Treating Picked Acne to Prevent Impetigo
Acne is an extremely common skin condition, impacting millions of teenagers and adults worldwide. While it typically manifests as pimples, blackheads or whiteheads on the face, chest and back, acne can also appear on other areas of the body. Unfortunately, many sufferers resort to picking or popping their acne, which can worsen inflammation and scarring. More importantly, picked acne lesions are at high risk for developing a secondary infection called impetigo.
What is Impetigo?
Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection that often occurs at sites of damaged skin. While it usually develops in young children, people with acne that pick their skin are also susceptible. The culprit bacteria, called Staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pyogenes, invade injured skin and proliferate rapidly, causing red sores and blisters that weep fluid and form honey-colored crusts.
Left untreated, impetigo spreads to surrounding skin in a widening patch and can quickly spread to other people via direct and indirect contact. Complications like abscesses, cellulitis and kidney inflammation may also develop if impetigo invades deeper tissues. While modern antibiotics make it readily treatable, prompt intervention is key to avoiding transmission and more serious infection.
Understanding Why Picked Acne is Vulnerable
Acne typically arises from a combination of oil, bacteria, dead skin cells and inflammation that clogs pores and causes lesions like pimples. Squeezing or aggressively scrubbing acne can break the skin surface and damage surrounding tissue. This invites additional bacteria present on the skin and hands into the lesion and deeper layers of skin, resulting in a secondary infection like impetigo.
Evidence shows skin and soft tissue infections are increasing alongside higher rates of acne picking, emphasizing the need for better prevention. Individuals living in crowded spaces like college dormitories and military barracks may be especially vulnerable due to increased bacteria exposure and sharing personal items like towels with infected individuals.
How to Identify Impetigo
During initial stages, impetigo may resemble a pimple with redness and swelling that quickly transforms into a blister or sore filled with fluid. Oozing, golden-yellow crust soon covers the wound as it bursts and leaks infective fluid. Small bumps and patches rapidly expand over 1-2 days into a larger affected area that is very itchy.
Occasionally, isolated sores show up first followed by a spread to other areas touched by infective discharge. Key locations include the face, limbs and diaper area in babies or sites touched frequently like arms, legs and trunk.
Because mild impetigo often resembles eczema or insect bites, seek medical care if any suspicious rash appears after picking acne. Also immediately contact a doctor if you experience increased swelling, pain, warmth, red streaks, pus, fever or any other concerning symptoms. Practicing good hygiene and keeping lesions covered helps minimize spread while arranging prompt treatment.
Using Mupirocin to Treat and Prevent Impetigo in Picked Acne
Mupirocin is a prescription antibacterial cream and ointment capable of rapidly clearing methicillin-susceptible Staph aureus (MSSA) and streptococcal impetigo when applied topically. It is also FDA-approved to help prevent recurrent skin infections from these bacteria at vulnerable body sites like the nose and surgical incisions.
By inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, mupirocin cream stops MSSA and streptococcal growth to resolve infection. It has no effect on skin colonization or infection from MRSA, a subtype of antibiotic-resistant Staph aureus. Luckily, most community Staph aureus remains mupirocin-sensitive while institutional MRSA is increasingly less so.
Applying Mupirocin to Treat Impetigo
Usually supplied as a 2% cream or ointment, mupirocin is directly rubbed into impetigo lesions up to 3 times daily for 5 to 10 days. To enhance contact and absorption, remove overlying crust by gently washing with soap and water or soaking for 5 to 10 minutes.
After patting dry, spread a thin layer across all affected areas extending 1cm onto healthy surrounding skin. Let dry before dressing or clothing come in contact with skin at application site. For severe impetigo, oral antibiotics may supplement topical mupirocin to fight infection spreading past skin.
After each use, rewash hands thoroughly to remove residual cream and minimize reinfection or transmission risk. When possible, trim nails short and avoid touching, scratching or picking lesions. Keep treated areas covered with dressing if unable to avoid contact and change bandages regularly.
Using Mupirocin to Prevent Impetigo in Acne Prone Skin
Beyond infection treatment, applying intranasal mupirocin ointment prevents recurrent MSSA and streptococcal skin infections in those colonized at the nose. Some evidence also supports using it immediately after minor skin procedures like shaving, acne extraction or lesion disruption to suppress bacterial growth at vulnerable sites in colonized individuals.
By preventing proliferation of endogenous skin flora, topical mupirocin limits impact if transferred by fingers to tiny skin breaks from picking and popping acne. Apply small dab only to affected areas and rewash hands thoroughly after contact.
For ongoing prevention, some dermatologists recommend applying mupirocin to the nares (nostrils) twice daily for 5-10 days, then once daily 3 days per week to reduce nasal colonization. Discuss appropriateness of this regimen with your doctor based on skin health history and colonization status.
Getting a Impetigo Diagnosis
Because multiple skin conditions mimic early impetigo, consultation with a doctor or dermatologist is necessary to confirm diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Bring list of current medications along with a detailed history of any pertinent symptoms you’ve noticed.
After visual inspection of skin, the provider may culture wound drainage, crusts or nasal swabs to identify specific infective bacteria genomes and antibiotic sensitivity profiles. Let them know if you have picked, touched, scratched or disrupted acne lesions in preceding days at outbreak site.
Once impetigo is confirmed, oral antibiotics and topical mupirocin can be prescribed simultaneously to treat existing infection and prevent spread to additional body sites. Follow all medication directions closely and notify the prescriber if your condition worsens despite treatment.
Protecting Skin Health to Prevent Impetigo
Preventing secondary infection from acne picking requires diligent skincare and optimal wound healing conditions. Stop picking and popping existing blemishes before an infection like impetigo develops. Keeping nails short, hands clean and skin free of residual bacteria minimizes inoculation risk when face touching is inevitable.
Gently cleanse skin twice daily using mild soap and lukewarm water, followed by dabbing dry with a clean towel reserved for your personal use only. Apply over-the-counter antibiotic creams containing bacitracin, neomycin or polymyxin B to unbroken lesions immediately after washing.
Cover drained or crusting acne sores with clean dressings until fully healed while practicing frequent handwashing. Avoid sharing personal items like brushes, linens, helmets and headphones that contact affected skin areas. Disinfect surfaces, counters and electronics regularly touched unintentionally by bare lesioned skin.
See your doctor promptly for evaluation of suspicious rashes, especially on the face, trunk or skin folds. Starting antibiotics and mupirocin early greatly improves impetigo outcomes and prevents lasting complications.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.
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