What You Need to Know About Neosporin for Wound Healing
What do you reach for to treat an open cut or a wound? Thanks to Johnson & Johnson’s successful marketing, many people say Neosporin. While I do want you to use a product to keep the wound moist, you need to know why it shouldn’t be Neosporin. Neosporin was created in the 1950s. However, it was not approved for use by the FDA until 1971. It is an over-the-counter topical antibiotic containing neomycin sulfate, polymyxin B, and bacitracin. So why do dermatologists around the country—despise this product? It’s the neomycin!
Neomycin frequently causes allergic reactions of the skin called contact dermatitis. It can cause the skin to become red, scaly, and itchy. The more Neosporin you use, the worse the skin reaction gets.
Neomycin is such a common allergen that it was named Allergen of the Year in 2010. The goal of this award is to bring awareness to commonly used products that are under-recognized as common allergens. Polymyxin B and bacitracin can cause contact dermatitis as well.
It’s also important to understand that Neosporin does not speed up wound healing compared to petrolatum. In 1996, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study comparing antibiotic ointment with plain petrolatum jelly (Vaseline) . There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of infection between the groups. The only differences seen between the two groups was that a small number of patients in the antibiotic group developed allergic reactions. Meanwhile, no allergic reactions were reported in the petrolatum group.
Dr Jones comments..
I have never trusted using any of these topically for wound healing in animals..and NOW I see why. Basic wound healing 101 is to clip/clean the area first using an antiseptic soap like chlorhexidine. You can also use black/green tea with natural Castile soap. Flush/irrigate the wound with warm water removing all the debris Then topically apply something to speed up wound healing and prevent infection. The best proven natural product in my opinion is Honey! For minor wounds you can even consider using something as simple as Vaseline.
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