Healthy Skin

Skin infections are preventable. To keep your skin healthy:

• Wash and dry hands with soap and water often
• Keep skin clean
• Wear clean clothes
• Clean and Cover cuts and sores with plasters
• Care for other skin conditions e.g. eczema – use your creams and lotions
• Wash sheets and towels regularly
• Eat healthy food. Healthy food is important for healthy skin
• Skin infections often start with an insect bite
• Treat animals for fleas regularly

If left untreated skin infections can lead to serious health problems. Serious skin infections are a major cause of avoidable hospitalisations in New Zealand.  Families/whānau/individuals should be advised to seek medical attention if a sore or area of redness has any of the following features:

• Is greater than the size of a ten cent coin (approximately 1.5cm)
• Increasing size
• Has pus
• Has red streaks coming from it
• Is not getting better within two days
• Is located close to the eye

The term ‘serious skin infections’ includes a number of conditions such as cellulitis, impetigo and abscesses of the skin and subcutaneous tissue.

• Cellulitis  is an acute bacterial infection of the soft tissues of the skin. The infection spreads causing the skin and layers underneath to become red, swollen and tender.
• Impetigo  (or school sores) is characterised by small infectious blisters, which later develop a honey coloured scab like crust.
• An abscess is a cavity containing pus which may also have surrounding cellulitis of the skin and tissue, all of which are largely caused by germs (bacteria).

If left untreated, skin infections can lead to serious health problems.  These infections can affect the blood, kidneys, bones, joints, lymph nodes and brain resulting in people needing to be hospitalised for treatment.  This is preventable, provided skin infections are acted on early enough.

For further information about serious skin conditions, visit Kidshealth.

The following resources were developed by Regional Public Health (RPH) and adapted for use by Toi Te Ora Public Health with permission.

• Healthy hand sticker
• Healthy skin postcards
• Healthy skin poster
• Healthy skin flyer
• Healthy skin colouring in template

Below are te reo Māori translations of the healthy skin resources:

• Healthy hand sticker
• Healthy skin postcard- front
• Healthy skin postcard - back 
• Healthy skin poster
• Healthy skin flyer - front
• Healthy skin flyer - back
• Healthy skin colouring in template

Further information on skin conditions is available from Kidshealth

• Skin infections 
• Boils 
• Eczema 
• Impetigo
• Warts 
• Head Lice
• Questions to ask your child's doctor or nurse
• Washing and drying hands
• Scabies