Impetigo treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $79.99/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

We accept all major credit cards, including AMEX cards, as well as Google and Apple Pay.

At Maple, we proudly prioritize privacy as a cornerstone of our virtual care services. We strictly adhere to privacy and healthcare legislation in Canada, such as PIPEDA and PHIPA regulations, to ensure patients' personal and health information remains completely private and safeguarded.

Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

All providers delivering healthcare through Maple are licensed in Canada and governed by their licensing regulatory colleges, and in all instances, must act in accordance with the governing principles set out in the telemedicine policies of each medical regulator in the applicable province.

Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.

Yes. In most cases a doctor on Maple can offer an impetigo diagnosis by asking about your symptoms and observing the distinctive sores that you or your child is experiencing.

Yes, our physicians can prescribe medications online during your consultation. Once you accept a prescription, you’ll have the option to pick it up from any pharmacy or to have it delivered right to your door at no additional cost.

You can visit our How it Works page to learn more.

Impetigo is a common, high contagious skin infection. Most of the time impetigo is found in kids, although occasionally you may see impetigo in adults; particularly if they’ve been exposed to infected children.

The infection usually appears as red sores, which burst and then form honey-coloured scabs.

The most common place to find Impetigo is on the face, usually forming around the nose and mouth. It’s also known to develop on other parts of the body, especially on hands and feet.

Common impetigo symptoms include dime to quarter sized blisters which burst very quickly, revealing red, moist skin underneath. A golden-coloured crust will form in the center of the spots and spread out to the edge.

These oozing sores can be painful and are extremely contagious.

If left untreated, impetigo can become a more serious condition, known as ecthyma. This condition results in darker coloured pus-filled bumps, which are much thicker than impetigo.

Most forms of impetigo are caused by bacteria known as staphylococcus aureus. Bacteria from group A streptococcus are also known to sometimes cause impetigo.

Because impetigo is highly contagious, there are a number of possible direct impetigo causes, including:

• Age (these infections are most commonly found in children ages 2-5)
• Sports (usually involving direct skin-to-skin contact)
• Warm weather
• Broken skin (cuts, scraps, etc.)
• Crowded conditions (usually daycare or school settings)
• Direct contact with infected items (clothing, towels, etc.)

Typically, impetigo treatment involves applying an antibiotic cream or ointment directly onto the sores to help fight the infection. If there are a lot of sores, the doctor may recommend a course of oral antibiotics. Always be sure to take the full course of antibiotics, even if the impetigo blisters disappear, to prevent the infection from returning.

Occasionally, you may need to soak the area or use a wet compress to remove the scabs on top, in order for the antibiotic cream to penetrate the sores.

If the sores don’t clear up after a full treatment of antibiotics, the doctor may request lab tests on the liquid from inside the sores, to find the best type of antibiotics to fight the infection.

Without treatment, an impetigo infection will usually clear up on its own in two to three weeks.

However, because of how contagious impetigo can be, it’s recommended to seek treatment to prevent it from spreading to others. With treatment, an impetigo infection can clear up in 7-10 days.

The biggest difference between shingles and impetigo is that shingles are a viral infection while impetigo is bacterial.

Shingles can be quite painful, and the blistering skin rash is usually located around the stomach. This is the same virus that can cause chickenpox.

Impetigo on the other hand isn’t as painful, although it is extremely contagious. Its sores are normally located around the nose and mouth, although they can spread to other areas of the body, like the hands, feet, underarms and groin.