Son Diagnosed with Impetigo and I Have Questions

Not sure where it is but Ds has it on his face. I put a bandaid on it and we did the usual. I was told you had it touch it for it to spread.

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Impetigo is not that big a deal, thankfully. The first time my boys got it I FREAKED out too, but its not that bad. It usually takes 24-48 hours for the antibiotic to work and as soon as they are being treated, I would say they are fine. The doctor never told me to quarantine my kids, just to make sure that they washed their hands really well and often, especially if they touched the impetigo sites, I like to carry around a bottle of purelle to sanitize their little hands with. You were probably prescribed an antibiotic ointment like Bactroban, and this stuff works great and fast. It is contagious but only by contact, I would say 24 hours with antibiotic is plenty as long as it looks like it is healing at that point. The redness will be there for up to two weeks but once the open parts are dry and just red, you're good to go. Hope that helps!

S.

SAHM of 4 boys, ages 10, 9,, 6, and 2... and a big guy, he is usually the most work of all...lol.

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it's only contagious on contact. So if you keep him and anyone else form touching the lesions, you should be fine. The fact that he does have it, does indicate a general weakness int he immune system and so I wouldn't go overboard with activity- but simple errands shouldn't be a big deal. That's my 2 cents anyway. I'm a chiropractor and I've also had impetigo before. Ina ddition to the cream you are most likely putting on the lesions, bump up his immune sytem too by limiting any refined sugars and give him some Vit. C too- just suggestions :)
EB

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just keep the site covered and they will be fine..make sure you wash hands frequently. It goes away pretty quickly if I remember right with the medicine. Main thing is that it can be passed along with open skin(boo boos) on others....So keep the medicine on and the area covered and you should be able to take them with you wherever you need to go

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I seem to get impetigo twice a year - and no one in my family has ever had it. I wash my hands frequently, and I use hand sanitizer when it flares up. I don't think it's as contagious as the doctors make it sound.

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impetigo is contagious only when the area is touched or the drainage on linens or clothes is touched. if ya touch ya wash. over the counter antibiotic ointment to the areas usually works in a couple of days. make sure you wash your hands after applying. check out this web page.
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_vir...

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While I haven't had to deal with this, I found this one webmd:

After 3 days of treatment, you or your child should begin to get better. A child can usually return to school or daycare after 48 hours of treatment. If you apply the ointment or take the pills exactly as prescribed, most sores will be completely healed in 1 week.

I would assume that after 48 hours you should be ok to go to the store. I would just try and make sure he didn't touch his sores while out and don't let anyone get into close contact with him. Here is the link to webmd if you'd like to read the rest of the info.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/impetigo-overview

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