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Impetigo - Management
What advice should I give to a person about impetigo?
- Provide written information about impetigo. Patient information leaflets can be downloaded from the Health Protection Agency website at www.hpa.org.uk (pdf).
- Reassure the person that impetigo usually heals completely without scarring, and that serious complications are rare.
- Advise that hygiene measures are important to aid healing and stop the infection spreading to other sites on the body and to other people, and recommend that the person:
- Washes the affected areas with soapy water.
- Washes the hands after touching a patch of impetigo, and after applying antibiotic cream.
- Avoids scratching affected areas, and keeps fingernails clean and cut short.
- Avoids sharing towels, flannels, clothing, and bathwater until the infection has cleared.
- Children and adults should stay away from school or work until the lesions are dry and scabbed over, or, if the lesions are still crusted or weeping, for 48 hours after antibiotic treatment has started.
- Advise the person to attend a follow-up appointment if there is no significant improvement after 7 days.
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