really was a delight, and small spots which the GP described as lesions on her cheeks.

too slow typing lol...DS's wasn't crusty just very red and moist.

how do they DEFINE imetigo tho, as apposed to any other infected skint thing?

I had it years ago. Interestingly, it did start in my nostril. And it did end up in several different areas - any break in the skin is likely to become infected.

It started as a red sore, and developed over a week or so into a crust - yuck.

Took ages to go - had to apply cream twice a day.

blimey Elvina-2 inches wide that's HUGE

antibitoci cream?

I am using saudocrem... [blsuh]

Yes, it can start off as harmless spot. It is very contagious. That's how my ds's started. It was very close to his lip and got redded, then cracked and spread. I assumed it was a cold sore to begin with, sent him to school. No-one said anything. The next day a friend at the gate suggested it might be impetigo, so I dropped him off again and went to pharmacy, who said it sounded like it was and to take him in. I phoned the school to inform them I was picking him up. By the time I got there (10 mins, max) he was quarantined in the staffroom! A letter went out to all parents that night informing them "A case of impetigo has been reported....blah, blah" I felt like a terrorist, but it is very contagious and needs careful treatment. You need cream from your gp, change all towels and bedding and do not use the same towel as your child. Try not to allow her to touch the scab and it should disappear within four/five days. But you must keep her at home during this time, due to the contagiousness.

ok the spots aren't moist
and no scabby bits
so it's not sounding like impetigo to me

Good point paperchain, for a while after dd got impetigo, every scratch and graze became infected in both dc even though dd2 was never diagnosed. It seemed to pass after a while, and even though dd1s nose still looks a little sore there have been no further infections

Hopefully not then

but there is no offical test isa there? so it could be 'just' an infetion?

I am confused now about ds........

how do they officallty diagnose????

DD had one spot on her forehead - thought it was like a boil and then as it didn't go she squeezed it! It was (apparently) gross & green and refused to heal. Being a teen she covered it up until eventually confided in me. Straight to GP, impetigo diagnosed, cream given, gone in a week!

lol I think they say impetigo for ANYinfected face thing

I am now v sceptical about it all

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All medical pictures seem to look much worse than in rl, I find. Why is that?

ANyway, go to the doc's. If it's impetigo you'll get an antibiotic cream to apply.

They don't - I've had ringworm as well

imo impetogio = infected skin

period