Monday, August 25, 2014

Antiseptic creams and neosporin

My bike riding exploits gave me a few bruises on the leg . The following are my observations on the antiseptic creams and the methods I used to treat the wound.

Type of wound : superficial skin abrasion caused by friction with the road (tar road) . Somewhat similar to a small localized burn injury .

Initial care : 
  • Generous wash with savlon ( dettol will do) diluted 1:20 . i.e. 1 capfull in a mug of water. 
  • Cleaning with cotton swabs to remove any dirt and dried blood 
  • Another wash with diluted savlon 

Antiseptic creams :

I had 3 antiseptic creams ,
  •  boroline ( zinc oxide and boric acid ) . 
  •  calendula ( zinc oxide , boric acid and calendula extract ) . calendula is a species of the rosemary flower. The extract is used in homeopathy and naturopathy medicines.
  • neosporin , an antibiotic cream.
Observations :

  • The zinc oxide formulations did not seem to make any big difference on the first day and the second .
  • I  tried the calendula + zinc oxide + boric acid formulation and about 5 min later I had some mild irritation and burning sensation with very mild swelling 
  • I washed that and applied neosporin . That seemed to work much better . The swelling reduced and the pain was much less ( pain on touching the area) 
  • Neosporin seemed to work much better.
  • I'm uncertain if the adverse reaction was from calendula or if there was a mild infection which got better naturally or with neosporin 
  • Neosporin has to be applied in a thin layer  over the wound . I applied it twice daily, morning and evening ( after washing and cleaning the wound ). 
  • Neosporin is an antibiotic and so has to be applied twice daily , strictly. Don't miss the "dose"
  • There are some contraindications ( side effects etc.) for heavy use of neosporin , which may not be applicable for treating minor wounds so nothing to worry .
  • I used neosporin as a preventive antibiotic  i.e. to prevent any infections. If the wound is infected , has yellowish discharge is painful or swollen for more than a day , and if you have fever for more than a day, contact your doctor

Update:

  • The wounds healed completely in two weeks ( as expected ) . superficial  scarring of the skin is still present .