Q Are there foods to avoid when you have impetigo? My child loves sweets — is that okay?
A Foods high in sugar such as sugar, snacks, and sweet drinks, as well as greasy foods, increase internal heat and dampness and slow recovery from bacterial infection. During recovery, a light diet centered on vegetables and fruit with plenty of moisture helps speed healing.
Detailed Answer
High-sugar foods (sugar, snacks, sweet drinks) raise blood sugar quickly and temporarily reduce immune cell function, which can be unfavorable for recovery from bacterial infection. Greasy foods, fried foods, and processed foods can also disturb the gut environment and affect the immune response. Spicy, hot, irritating foods may increase skin heat and worsen itching and inflammation. During recovery, it helps to include vegetables, fruit, and plenty of fluids while cutting back on sweet and greasy foods.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At Dongjedang, we view high-sugar and greasy foods as foods that disturb the spleen-stomach function and accumulate damp-heat. When damp-heat builds up, heat-toxin is not well dispersed from the skin, leaving it vulnerable to bacteria, so we recommend a diet centered on light, cooling vegetables to cool the heat in the spleen and stomach. For children especially, reducing the frequency of sweet foods helps prevent reinfection.
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