Impetigo.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Impetigo Must Be Seen Again!
From: Geri Guidetti <arkinst.concentric.net>
Date: 20 Mar 1996 16:16:12 GMT

> A couple of months ago, my almost 3 yr old son had impetigo. The Dr. gave him an antibiotic which appeared to have cleared it up. But now it is coming back in the exact same spot. It is only the size of a large pea right now, but it's spreading quickly. I would like to try an herbal remedy this time around. Any suggestions? I need to find something today, since it spreads so fast.

As you are no doubt aware from your physician, Impetigo, if diagnosed correctly as such, is a skin disease caused by Staphylococcus aureus or group A Streptococci. IF you gave him the prescribed antibiotic all the way up to the last pill in the bottle, despite his improvement beforehand, and if the infection returned, there is a possibility that this strain is resistant to that antibiotic or that the wrong antibiotic was prescribed for the wrong organism. It is VERY important that you see an excellent pediatrician or internist again, tell him/her which antibiotic you gave and how often/how religiously and possibly get a culture done. These two groups of bacteria can become very serious problems in this age of antibiotic resistance.

If you would like to seek herbal solutions CONCURRENTLY, do so, and inform your doc that you are. Something like Echinacea to improve his natural immunity by increasing white blood cell counts might be in order, but check with doc first for interactions. Unfortunately, the group A Streptococci have been making great headlines around the world as the flesh-eating bacteria. Chances are, this is NOT what he has, but now is not the time for trial and error herbal experimentation given the rapid growth rates (doubling every 20 min.or so!) of these bacteria. Many a kid breezes thru Impetigo...I am not trying to be an alarmist...only to let you know that times have changed and we are entering the post-antibiotic age. Rely on the best of both worlds in a case like this. These bugs have mutated and we are stuck with some scary scenarios. Likely all will go well, but better safe than sorry.