Bacterial inflammatory skin disease, the most common skin infection in children.
Initial blisters rupture, drying to a crust. Caused by staphylococcus or streptococcus , it is very contagious in newborns, becoming less so with age. Poor hygiene, crowding, and humid, hot weather may promote its spread. A broad-spectrum antibiotic applied to the blisters can treat simple impetigo; more extensive cases, especially in infants, may require a systemic antibiotic.