Impetigo
Clinical basis & sources
- Primary source
- OCP Minor Ailments Prescribing
Sources used
- Ontario Regulation 256/24: GeneralGovernment of Ontario · 2026
- Minor Ailments: Drug Classes and Specified DrugsOntario College of Pharmacists · 2026
- Executive Officer Notice: Update to Funding for Minor Ailment Services in Ontario Pharmacies (Effective July 1, 2026)Government of Ontario · 2026-05-19
- Impetigo: Rapid Evidence ReviewAmerican Family Physician · 2026
- Clinical Guidance for Group A Streptococcal ImpetigoCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · 2025
- ImpetigoDermNet · 2026
- Community pharmacist prescribing of antimicrobials: A systematic review from an antimicrobial stewardship perspectiveCanadian Pharmacists Journal · 2021
Content last reviewed . Spot something outdated? Use the correction link at the bottom of the page.
Allowable drugs under Schedule 4 (6)
Drugs an Ontario pharmacist may prescribe for Impetigo under O. Reg. 256/24, Schedule 4. Choice still depends on the assessment, contraindications, allergies, and product availability — this is the eligible list, not a recommendation.
- Bacitracin
- Fusidic acid
- Gramicidin
- Mupirocin
- Ozenoxacin
- Polymyxin B
Symptoms this assessment screens
- Honey-colored crusts, superficial erosions, vesicles, or pustules
- Localized limited lesions on exposed skin such as face, arms, or legs
- Mild itch, irritation, or soreness without severe pain
- Skin break, eczema, scratch, insect bite, or close contact exposure
- No fever, malaise, rapidly spreading redness, or cellulitis features
- School, daycare, sports, household, or work contact risk
Red flags — any positive means refer
- Fever, malaise, rapidly spreading redness, warmth, swelling, pain, lymphangitis, cellulitis, or abscess concern
- Lesions near the eye, eyelid involvement, mucous membrane involvement, or facial swelling
- Extensive, rapidly spreading, multiple-site, bullous, recurrent, or outbreak-associated lesions
- Very young infant, immunocompromised patient, frailty, significant comorbidity, or high-risk living setting
- Possible eczema herpeticum, shingles, cellulitis, scabies, fungal infection, burn, allergic dermatitis, or diagnostic uncertainty
- Worsening, spreading, recurrence, or no improvement after 48 to 72 hours of appropriate topical treatment
Sign in to run this assessment
The interactive consult — guided screening, one-click treatment fills, printable assessment, prescription, and physician-notice documents — is free with a ScopeUp account. Enter your email, type the one-time code we send, and every assessment unlocks.