The skin protects us from the outside world and forms an important barrier to infection. Wounds cause an opening in the skin that bacteria can use to penetrate into the deeper tissues of the body. Skin wounds can be due to trauma or from surgical incisions. Either way, physicians prescribe antibiotic wound treatments to prevent bacteria from penetrating the wound and to treat existing infections.
Single Agent Creams
Several single antibiotic agent creams are available on the market to prevent or treat wound infections. These include bacitracin, neomycin and polymyxin B. Although the mechanisms of action of the different creams differ, they all act to kill common skin bacteria so that the bacteria is not be able to enter into the wound. These creams are sold over the counter and are most often used in the home for minor cuts and scrapes.
Combination Creams
Physicians often use creams that are a combination of multiple topical antibiotics as antibiotic wound treatments. Some brand names include Neosporin, Polysporin and Bactroban. One property that makes Bactroban an especially useful topical antibiotic is that it is effective at killing a highly resistant bacteria called MRSA. While Neosporin, Soft and Shield and Polysporin are available over the counter, Bactroban requires a physician prescription. While physicians typically apply Neosporin or Polysporin to surgical wounds to prevent infection, they more often apply Bactroban to areas that are already infected in order to kill the bacteria.
Antiseptics with Moisturizer
Physicians are now increasingly using antibiotic wound treatments that contain moisturizers to protect wounds from infection. According to the Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine, not only does that kill the bacteria on the wound but also helps the wound heal faster so that bacteria can no longer penetrate the skin. Some of the individual single agent antibiotic creams are now sold as a combination of antibiotic and a longer-lasting moisturizer. Other creams, such as Soft and Shield, use a formulation to provide long-lasting antibiotic protection as well as a moisturizer.
Oral Antibiotics
Once a wound is infected, topical antibiotics are often not enough to cure the infection. In those cases, physicians prescribe systemic oral antibiotics. According to the Mont Reid Surgical Handbook, physicians most commonly prescribe antibiotics from the cephalosporin or penicillin classes of antibiotics. Those include cephalexin and amoxicillin, which are useful against many of the bacterial strains that populate the skin. For more severe infections or ones that did not respond to the initial antibiotic treatment, a combination drug such as Augmentin, which contains amoxicillin and clavulanate, can be an effective antibiotic wound remedy.
IV Antibiotics
In cases where a wound infection is either too severe for or resistant to topical and oral antibiotics, IV antibiotics are necessary to treat the infection. IV antibiotics act through various mechanisms. Some, such as cephazolin, are simply IV forms of similar oral antibiotic medication. Physicians use those for less severe infections. Others, such as Unasyn or Zosyn, are powerful combination drugs that contain compounds that help them overcome antibiotic resistance. Other types of IV medications, such as vancomycin, are useful against highly resistant organisms such as MRSA.
References
- "Introduction to Surgery"; David Levien; 1999
- "The Mont Reid Surgical Handbook"; David Fischer; 2005
- "Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine; Marc Sabatine; 2004
- Soft and Shield Information Page
- "Surgery"; Josef Fischer; 2008
