Drug Question

impetigo has to be treated with an antibiotic. worst case scenario is that it can go sytemic and become a septic situation, but is more likely to occur in someone who is in poor health or who has a compromised immune system. the topical medication is for the direct relief of the skin lesions. lotrisone is not exclusively for fungal infections. it is used for viral and bacterial infections of the skin as well. i've had md's prescribe it for patient's with shingles.

keep in mind that a doctor "practices" medicine. they tend to order medications that they have observed working when they have prescribed them or, perhaps, when they did their dermatology rotation as residents this is what they were taught to order for this disease.

http://www.fpnotebook.com/der19.htm - this is what family practice notebook has to say about it's signs, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

http://www.drugs.com/enc/impetigo.html - information on impetigo

http://www.drugs.com/pdr/lotrisone_cream.html#i05 - pdr listing for lotrisone cream

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682799.html - information on betamethasone, a component of lotrisone. as you read on you will note it says that this is "used to treat the itching, redness, dryness, crusting, scaling, inflammation, and discomfort of various skin conditions."