Impetigo is a skin infection that's very contagious but not usually serious. It often gets better in 7 to 10 days if you get treatment. Anyone can get it, but it's very common in young children.
Impetigo starts with red sores or blisters, but the redness may be harder to see in brown and black skin. The sores or blisters quickly burst and leave crusty, golden-brown patches.
The patches can:
- Look a bit like corn flakes stuck to your skin.
- Get bigger.
- Spread to other parts of your body.
- Be itchy.
- Sometimes be painful.
Impetigo stops being contagious:
48 hours after you start using hydrogen peroxide cream or antibiotics prescribed by a GP or pharmacist
when the patches dry out and crust over (if you do not get treatment)
