• What is impetigo
• Symptoms of Impetigo
• Causes of Impetigo
• Impetigo remedies

What is impetigo

Impetigo is a highly contagious skin infection and particularly affects
children of infancy and school age. It manifests itself with serous bubbles located mainly around the nose and mouth, if damaged they form dark yellowish crusts. 

Affected children must be isolated from other peers and kept at home, given the easy transmissibility and undergo treatment based on aluminum chloride gel and antibiotics .

Symptoms of impetigo

Impetigo manifests itself through typical symptoms that can be easily diagnosed through a dermatological visit :

• red, serum-filled blisters sometimes associated with erythema
• itch
• inflammation in the areas around the mouth, nose, navel (in infants)
• kidney complications in cases of neglected and aggravated impetigo, with reduced urination and swelling of liquids in the legs and face and is called streptococcal glomerulonephritis
• skin complications, with very deep ulcerations with scar lesions and consequent changes in skin pigmentation
• infectious complications, due to Staffilococcus with diffuse pustules and erythema, fever , defined Ritter’s disease.

Causes of Impetigo

Impetigo is a bacterial infection caused by Gram-positive Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Pyogenes . These are bacteria easily present in commonly used environments such as school classrooms, where surfaces may not always be clean, and children often do not wash their hands and touch each other. 

In any case, even impetigo manifests itself more in summer or in any case with a hot and humid climate. Bacteria can have a hold of this level if there is an alteration of the normal skin flora, or alterations of the immune system.

Remedies for impetigo

Alongside antibiotics, it is possible to combine some natural remedies to accelerate the time of remission.

• Rice starch : for topical use, rice starch dissolved in water has an absorbing, decongestant, anti-inflammatory and soothing effect on itching and irritation. It can be applied to the skin with sponges and left to act for a few minutes, possibly covered with linen fabric.
• Aloe Vera gel : for topical use, the aloe gel has a refreshing, soothing, moisturizing, anti-inflammatory action. Soothes skin lesions, moisturizes, relieves itching.
• Propolis and St. John’s Wort ointment  : a remedy to be applied on the injured parts, propolis has an antibacterial action, disinfects the skin, absorbs the serum; hypericum calms redness and itching, softens the skin, heals lesions.
• Colloidal silver : for internal use, colloidal silver exerts a detoxifying action, which reverberates on the tissues, is an anti-inflammatory, an antibacterial. For external use it can be added to rice starch for wraps, to enhance its effect.