This common medicine at home is abused by many people! Be careful of 4 situations →

Erythromycin ointment

It is a common medicine in many people's homes.

Lumps and abrasions on the skin

Or you get bitten by a mosquito or burned.

They all take it as a life-saving straw

It seems that all skin diseases can be cured by medicine

Take back your unconditional trust

Erythromycin ointment is not as good as you think

It can't cure many skin problems.

It might make things worse if you use it!

Skin problems in sensitive areas

For example, eye infection, sty , etc.

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Please note that erythromycin ointment itself is not a sterile preparation!

Be careful when using it on sensitive areas such as eyes, oral and nasal mucosa, as it may cause irritation and lead to some adverse reactions.

Fungal infections

For example, erythromycin ointment is useless for diseases such as tinea pedis, tinea capitis, tinea cruris, and herpes !

Fungal skin infections require treatment with appropriate antifungal drugs.

Have an allergic reaction

When using erythromycin ointment, some people will experience some strong allergic symptoms, such as itchy skin, redness, burning sensation , etc.

If these uncomfortable symptoms occur, the medication must be stopped immediately.

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Extensive burns and scalds

It is not recommended to treat these situations by yourself, you must seek medical attention! Indiscriminate use of medication may lead to more serious infections.

In addition to the situations mentioned above, it is also not recommended to use erythromycin ointment directly when you don’t know what disease you have.

Erythromycin ointment is an antibiotic whose main function is to fight bacteria and inflammation, and prevent and treat infection.

Therefore, if you encounter the following diseases, you can use erythromycin ointment to treat them appropriately:

Bacterial skin infections: such as purulent skin diseases such as impetigo; it can also be used for infections at the junction of the skin and mucous membranes, such as bacterial angular cheilitis.

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Minor trauma: such as minor scratches, bruises, etc., you can apply an appropriate amount of erythromycin ointment to the affected area after cleaning and disinfection.

Minor burns and scalds: Mainly first-degree burns or scalds, you can use erythromycin ointment in appropriate amounts.

This level is considered a shallow burn or scald, which only damages the outermost layer of the skin. The symptoms are usually only local mild redness and swelling, without blisters.

No matter under what circumstances you use erythromycin ointment, there is one basic principle that you must remember: do not use it frequently or for a long time.

Erythromycin ointment is an antibiotic, so it has the same disadvantages as antibiotics, such as the development of drug resistance.

If you treat it as a panacea for skin problems and apply it on your body whenever you feel a little uncomfortable, it may work well at first, but in the end it will become less and less useful.

What’s worse is that erythromycin antibiotics are also often used to treat other diseases, such as mycoplasma pneumonia, etc.

The treatment of these diseases may also be affected if they are resistant to erythromycin.

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Therefore, if you encounter any skin problems that cause trouble to your life, or if skin diseases recur and the situation is serious, don’t be too confident. See a doctor in time and let the doctor provide targeted treatment.

Because you are "too lazy to go to the hospital", you do things recklessly on your own, which may make the situation worse and cause greater negative impact on your life. That would be too costly.

Statement: This article is a medical-related educational popular science article. It does not involve specific treatment methods or medical behaviors and cannot replace hospital visits.

Experts who reviewed this article

References

[1] Pei Yuqing, Gu Qing. Don’t use erythromycin eye ointment as erythromycin ointment[J]. Public Health, 2021, (06): 62.

[2] Chen Qin, Mei Li, Liu Qiqi, et al. Effect of topical application of erythromycin ointment in preventing angular cheilitis after dental implant surgery[J]. Modern Medicine and Health, 2021, 37(24): 4249-4251.

[3] Xu Jinglin, Xie Suzhen, Shi Yaqiang, et al. Clinical application of erythromycin ointment in the treatment of anal inflammatory diseases[J]. Chinese Community Physician (Medical Specialty), 2012, 14(14): 193.

Content Production

Editor: Zhang Fuyao

Map: Eastern Zhou Dynasty