Impetigo hygiene counselling — GPhC CRA MCQ
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Correct answer: B — Separate towels, reinforce hand hygiene and follow school-exclusion advice
Separate towels, reinforce hand hygiene and follow school-exclusion advice: Impetigo spreads readily by direct contact and fomites; hand hygiene, covering where practical, not sharing personal items and observing exclusion advice reduce spread. Share towels after a cold-water rinse once prescribed treatment has started: Treatment does not make the child instantly non-infectious and cold rinsing is inadequate decontamination. Remove crusts repeatedly with household disinfectant and keep lesions uncovered: Harsh disinfectants and forceful removal can damage skin and spread infection. Cover lesions cosmetically before school and avoid only close-contact sport: Cosmetics do not prevent transmission and close contact should wait until the infectious period has passed. Give unaffected siblings prophylactic topical antibiotic treatment for seven days: Routine antimicrobial prophylaxis of asymptomatic contacts is not recommended.
Reference: NICE NG153: impetigo antimicrobial prescribing: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng153/chapter/Recommendations