Treatment for impetigo

Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection, the fourth most common dermatological skin disorder in children seen in general practice. Most patients are treated by general practitioners. Proper hygiene and adequate treatment supposedly control the infection, but over the past decade the incidence of impetigo has not declined in the Netherlands.1 For the individual patient, impetigo is a minor disease as a cure can be expected within weeks with most treatments. In developed countries, serious complications such as acute glomerulonephritis are rare.2 Nevertheless the impact of an impetigo outbreak can be considerable. The unattractive appearance of the lesions may worry parents, and children are often barred from schools and kindergartens because of fear of spread of the infection. Outbreaks of impetigo caused by multiple resistant staphylococci have been reported.3 4 For the clinician the choice of treatment will be …