What is Impetigo?
Impetigo is a common bacterial skin infection which is caused by bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes, on the outer layers of the skin. The infants and young children are prone to such infection, but when people of any age get in contact with the infected person, they may get this disease as well.
This infection is not so serious but may worsen the condition as it develops and remain untreated with the time. It often affects the skin on the face, arms, and legs. If you have a minor cut, insect bite or a rash like eczema, the possibility of this infection increases, usually on the broken skin. But, sometimes it can occur on healthy skin as well.
Being a contagious skin infection, it can easily be spread from one person to another. Due to which, it is also called as ‘school disease’, where is one child is affected by it, the infection can easily get transferred to another child. Even if the infected person scratches the sores and uses the same hands without cleaning on another place on the skin, the infection gets easily spread on those places as well.
As now you are aware of what does impetigo means, in the next step you will learn about some ways to deal with such kind of infection, along with some home remedies for impetigo.
How to deal with Impetigo?
As it is not a serious infection, so usually get clear up without treatment within 2-3 weeks. But, still, treatment is recommended to the affected person as it takes less time to heal and also reduce the chances of passing the infection to others.
It can easily be treated with antibiotics, such as antibiotic cream and antibiotic tablets, but some people cannot handle the side-effects of antibiotics. These include irritation, vomiting, redness, itching, feeling sick and diarrhea. So, at this point, the home remedies for impetigo is the best solution for those people.
Some effective home remedies for impetigo are:
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is highly useful in treating skin infections which works effectively against Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria that cause impetigo. It can be applied directly to the skin by taking out the gel from within the aloe plant leaf. You can also use an ointment which has a high percentage of Aloe Vera as the main ingredient.
Chamomile
It is used to moisturize and reduce skin inflammation. It gives effective results by fighting skin infections, to take its benefits, the best way is to make chamomile tea and use it on the affected area as a skin wash or you can also use the used and cooled tea bags of chamomile on sores.
Tea tree oil
Being used as a natural skin treatment, tea tree oil is highly effective in bacterial skin infections. Mix a few drops of tea tree oil and a few drops of water and apply the solution on the impetigo sores. Young children may experience irritation, so avoid using this oil on them.
Garlic
Garlic has been in use to treat bacterial, viral and fungal infections from the decades. Therefore, it is used as one of the effective home remedies for impetigo. Simply, place the cut side of garlic clove or pressed garlic clove on the infection sore directly.
Honey
Honey has an antimicrobial activity, which can be used for impetigo like skin conditions. For this, choose either Manuka honey or raw honey and apply it directly on the sores, let it sit for nearly 15-20 minutes and wash it off with warm water.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned several things about Impetigo in brief. These home remedies for Impetigo also bring great beneficial impact on treating the Impetigo sores and stop it from spreading.
Impetigo is a common bacterial skin infection which is caused by bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes, on the outer layers of the skin. The infants and young children are prone to such infection, but when people of any age get in contact with the infected person, they may get this disease as well.
This infection is not so serious but may worsen the condition as it develops and remain untreated with the time. It often affects the skin on the face, arms, and legs. If you have a minor cut, insect bite or a rash like eczema, the possibility of this infection increases, usually on the broken skin. But, sometimes it can occur on healthy skin as well.
Being a contagious skin infection, it can easily be spread from one person to another. Due to which, it is also called as ‘school disease’, where is one child is affected by it, the infection can easily get transferred to another child. Even if the infected person scratches the sores and uses the same hands without cleaning on another place on the skin, the infection gets easily spread on those places as well.
As now you are aware of what does impetigo means, in the next step you will learn about some ways to deal with such kind of infection, along with some home remedies for impetigo.
How to deal with Impetigo?
As it is not a serious infection, so usually get clear up without treatment within 2-3 weeks. But, still, treatment is recommended to the affected person as it takes less time to heal and also reduce the chances of passing the infection to others.
It can easily be treated with antibiotics, such as antibiotic cream and antibiotic tablets, but some people cannot handle the side-effects of antibiotics. These include irritation, vomiting, redness, itching, feeling sick and diarrhea. So, at this point, the home remedies for impetigo is the best solution for those people.
Some effective home remedies for impetigo are:
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is highly useful in treating skin infections which works effectively against Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria that cause impetigo. It can be applied directly to the skin by taking out the gel from within the aloe plant leaf. You can also use an ointment which has a high percentage of Aloe Vera as the main ingredient.
Chamomile
It is used to moisturize and reduce skin inflammation. It gives effective results by fighting skin infections, to take its benefits, the best way is to make chamomile tea and use it on the affected area as a skin wash or you can also use the used and cooled tea bags of chamomile on sores.
Tea tree oil
Being used as a natural skin treatment, tea tree oil is highly effective in bacterial skin infections. Mix a few drops of tea tree oil and a few drops of water and apply the solution on the impetigo sores. Young children may experience irritation, so avoid using this oil on them.
Garlic
Garlic has been in use to treat bacterial, viral and fungal infections from the decades. Therefore, it is used as one of the effective home remedies for impetigo. Simply, place the cut side of garlic clove or pressed garlic clove on the infection sore directly.
Honey
Honey has an antimicrobial activity, which can be used for impetigo like skin conditions. For this, choose either Manuka honey or raw honey and apply it directly on the sores, let it sit for nearly 15-20 minutes and wash it off with warm water.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned several things about Impetigo in brief. These home remedies for Impetigo also bring great beneficial impact on treating the Impetigo sores and stop it from spreading.
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