Impetigo: symptoms, treatment and which doctor to see
What impetigo looks like, how this skin infection spreads among children, how it is treated, when to keep a child home and when to see a doctor.
What impetigo is
Impetigo is a common skin infection caused by bacteria — usually staphylococcus or streptococcus. It is most common in young children, but anyone can get it. It spreads easily by touch, which is why it often moves through a family, a crèche or a school class.
Impetigo is usually mild and clears with treatment within a week or two, without leaving scars. It can start on healthy skin, but it often begins where the skin is already broken — a scratched mosquito bite, a cut, a patch of eczema, the spots of chickenpox, or the burrows of scabies. Hot, humid weather, sweating and crowded living conditions make it more common.
Symptoms
There are two main forms.
Non-bullous impetigo (the common type)
- Small red sores or spots, often around the nose and mouth, or on the hands, arms and legs
- The sores burst quickly and leave moist, weeping patches
- Golden-brown, honey-coloured crusts form over the patches — the typical sign of impetigo
- Mild itching; the sores are usually not very painful
- Sores may spread to new areas when the child scratches and then touches other skin
Bullous impetigo
- Larger, fluid-filled blisters, often on the trunk, arms, legs, or the nappy area in babies
- The blisters burst and leave a yellowish crust
- It is more common in babies and young children, and the child may have fever or feel unwell
A deeper form called ecthyma causes painful ulcers with thick crusts that can leave scars. It needs a doctor's treatment.
How it spreads and who is at risk
The bacteria spread through direct contact with the sores, and through shared towels, clothes, bedding and toys. A child can also carry the infection from one part of their own body to another on their fingers and nails. Impetigo is more likely in:
- Children aged roughly two to five, though older children and adults can catch it
- People with eczema, scabies, insect bites, cuts or other broken skin
- Hot, humid weather and heavy sweating
- Crowded homes, hostels, day-care centres and sports teams with close skin contact
- People with diabetes or a weak immune system
- People who carry staphylococcus bacteria in the nose, which can cause repeated infections
How it is diagnosed
A doctor can usually recognise impetigo just by looking at the skin. Tests are not normally needed. If the infection keeps coming back, does not improve with treatment, or a resistant germ is suspected, the doctor may take a skin swab from a sore and send it to the laboratory to identify the bacteria and see which antibiotics will work.
Treatment
Treatment helps the sores heal faster, eases discomfort and stops the infection spreading to other people. Do not try to manage impetigo for weeks with home remedies.
- Gentle cleaning — soak the crusts with warm, soapy water or a clean wet cloth and gently wipe them off, then pat dry with a separate towel. This lets cream reach the infected skin
- Antibiotic cream — for a few small patches, a prescribed antibiotic cream or ointment applied for as long as the doctor advises, usually several days
- Antibiotic tablets or syrup — for widespread sores, bullous impetigo, ecthyma, fever, or when cream has not worked
Finish the full course even if the skin looks better. Do not use leftover creams from home or buy steroid-containing combination creams from a chemist; steroid creams can make a skin infection worse. If impetigo keeps returning, your doctor may look for an underlying problem such as eczema or scabies, or for bacteria carried in the nose.
Stopping the spread
- Keep the sores covered loosely with a light dressing or clothing where possible
- Keep nails short, and discourage scratching or picking at the crusts
- Wash hands with soap after touching the sores or applying cream
- Use a separate towel, face cloth and pillow cover for the child, and wash them in hot water
- Wash toys that the child has handled
- Keep children off school or day care, and adults off work involving close contact or food handling, until the sores have dried and crusted, or until your doctor says they are no longer infectious after starting antibiotics
Complications
Complications are uncommon. The infection can spread deeper into the skin as cellulitis, with spreading redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Rarely, impetigo caused by streptococcus is followed some weeks later by a kidney inflammation that causes dark, cola-coloured urine, puffiness around the eyes or swelling of the feet, and high blood pressure. See a doctor promptly if you notice any of these, even after the skin has healed.
When to see a doctor
See a doctor if you think your child has impetigo, so the right treatment can start early. Seek medical help the same day if:
- The sores are spreading quickly or are over a large area
- There is fever, or the child seems unwell
- The skin around the sores becomes red, hot, swollen or painful
- A baby has blisters
- The sores have not started to improve after a few days of treatment
- The urine turns dark or the face or feet become swollen
Call 112 or 108, or go to the nearest emergency department, if a child with a skin infection becomes very drowsy, floppy or difficult to wake, has trouble breathing, or develops a rapidly spreading red, painful area with high fever.
Which doctor to see
Most impetigo is diagnosed and treated by a paediatrician for children or a general physician for adults. A dermatologist is worth seeing if impetigo keeps coming back, does not respond to treatment, or there is an underlying skin problem such as eczema or scabies that needs better control.
You can find dermatologists in Bengaluru or paediatricians in Bengaluru on The Doctor Index, each with a registration you can check.
Questions to ask at your appointment
- Is this impetigo, or could it be something else such as a fungal infection or eczema?
- Is a cream enough, or does my child need antibiotics by mouth?
- How long should we continue the treatment?
- When can my child return to school?
- Is there an underlying skin problem we should treat to stop it coming back?
Common questions
Questions people ask
- Is impetigo contagious?
- Yes. Impetigo spreads easily through touching the sores or sharing towels, clothes and bedding. A person stops being infectious once the sores have dried and crusted over, or after antibiotic treatment has been taken for the time your doctor advises, usually a couple of days.
- Can impetigo go away on its own?
- Mild impetigo sometimes clears without treatment, but this can take weeks, and during that time the child can spread it to others and develop more sores. Treatment usually clears the infection faster and lowers the chance of complications, so it is worth seeing a doctor.
- Does impetigo leave scars?
- Usually not. The common type of impetigo heals without scars, though the skin may look a little red or darker for a while, especially on brown skin. Deeper infections such as ecthyma, or sores that are picked repeatedly, can leave marks.
- Why does my child keep getting impetigo?
- Repeated impetigo is often linked to an underlying skin problem such as eczema, scabies or frequent insect bites, or to bacteria carried in the nose. A doctor can look for the cause and suggest treatment, such as better eczema care or treating the whole family for scabies.
This condition is usually assessed by a dermatologist. Every profile shows the doctor’s registration and what has been checked.
Dermatologists in Bangalore
A few dermatologists listed on The Doctor Index. They are shown because of their speciality, not a stated interest in Impetigo; ask the clinic whether the doctor sees it.
Related conditions
Practical reading
All postsSources
- MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine — Impetigo
- Emergency Response Support System, Government of India — 112
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine — Impetigo — Public-domain health-topic summary
Impetigo: symptoms, treatment and which doctor to see is original text by The Doctor Index; the compiled source draft was used for research. Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999; July 2026 data, CC BY 4.0. This product uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (hp/releases/2026-09-01). Only sources listed for this article apply. Source material has been selected and arranged; HPO definitions are reproduced without alteration. No source organisation endorses this compilation. Köhler S et al. The Human Phenotype Ontology project: linking molecular biology and disease through phenotype data. Nucleic Acids Research 2014;42(D1):D966–D974. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1026.
General information, not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process. Reference TDI-C-1255.