Impetigo is a common and highly contagious skin infection that mainly affects infants and children, but can also happen in adolescence. I recently had a young man come to see me, who developed this problem after kissing a girl – he was very uncomfortable about the whole situation, from how it had come about, to the way he was feeling and the way he looked.
It usually appears as red sores on the face, especially around thee mouth and nose, but also on hands and feet. The sores burst and develop honey coloured crusts. There can be mild itching and soreness. The infection is usually caused by Streptococcus A and/or Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, with the most likely site of origin being a small cut, an insect bite that will not heal, a sore under the nose from runny mucus or a lesion in a patch of eczema.
Conventional treatment usually includes antibiotics.
Dealing with IMPETIGO
Keep the affected area of the skin clean, using mild soap and water.
Wash the person’s clothes, linens and towels daily, to avoid reinfection, and don’t share them with anyone else in the family. Keep their finger nails short to prevent damage from scratching.
Wash hands frequently.
Useful homeopathic remedies
There are several remedies that can be used to treat Impetigo. Remedies can be taken 2-4 times a day, for up to a week. IF after 2-3 days there’s no improvement, the remedy choice should be reconsidered, or a visit to the family homeopath may be the best way to resolve the problem.
Antimonium Crudum
Good for pimples and spots that erupt on dry skin with burning and itching. The skin around is scaly or rough, looks unclean; the spots develop to a thick crust of honey coloured scab with red surround. If on the face, the sores and cracks are likely to appear at the corners of the mouth. The itching is worse from warmth and at night in bed.
Graphites
Recommended for people with dry, rough skin with scabby eruptions that ooze a “runny honey” like matter. The location is usually around the mouth, with eruption slow to heal and worse in the skin folds. The person tends to be chilly, miserable and weepy.
Merc-Sol
Good for eruptions especially on the scalp, that have a yellowish look and tend to bleed on scratching. There might be smelly pus, and the person might be producing unpleasant sweat and have smelly breath; glands around head might be swollen.
Mezereum
This remedy helps for eruptions with deep redness around them, with intolerable itching, especially at night or after contact with water; the spots leak fluid that burns the surrounding skin. Thick crusts form and gluey mosture beneath oozes onto the skin. Can be mistaken for Ant Crud.
Viola tricolor
Covers eruptions on the face that itch furiously and have thick, sticky yellow pus. The skin on the face feels tense, hot, with the person needing to urinate more frequently, and the urine will have an unpleasant smell.
There are other remedies which might be indicated, but for this the guidance of a professional homeopath is usually the best way forward. In a consultation the homeopath will asses the depth of the condition and decide how to best support the body’s healing ability. If you need more help or want to know more, please get in touch.