Wounds come in a few different varieties. Some are due to trauma or injury. Others are planned surgical wounds. Regardless of what caused the wound, it constitutes a break in the skin and opens up the body to infection. According to the book "Surgery" by Josef Fischer, a wound infection can prevent the wound from healing. Medicines can treat wounds to prevent infections and promote an optimal healing environment.
Topical Ointments
Physicians often apply topical ointments to wounds. The purpose of the ointments is usually to prevent an infection from forming and to keep the wound moist. The ointments that physicians use for that purpose all include an antibiotic ingredient, according to the Mont Reid Surgical Handbook. Examples include Bacitracin, Neosporin and many other similar creams. Some other ointments, such as Soft and Shield, contain an antibiotic medication in addition to a long lasting moisturizer. Those can keep the wound moist and clear of infection to provide an optimal healing environment.
Oral Antibiotics
Once a wound is infected, physicians prescribe antibiotics to treat the wound. Unless the infection is very severe, they usually start with oral antibiotics as first line treatment, according to the book "Introduction to Surgery" by David Levien. Physicians start with an antibiotic that can treat a mild infection and has minimal side effects, such as cephalexin or amoxicillin. For more severe infections or ones that do not respond to the first antibiotics, they use more potent combination drugs like Augmentin, or more specialized ones like Bactrim that cover resistant bacterial strains.
IV Antibiotics
When the wound infection is severe or does not respond to the oral antibiotics, physicians use intravenous, or IV, antibiotics to treat the wound. The biggest drawback with those medications is that they almost always require patients to stay in the hospital. Those antibiotics include single agents such as cefazolin and clindamycin, or combination drugs such as Unasyn and Zosyn. According to the book "Introduction to Surgery" by David Levien, the more potent drugs usually have more side effects, so physicians like to save them for last resort.
Vitamin E
One of the consequences of wounds is that they cause scarring. Many physicians prescribe vitamin E ointment for its antioxidant properties in an effort to reduce scarring. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends using vitamin E ointment once the wound is in the healing process to promote faster healing.
References
- "Surgery"; Josef Fischer; 2008
- "The Mont Reid Surgical Handbook"; David Fischer; 2005
- "Introduction to Surgery"; David Levien; 1999
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Wounds
- Soft and Shield: Information
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