Chickenpox presents as vesicles ("dewdrop on a rose petal") that appear in crops, whereas impetigo is characterized by honey-colored crusts or bullae.
While impetigo can complicate eczema, primary impetigo lacks the underlying chronic, scaly dermatitis and is defined by its superficial crusts or bullae.
This viral superinfection on eczema presents with monomorphic, "punched-out" erosions or vesicles, a different morphology than the golden crusts of impetigo.
Erysipelas is a deeper dermal infection, presenting as a warm, tender, sharply demarcated, indurated plaque, unlike the very superficial nature of impetigo.
Herpes is distinguished by its initial grouped vesicles on an erythematous base, which then crust over, whereas impetigo begins as erosions or bullae.
A kerion (inflammatory tinea) is a boggy, suppurative plaque, a much deeper and more inflammatory process than superficial impetigo.
Bites are typically pruritic papules, which may be excoriated and secondarily infected, but the primary lesion is a bite, not a crust.
This autoimmune disease causes widespread, scaly, crusted erosions that can mimic impetigo, but it is persistent and confirmed by immunofluorescence.
This presents as clusters of small papules and pustules around the mouth, sparing the vermilion border, unlike the crusted plaques of impetigo.
Scabies is an infestation characterized by burrows and intense nocturnal itching, which are not features of a primary bacterial impetigo.
This is a scaly eruption in oily areas, not a crusted or bullous bacterial infection.
Tinea faciei can be inflammatory, but it often has an annular shape with a raised border, and is confirmed by a KOH test.
