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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffTwo types of bacteria cause impetigo — Staphylococcus aureus (staph), which is most common, and Streptococcus pyogenes (strep). Both types of bacteria can live harmlessly on your skin until they enter through a cut or other wound and cause an infection.
In adults, impetigo is usually the result of injury to the skin — often by another dermatological condition such as dermatitis. Children are commonly infected through a cut, scrape or insect bite, but they can also develop impetigo without having any notable damage to the skin.
You're exposed to the bacteria that cause impetigo when you come into contact with the sores of someone who's infected or with items they've touched, such as clothing, bed linen, towels and even toys. Once you're infected, you can easily spread the infection to others.
Staph bacteria produce a toxin that causes impetigo to spread to nearby skin. The toxin attacks a protein that helps bind skin cells together. Once this protein is damaged, bacteria can spread quickly.
- Skin infections. In: Habif TP. Habif: Clinical Dermatology. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00018-3&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00018-3--s0060&uniq=213489709&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Impetigo. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00018-4--s0510&uniq=213489709&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&sid=1035787662. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Browning J, et al. Cellulitis and Superficial Skin Infections. In: Long SS, et al., eds. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/213489709-18/1035787662/1679/76.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06687-0..50075-8--cesec3_1544. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Lio PA, et al. Topical Antibacterial Agents. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 2009;23:945.
- Waggoner-Fountain LA. Child Care and Communicable Diseases. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 12, 2010.
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