I'm using Neosporin, but my wound keeps getting worse!

I saw two patients today with the same complaint and the same problem. Neosporin is an antibiotic ointment containing neomycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic. Neomycin can be used topically or orally, but it is most commonly used as a topical medication. Neosporin is mainly used as an agent to help with wound healing. So why did these two patients have what appeared to be normal wounds that were actually getting worse when they used Neosporin?

Neomycin is one of the top 10 topical allergens in the US. The allergic reaction usually presents as a red, raw area similar to eczema. It will look like the wound is spreading or getting worse instead of healing. Just stop using the Neosporin and be sure to avoid all ointments (like triple antibiotic ointment) that contain Neomycin as well. Also, people who are allergic to Neomycin show a high incidence of allergic reactions to Bacitracin, another topical antibiotic (usually sold as Polysporin). Finally, it's important to remember that you had this allergic reaction to Neosporin because you may be allergic to oral medications that are in the same class of drugs. But when you take the oral aminoglycosides, you could have an eczematous reaction over your whole body or even have anaphylactic shock. Look back at my previous post about Vaseline being used for wound healing. It's a great alternative for people who are allergic to Neomycin or Bacitracin.



Hopefully my paper will be accepted and I'll use it as the reference here :)