Bullous Impetigo Pictures

        Bullous impetigo is one of the two common forms of impetigo. Unlike the classic form of this annoying skin disease, it is not caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, but rather by any type of Streptococcus group A. Also, Staphylococcus aureus is to blame for the slight epidemics of bullous impetigo that appear at least once a year.

       If it appears in adults, it is slightly difficult to identify, since it can be easily mistaken for a number of other conditions. The diagnosis is based on comparing the wounds of the patient with some bullous impetigo pictures of already diagnosed sufferers. Of course, a bacterial diagnosis is recommended after the visual one.

       The image that bullous impetigo presents is rather gruesome: it appears on the face, surrounding the mouth, the nose and the chin. Its common manifestations include small pustules, filled with a creamy liquid, sometimes transparent, other times, milky. Once those sacks have ruptured or dried out, they leave behind red, angry dots that itch.

Bullous impetigo pictures

       There are several things one should keep in mind when suffering from bullous impetigo:

• Do not, under any circumstances, break the pustules before they dry out: the reason for this is rather simple. Destroy the sacks and the bacteria goes free, ready to pain a rather daunting picture on your face. Keep the pustules intact and you might avoid the spreading of bullous impetigo.
• Do not scratch the red dots: this is explained pretty much the same as the mosquito bites. Scratch it and the infectious agent spreads wider into your body. Also, you could hurt yourself in the process.
• Hygiene can be the cure: keep the affected area as clean as possible and wait for the infection to run its natural course. Bullous impetigo does not have a tendency of spreading if it is not helped. Thus, stay clean and be healthy.
• An antibiotic cream will most likely fix it, if hygiene is not enough: in some severe cases in adults or for children (who cannot be stopped from scratching the bullous impetigo rash), a topically applied antibiotic should do the trick. Of course, try not to expect miracles. It takes a while for the cream to work. Avoid wiping it from the affected area to increase its efficiency.

       Even if your skin condition does not look like any other bullous impetigo pictures that you might have seen, that does not mean that you do not suffer from bullous impetigo. It can simply denote that the images you have seen were displaying a different stage of the disease or that your skin reacts differently to the bacteria.

Bullous impetigo - contagious or not?

        Now, if there is one thing true about any and all skin diseases is that they are, to a certain extent, contagious. The image that bullous impetigo creates is a rather difficult one: it is one of the most communicable illnesses out there. It can be transmitted through open lesions, purulent pustules or simply by touching the affected areas.

       You should avoid communal bath houses, pools and even over populated lakes, if you want to try and protect yourself from this annoying skin condition. However, it can be easily caught from other sources, such as the clothes of someone already infected, the towels they have used or their bathing products.

       The antibiotic treatment is recommended only in some serious cases and it does not last longer than two to three days. Only when the infection has done serious damage, can one expect the really unusual complications, like diarrhea, vomiting and extreme itching.

       Also, if a child is having trouble understanding the need to stop scratching the itch, it is recommended that the parent cover the area affected by bullous impetigo with gauze or a piece of sterilized cloth, if medicinal gauze is not handy.