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A listener recently asked about the antibiotic cream Neosporin. Below is a transcript of the doctors’ response from the August 4-5 show with Dr. Christiane Northrup. Listen to the House Calls question and the entire show here.
House Calls Question: I recently heard someone say that medical professionals don’t like Neosporin anymore. Is that true and if so why?
Doctors’ Response
Dr. Adam Goldstein: Well, I don’t think we can make comments about all of medicine; all of healthcare professionals. I think that there’s this triple antibiotic cream and these combination products that sometimes some providers who have a lot more experience would say maybe it’s not the best one. I know one of the ingredients can be allergy causing. People can develop an allergy to the antibiotic. We also know that the more antibiotics one takes, the more one may be killing good bacteria as well as bad bacteria. So, I think in general providers are a little more educated about this. What do you think?
Dr. Jamila Battle: I think that sounds correct. There are also some alternative measures that can be tried as well to maintain healthy flora and bacteria.
Dr. Adam Goldstein: Like what? What do you like?
Dr. Jamila Battle: I like hydrogen peroxide.
Dr. Adam Goldstein: A lot of times you can dilute that down and it’s an antiseptic. I use soap and water. I mean soap and water is an old standard. There’s not a lot of resistance out there to soap. You don’t hear there’s a new kind of thing to counter the soap effect and bacteria get resistant to soap. I think the one chemical is called neomycin, that’s the one that can be really sensitizing. So you could choose a polysporin that just has a single ingredient Bacitracin, the one ingredient if you needed it. Sometimes just a Band-Aid works. Just a little Band-Aid, a little soap and water.
More Information on Antibiotic Creams and Wound Care
Provided by librarians at the University of North Carolina Health Sciences Library.
