Impetigo Treatment: How to Banish This Contagious Skin Infection for Good

Impetigo is a common and very contagious skin infection. Young children are more prone to picking up impetigo. But you can develop impetigo at any age. You’re also much more likely to get impetigo if someone in your home has it. There are treatments for impetigo that help prevent it from spreading. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with impetigo, here’s what to know about your impetigo treatment options. 

What causes impetigo?

Two types of bacteria cause impetigo:

• Staphylococcus Aureus: This bacteria causes bullous impetigo. People with bullous impetigo develop large, fluid filled blisters. These blisters aren’t painful. 

• Group A Streptococcus: This bacteria is best known for causing strep throat. But it also causes non-bullous impetigo. People with this impetigo develop small blisters that pop quickly. A yellow crust also appears.

You can pick up impetigo by touching the fluid or crusting from one of these blisters. People also pass impetigo by sharing objects that touch the skin, like clothes or towels. 

How do you treat impetigo? 

Prescription antibiotics can treat impetigo. And they’re usually the same for adults and children.

Topical antibiotics

Antibiotic creams or ointments help treat mild impetigo. 

For mild impetigo, topical antibiotic treatment is as effective as oral antibiotics. What’s more, antibiotic creams have fewer side effects than oral antibiotics. 

Topical antibiotic treatments approved to treat impetigo include:

• Mupirocin

• Retapamulin

• Ozenoxacin

You apply these ointments to skin that has impetigo. Most people only need to use antibiotic cream twice a day for 5 days.

According to Dr. Maria Robinson, a board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist, “Antibiotic ointments and creams both work well, but many people don’t like the greasiness of ointments." 

Robinson offers the following advice for using topical antibiotics to treat impetigo:

• First, remove any crust before applying the antibiotic cream to help it absorb better.

• If there’s a thick crust, cover the area with a warm, soapy washcloth for a few minutes to loosen and remove the crust.

• Apply the cream or ointment to the entire area, including a rim of normal skin around the area. This helps to make sure you’ve treated the entire area.

• Finally, cover the area with a bandage.

Oral antibiotics 

You may need to take antibiotics by mouth if:

• You have impetigo in many areas, making it too difficult to use topical antibiotics.

• You’ve been using topical antibiotics but your impetigo isn't getting better

• Many people in your home, work, or school have impetigo at the same time. In this situation, oral antibiotics can help stop the spread of impetigo faster.

There are several oral antibiotics that can treat impetigo. The best one depends on which bacteria is causing your impetigo. 

Most cases of impetigo are caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Experts recommend treatment with:

• Cephalexin

• Dicloxacillin

If you have a cephalosporin or penicillin allergy, your healthcare provider may recommend erythromycin or clarithromycin instead.

If you have a history of infections with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), you may need a different antibiotic like:

• Doxycycline

• Clindamycin

• Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim

Most people need to take oral antibiotics for 7 days to treat impetigo. 

Soap and water

While soap and water won’t cure impetigo, they’re an important part of impetigo treatment. Gently clean your skin with a mild soap and warm water before applying antibiotic creams. 

Cleaning impetigo lesions with soap and water also removes extra bacteria from your skin. This may help lower the risk of spreading the bacteria. 

You should also wash your hands this way often and after you apply your antibiotic cream. This will keep the bacteria off your hands. And it will help you prevent it from spreading to other parts of your body or surfaces.

It’s also a good idea to always wash clothes, towels, and anything else that touches your skin. You can use regular detergent. But try to opt for the hot water setting on your washing machine.

Do over-the-counter antibiotics or natural remedies work for impetigo? 

OTC antibiotic creams and ointments aren’t recommended for impetigo treatment. They don’t always work well against bacteria that cause impetigo. This includes all popular OTC antibiotic creams like Polysporin, Bacitracin, and Neosporin. 

Some natural remedies people turn to for impetigo treatment include:

• Tea tree oil

• Olive oil

• Coconut oil

• Aloe vera

• Manuka honey 

• Garlic

Some of these natural remedies have antibacterial properties. And people have reported success using these remedies to treat many skin conditions. 

But Dr. Robinson cautions: “There isn’t strong evidence showing that natural remedies work for impetigo, so they aren’t recommended as a treatment. Even if a natural treatment works for one person, it may not work for someone else, so more research needs to be done looking at their effectiveness. And all this is confounded by the fact that impetigo may clear on its own in some people.”

Remember that these natural remedies aren’t recommended for impetigo treatment. But if you’re interested in these treatments, talk to your healthcare provider. Together, you can decide whether you can add them to your antibiotic treatment.

How long is impetigo contagious? 

Here’s some good news — the risk of spreading impetigo drops once you’ve used antibiotics for 24 hours. That means you can go back to work or school and not worry about spreading impetigo to others. It also means you don’t have to worry about new impetigo blisters popping up on other parts of your body. 

But without antibiotic treatment, impetigo remains contagious until the rash completely goes away. Studies show this can take anywhere from a week to a month. So getting treatment can get you back to your regular life faster. 

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Christine Giordano, MD

Christine Giordano, MD, is board-certified in general internal medicine. She received her medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed residency at Thomas Jefferson University.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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