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Impetigo is a bacterial infection of the top layers of the skin and is most common among children ages 2 to 6 years.

It causes blistering and sores. It usually starts when the bacteria get into a cut, scratch, or insect bite.

Impetigo is caused by staphylococcus (staph) or group A streptococcus. Skin infections are usually caused by different types (strains) of strep bacteria than those that cause strep throat.

Symptoms of impetigo

Symptoms start with red or pimple-like lesions (sores) surrounded by reddened skin. These lesions can be anywhere on your body, but mostly on your face, arms, and legs. Lesions fill with pus, then break open after a few days and form a thick crust. Itching is common. Your health care provider can diagnose the infection by looking at the skin lesions.

Transmission of impetigo

The infection is spread by direct contact with wounds or sores or nasal discharge from an infected person. Scratching may spread the lesions. From the time of infection until you show symptoms is usually 1 to 3 days. If your skin doesn’t have breaks in it, you can’t be infected by dried streptococci in the air.

Treatment for impetigo

Your health care provider will prescribe oral antibiotics, as with strep throat. This treatment may also include an antibiotic ointment to be used on your skin.

Condoms are used for contraception and to prevent infection with a sexually transmitted disease (STD). In most cases, condoms are the only effective way to prevent the spread of STDs.

Methods of birth control

* Barrier methods, such as condoms, the diaphragm, and the cervical cap, designed to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg for fertilization.

* Intrauterine device, or IUD, is a small device that is inserted into the uterus by a health care provider. The IUD prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. An IUD can stay in the uterus for up to 10 years until it is removed by a health care provider.

* Hormonal birth control, such as birth control pills, injections, skin patches, and vaginal rings, release hormones into a woman’s body that interfere with fertility by preventing ovulation, fertilization, or implantation.

* Sterilization is a method that permanently prevents a woman from getting pregnant or a man from being able to get a woman pregnant. Sterilization involves surgical procedures that must be done by a health care provider and usually cannot be reversed.

The choice of birth control depends on factors such as a person’s overall health, age, frequency of sexual activity, number of sexual partners, desire to have children in the future, and family history of certain diseases.

It is important to remember that although all these methods can prevent pregnancy, condoms are the only method that can protect against sexually transmitted diseases or HIV.