Skin lesions of different locations are often found in everyday life. Many of us in such cases are lost, and do not know what to do correctly, the better to treat the affected area and is it worth doing at all ?!
Knowing some points about first aid and the rules for using drugs, many consequences can be avoided. One of the tools that are commonly used in first aid during lesions of the skin and mucous membranes is tetracycline ointment. What helps this drug, and how to use it correctly, we will go further.
Release form and group
This drug is produced only in the form of an ointment, which contains 0.01 g and 0.03 g of tetracycline in 1 g of the drug (1% and 3%). Pharmaceutical plants produce tubes of 3 g and 10 g of the drug. Tetracycline ointment belongs to the group of antibiotics that are widely used in ophthalmology and dermatology.
Indications for use
Tetracycline ointment is prescribed for such diseases:
• Trachoma;
• blepharitis;
• conjunctivitis;
• Eczema;
• Boils;
• Burns, including sunburn;
• Keratitis.
How to use tetracycline ointment
Children from 8 years of age and adults are prescribed ointment 2-3 times a day. As a rule, it needs to be laid carefully, with a sterile-clean finger, over the lower eyelid (if it is 1% ointment).
IMPORTANT!!! It is forbidden to use any metal or plastic objects to lay the ointment for the lower eyelid. So you can injure the mucous membrane.
Dermatological diseases are usually treated with Tetracycline ointment 3%. To do this, it is applied to the affected areas with a thin layer 2 times a day. When applying ointment to unhealthy areas, you need to capture healthy ones 2-3 mm around.
The course of therapy is determined by the attending physician. It is known to depend on the degree of the disease. With some symptoms, patients use tetracycline ointment for up to 2 months.
The method of application to adults and children is the same - to smear the product on the damaged area of the skin with a ball no larger than 1 mm.
Contraindications
The use of this drug is not recommended for children under 8 years of age. Also, the effect of tetracycline on the fetus and woman during pregnancy has not been studied. Based on this, experts consider the appointment of ointment to pregnant women a mistake.
Mistakes in using tetracycline ointment
As you know, antibiotics (drugs that are used to fight bacteria) do not have any effect on viruses. So, many make a mistake, and use tetracycline for herpes. Treatment with tetracycline is advisable only when bacterial infection has occurred due to a viral infection.
The use of tetracycline ointment in the presence of fungal diseases is also prohibited. The drug not only can not cope with them, but can also aggravate the patient's condition.
In relation to other bacterial infections, a tetracycline-based drug is indicated.
1% or 3% tetracycline ointment?
The product has a slightly pungent odor, and has a yellow color. As a basis for ointment, as a rule, manufacturers use paraffin or petroleum jelly, in which the active substance is added. Tetracycline hydrochloride, which is the active substance of the drug, inhibits the growth and development of pathogenic bacteria.
The use of 1% or 3% tetracycline ointment:
1. 1% tetracycline ointment is usually used in ophthalmology. Therefore, it is popularly called - ocular tetracycline ointment. It is used as therapy for the most complex forms of conjunctivitis and other infections associated with the eyes.
2. 3% tetracycline ointment is widely used to treat infections of a purulent nature that have arisen on the skin. The main indications for the use of 3% tetracycline ointment are: ulcers, acne, dermatitis, purulent ulcers.
The use of tetracycline ointment in gynecology
Pregnant women are not usually prescribed antibiotics in the first trimester. Ointments for external use are also among them. Therefore, it is not recommended to use tetracycline ointment in the initial stages of pregnancy, since it can enter the bloodstream, therefore, there may be fetal poisoning. Antibiotics from a number of tetracycline drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy are categorically not recommended for use.
There are times when the doctor is forced to prescribe tetracycline for external use, but only at a later date. During this period, the internal organs and systems of the unborn child are formed, and therefore the drug does not have a negative effect on them.
Tetracycline ointment in puberty
Tetracycline specialists prescribe for adolescents in the case when acne, acne and boils appear on the face. This drug copes with teenage problems, which are not always amenable to even expensive, well-publicized products.
Where else is tetracycline used?
Tetracycline ointment is an affordable remedy, so it is used in many branches of medicine. Including in burn therapy. It is here that the most frequent cases are when patients develop purulent inflammation against the background of open wounds after burns.
IMPORTANT!!! The drug in burn therapy is used only in cases of bacterial infection. In its absence, the appointment of tetracycline to the patient is not necessary.
Equally important, tetracycline hydrochloride is often used to treat hemorrhoids. In particular with bleeding hemorrhoid cones. In such cases, there is a risk of infection (due to obvious reasons). Therefore, the use of tetracycline ointment is recommended!
ENT practice also often turns to tetracycline therapy. Since diseases of the human hearing system are almost always accompanied by a bacterial infection. However, you should not have high expectations when introducing funds into the ear canal. It is also necessary to use drugs that will act inside the body, absorbed into the bloodstream.
General recommendations for the treatment of tetracycline ointment
During therapy with tetracycline hydrochloride, milk and other dairy products should be discarded. Scientists have proven that dairy products interfere with the full activity of the active substance of the drug, and disrupt its absorption. It is also not recommended to use the ointment with apples, peas, lettuce, buckwheat and other products that are rich in iron. Hypertensive patients are not recommended for treatment with vitamin A. It usually contributes to a sharp increase in blood pressure.
Side effects with proper treatment with tetracycline ointment are extremely rare.
However, the use of other antibiotics of this series can cause undesirable consequences:
1. Violations of the gastrointestinal tract, violation of the gastric microflora, bloating, increased gas formation.
2. Candidiasis. In the treatment of diseases of the female genital organs.
3. An allergic reaction in the form of redness and itching.
To date, tetracycline antibiotic therapy is used so often that there are bacteria that are not sensitive to these drugs. In this case, the appointment of more powerful and effective means is advisable.
