Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
Because I don't have insurance, I have to treat non-serious health issues at home. The last outbreak was pretty scary as I developed large clear blisters on my cheek which never happened before.
I use a combination of things to treat an impetigo outbreak:
1. I wash the area with a medical grade sterile wash.
2. I then dab some rubbing alcohol, then dress the area with sterile bandages and Neosporin.
3. 2-4 times a day I will soak a paper towel in vinegar and hold it on the infected area up to 20 minutes.
4. 2-4 times a day, I will make a paste of garlic cloves and leave it on the affected area as long as I can stand it.
5. Generally, I keep the area bandaged until it scabs over.
6. If I even suspect I might get an outbreak, I start rubbing a cut garlic clove on the suspicious area and do the vinegar treatment. It saved me from getting an outbreak about 1 month ago.
I will have to try the grapefruit seed extract and colloidal silver sometime. Thanks for the tips.
(Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Usa)
05/15/2012
@J from Farmington, Nm, Usa: Regarding touching impetigo with rubbing alcohol--that is something I quickly learned *not* to do. Rubbing alcohol 70% was so irritating to my itchy blisters that they would immediately swell up even higher and itch more ferociously. I think the consequent swelling helped them to spread, not really what I wanted to see happen. I switched to using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) between washing and before applying topical oil treatments. It is much more gentle on your skin and the oxygen is good.
Olive Oil and Garlic
★★★★★
Oregano Oil, Coconut Oil
★★★★★
(Perth, Australia)
06/13/2023
★★★★★
Amazing!! You are the only other person I have read about who uses this method. I started doing this 6 years ago when my baby had it. On one limb I used AB cream. On the other I used Colloidal silver and the Oregano oil + coconut oil combo you mentioned. It worked WAY quicker than the antibiotic cream!! I forget where I learned that from, but it definitely helped us.
(Katy, TX)
03/26/2025
I am going to try this! This will be the 2nd time my daughter has contracted it and antibiotics didnt seem to do the trick!
Over the Counter
★★★★★
Over the Counter
★★★★★
Go to your local drug store and get yourself some Campho-Phenique cold sore treatment with DRYING ACTION. It is important to get this exact one. Not the liquid one because we don't want to wet different areas. Its a thick gel type. What you do is get a q tip and dap only the effected area. The sooner the better. This dries quick and will crest kind of a scab over the blister. Let it sit and dap some more in a few hours. The first day of treating empetigo is very important. You do not want to break the skin of the sales because that's how it spreads, that why you do not use the liquid form, you will get horrible results. This gel neutralizes it and it is very important that you do not touch the soares for 24 hrs. You can gently dap more gel with a tooth tip as much as needed. One major mistake people make is that they take a shower, that is just feeding the problem. We want the sores to stay shut dry and never leak out. It is important for the sore to keeps its scab for as long as possible.
Day two you will see that soar looks to be tamed and is seems to be drying off, at the end of day 2 take a shower and the scam will easily fall off, the more time in the shower the scam slowly breaks down. It most like will bleed a little but this is the time to go for the kill. Get a fresh a tip and apply only on effected areas. It will most likely burn but its with the results. 1 hour later apply a little more and if their is no sting, you basically killed it..
Day 3 just leave a thin layer of medication one time and let the afternoon dry it out. You can follow that same procedure for day 4. That's it it will be dead and it will heal in time. If you're pro like me I catch them at a really early stage that you can't even tell. I catch them when they are still ingrown and by the time it surfaces 3 days later, it's already dead and healed itself in a short period. Things not to do, never lubricate these sores, never cover these sores and use a gel substance. When I was in high school I would cut the top of the sores with a razor blade, bleed it out and then apply rubbing alcohol on it, it stung but killed the damn things instantly. Campho Phenique is a more civilized major. Follow those rules and you'll be ok...
Povidone-Iodine Ointment
★★★★★
Sea Salt, Green Clay
★★★★☆
Silver Gel
★★★★★
Tea Tree Oil
★★★★★
Tea Tree Oil
★★★★★
