How to identify impetigo

As we all know, impetigo is a common contagious skin disease. Precisely because of its contagiousness, it is not recommended to have too much contact with others after suffering from impetigo. So what are the symptoms of impetigo? How is impetigo diagnosed and treated clinically? What kind of discomfort will the body experience after getting impetigo? What should you pay attention to during treatment? Let's find out together.

How to identify impetigo

This disease is prevalent in summer and autumn, and is more common in children aged 2 to 7 years old. The clinical manifestations of the two types are as follows:

It often occurs on exposed parts such as the face and limbs. Initially, there are scattered blisters. After 1 to 2 days, the blisters rapidly increase in size, and the blister fluid changes from clear to turbid. Pus is deposited at the bottom of the blisters, forming a crescent-shaped pus accumulation phenomenon, which is one of the characteristics of this type of impetigo. The blister wall is thin and loose, revealing an eroded surface after rupture, and forming a yellow pus scab after drying. Sometimes new blisters occur around the scab and are arranged in a ring, which is called annular impetigo. Patients feel itchy, but generally have no systemic symptoms.

2. Nonbullous impetigo

It often occurs on the face, around the mouth, around the nostrils, on the ears and on exposed parts of the limbs. It manifests as thin-walled blisters on an erythematous basis, which quickly turn into pustules with a noticeable red halo around them. After the pustule bursts, the pus dries and forms a thick honey-yellow scab, which continues to expand around and can merge with each other. The patient feels itchy and scratching often causes bacteria to be spread to other parts of the body, resulting in new rashes. The scab will fall off on its own in about a week and heal without leaving any scars. Severe patients may suffer from complications such as lymphadenitis and fever.

Nonbullous impetigo is often caused by Staphylococcus aureus and occasionally by group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. Bacteria adhere and invade the skin after minor trauma, leading to infection. Bullous impetigo is caused by Staphylococcus aureus and can occur on intact skin. The bacteria can produce and release exfoliative toxins, which bind to desmoglein 1 on the cell surface, causing loss of adhesion between epidermal cells, cell loosening, and bullous formation.

treat

1. For patients with extensive skin lesions or accompanied by fever and lymphadenitis, systemic application of sensitive antibiotics is recommended, and the antibiotics are selected based on the drug sensitivity results.

2. For local treatment of blisters or pustules, after local disinfection, aspirate the blister fluid and apply neomycin ointment, mupirocin ointment or fusidic acid ointment externally.