Tetracycline ointment is a bacteriostatic, antimicrobial drug that stops the development of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. The drug performs a wide range of actions. It copes well with streptococcal, staphylococcal, chlamydial, gonorrheal, salmonella and other types of bacterial infections, but has no effect on group A streptococci, fungi and viruses.
Indications for use
The antibiotic is used in the treatment of a huge number of diseases, but its use in the form of an ointment is limited. The drug is prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of two types of diseases:
- For inflammatory processes in the eye area - blepharitis, conjunctivitis, trachoma, keratitis, barley and others.
- For infectious skin pathologies - eczema, acne, furunculosis, folliculitis or rashes.
There is an opinion that this remedy can cure colds on the lips and around the labial area or the appearance of crusts in the nasal cavity (dry rhinitis). This is a huge misconception. Tetracycline ointment ineffective against viruses, therefore, it is unlikely to cure herpes caused directly by a viral infection. Rhinitis occurs due to atrophy of the nasal mucosa, which also has no connection with bacteria.
Tetracycline ointment for herpes
Herpes in the lip area is small watery blisters containing a viral infection. The ointment itself does not cure this viral disease, but its use helps stop the spread of the virus to healthy skin areas of the face.
To treat the disease, the area of the blisters is lubricated with a three percent tetracycline ointment. four times a day. A thick layer is applied to the affected area of skin, and the healthy area of skin around the blister is additionally covered by about one centimeter.
It is forbidden to tear off or scratch the bubbles, so you need to cover the lubricated area with a gauze swab, which must be removed after 12 hours and replaced with a new one.
The sooner you start therapy, the better your chances of stopping the progression of the disease. If you lubricate herpes with ointment at the initial symptoms, most likely it will be cured within a day. Later use will take about five days. But again, remember that the ointment must be used as an aid.
Attention! If you started using the medicine after the blister burst, you should avoid getting the ointment inside the open wound, otherwise this will lead to suppuration and inflammation. Necessary lubricate only the edges of the herpes and, of course, the area around the wound.
When the inflammatory process stops, the use of the ointment can be stopped. For prophylaxis, tetracycline should be used for another day. The ointment is used with an antiviral drug - acyclovir.
Use of tetracycline ointment
The drug is yellow in color and is available in tubes of 30, 10 and 50 grams. The active substance - tetracycline hydrochloride - is contained in a one percent or three percent ratio, all other components are excipients (vaseline and anhydrous lanolin). The drug can be purchased at a pharmacy without a prescription.
One percent tetracycline ointment is used in the treatment of eye infections:
Bacterial blepharitis, barley or conjunctivitis must be treated immediately after the first signs appear (redness of the mucous membrane, purulent discharge from the eyes, discomfort) and until they are eliminated, plus two days of additional preventive use.- Chlamydial inflammation (trachoma) is treated for about two weeks. In addition to the ointment, you should take other antibacterial medications prescribed by your doctor. The recovery process should be monitored by an ophthalmologist to prevent possible complications - loss of vision, scarring on the eyelids or changes in the cornea of the eye.
- After surgery or injury to the eye area, it is recommended to use the ointment for approximately three days to prevent infectious inflammation.
For eye ailments ointment must be applied daily, approximately three times directly into the area behind the lower eyelid. The eyelid must be slightly pulled back with your fingers and 5 millimeters of medicine squeezed onto the mucous membrane of the eye. Do not allow the tip of the tube to come into contact with the inflamed area, then wipe the tip of the tube after use with a clean piece of cotton wool to prevent dirt or infection from getting inside.
In the treatment of skin diseases use three percent tetracycline ointment:
- pimples (acne) – the drug is treated for up to eight weeks, the exact course of treatment is calculated by the doctor depending on the severity of the disease;
- pustular infection (inflammation of hair follicles, boils), eczema and ulcers - it is recommended to use tetracycline ointment compresses. Apply a thick layer of medicine to a gauze bandage, then apply it to the affected area and leave for 12 hours. The procedure must be repeated daily until the damaged skin is completely healed;
- in gynecology for inflammation of the external genitalia (vulvitis). The infection is treated with the drug for one week.
Apply the ointment to the skin area thin layer, three times a day, covering the healthy area around the inflammation. First, cleanse your skin of all cosmetics, sweat gland secretions and other impurities. If acne on the skin occurs due to a mechanical irritant (using harsh scrubs, shaving, etc.), wait at least half an hour before using the medicine.
Special instructions and contraindications
Use of tetracycline ointment
contraindicated in the following conditions:
- mycoses (extensive fungal infection);
- leukopenia;
- allergies to components of the tetracycline composition;
- stomach ulcer;
- liver failure.
Tetracycline ointment should not be used simultaneously with drugs containing metal ions, penicillins or antacids, retinol and cephalosporins.
It is recommended not to mix the medicine with cholestyramine or colestipol, as in this case the absorption of the drug is impaired.
Possible side effects from the use of the drug include:
- allergic skin reactions (itching, rash, swelling);
- hypersensitivity to light (photosensitivity);
- darkening of teeth in the oral cavity (with long-term treatment);
- fungal infection (candidiasis).
Side effects from using the drug
Tetracycline eye ointment is generally accepted by the skin normally, but like many antibiotics, it has side effects that occur due to its broad antibacterial effect.
Gastrointestinal tract - mild or severe diarrhea, upset stomach, loss of appetite, stomatitis, glossitis, nausea, gastritis, vomiting, inflammation of the rectum.
Allergic reactions - swelling, irritation, rashes, itching.
Pain in right side, in a stomach.
When using the drug for a long time, adverse reactions may occur in the form of candidiasis, neuropenia, dysbacteriosis, photosensitivity, as well as transaminases in the hepatic region.
It is also necessary to interrupt or completely stop using the medicine if there is colic, abdominal pain, spasms or irritation on the skin.
Esophagitis or constipation may also occur in patients with sensitive gastric microflora.
Tetracycline eye ointment is used in the treatment of children under 10 years of age, but as prescribed by a pediatrician, in moderate doses.
Additional Information
Tetracycline ointment is used topically, depending on the area of the disease. One tube of ointment is enough for approximately a course of therapy; if necessary, the course can be extended.
Use tetracycline ointment necessary this way:
The tube needs to be warmed and rubbed.- The required amount of contents must be squeezed onto a medical spatula or finger, having first washed your hands and cleaned the site of inflammation.
- Place 6 millimeters of the product on the retracted lower eyelid of the eye, close the eye tightly, and wait a few seconds.
- To ensure good distribution of the ointment in the eye area, move your eyes left and right.
- Remove the remaining drug from the eye area using a cotton swab, and clean the tip of the tube itself.
- Screw the tube tightly and place in a dry place. Keep the ointment away from your children.
If side effects occur, it is necessary to rinse the area with a negative reaction to the ointment with clean water.
Official shelf life of the drug three years unopened, from the date of application - two months.
Reviews
I always have tetracycline eye ointment on hand, it always helps with conjunctivitis. Yes, it also helps with barley. I have heard only positive reviews about the drug.
Tetracycline ointment is excellent It helps with barley and acne , only I use one percent ointment for barley, I read about the drug in reviews, but it is also suitable for rashes and relieves inflammation well.
I suffered for a long time with sticky spots in the corners of my mouth and tried many remedies until I came across reviews about tetracycline ointment. Thanks to the reviews, it was a breeze.
We hope our article will be useful to you. Remember the correct use of the drug, this is 90 percent of success in treatment. Reviews about this drug speak for themselves. Be healthy.
Tetracycline acne ointment is used to treat purulent inflammations, boils and other diseases caused by bacterial infections. Doctors and patients call the distinctive features of the tetracycline drug its relative availability and ease of application. You can buy two types of this drug in pharmacies: for external use and ophthalmic. There are differences in the use of tetracycline ophthalmic ointment in the treatment of acne from the means for external use. And although the ophthalmic option is designed primarily to eliminate inflammatory processes in the eyes, eyelids and conjunctiva, it is often used to treat acne on the face.
The active ingredient in tetracycline ointment is tetracycline hydrochloride. Specially prepared lanolin, petroleum jelly, ceresin and sodium disulfate are used as additional components. They promote faster penetration of active tetracycline through the skin to the affected area.
The active substance belongs to the group of bacteriostatic antibiotics that act on a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including chlamydia.
With an almost identical composition of additional components, the preparations (ophthalmic and for external use) differ in the amount of active ingredient. In an eye ointment it is 1 mg per 1 g of substance, and in a preparation for external use - 3 mg per 1 g of ointment.
Instructions for using the medicine for the eyes include rosacea as a reason for prescribing, in addition to eye diseases. This type of ointment will be useful for herpes rashes, and it will be effective for infected wounds on the lips.
While the drug for external use has a number of rashes on the face as indications:
- purulent rashes;
- furunculosis;
- acne;
- folliculitis.
Almost any purulent inflammation can be treated with tetracycline ointment, but the medicine will not cope with rashes caused by hormonal imbalance.
Hence the conclusion: you can use tetracycline eye ointment for acne, it will be effective for rosacea. But if you need to treat more complex diseases: severe acne, folliculitis, boils on the face, then it is better to take a product for external use.
The method of application, dosage, and duration of treatment should be prescribed by a dermatologist. It is he who will advise the optimal treatment option. The instructions for use indicate that the medicine is applied twice a day, recommended in the morning and evening. In some cases, it is used every eight hours, i.e. three times a day.
When rosacea forms, the product is applied to the affected area using a special spatula or finger. You can treat acne as a spot or lubricate large rashes. After applying the substance, the treated area should not be washed or wet with water. If you suddenly had to wet it, then the ointment is applied again.
During the treatment period, doctors do not recommend using cosmetics on the treated areas; they note that this significantly lengthens the healing process. On average, acne treatment takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Dressing with tetracycline eye ointment is very rarely recommended. Doctors recommend applying liniment for external use for these purposes. Such procedures are indicated for skin eczema, complex boils, and other subcutaneous purulent rashes. The dressing is changed twice a day.
Treatment of a boil takes up to five days, and elimination of purulent acne takes at least two weeks. In this case, not only will existing rashes disappear, but the appearance of new rashes will also be stopped.
Outdoor option
Despite the fact that the drug is applied to the skin, tetracycline is able to penetrate the systemic circulation, which makes its use somewhat limited. So, it is not recommended to use the drug:
- if there is individual intolerance to tetracycline or other components of the ointment;
- for fungal diseases;
- if there are liver dysfunctions;
- during pregnancy, especially in the second half.
Tetracycline ointment has been used for a long time, and many microorganisms have developed resistance to it. The first improvement when using the drug is observed after 12–24 hours. During this period, the pustules dry out, redness and swelling disappear. If improvement is not observed within three to four days, then you should contact a dermatologist to prescribe another drug.
The most common side effects when using eye ointment for the face, the instructions for use indicate severe burning and itching. With prolonged application of liniment, photophobia, nausea and vomiting may occur, abdominal pain, stool disorders, and inflammatory processes in the oral cavity and esophagus may occur. The instructions indicate that such manifestations are rare.
The presence of side effects is grounds for discontinuation of therapy.
Burning and itching usually occur as a result of the development of an allergic reaction; its presence can be determined before treatment begins. You need to apply a small amount of ointment to the elbow area for 12 hours. If no discomfort occurs, the ointment can be used. Otherwise, the drug is immediately washed off with water and not used in treatment.
During application, a slight burning sensation sometimes occurs, which does not cause discomfort and is not a reason to discontinue the drug.
In general, many dermatologists indicate that tetracycline ophthalmic ointment does help in the treatment of rosacea, lip rashes and simple pustular rashes. However, for the treatment of subcutaneous abscesses, rough acne and extensive rashes, tetracycline liniment should be used for external use. In the most difficult cases (with extensive boils, acute folliculitis), the doctor may recommend taking tetracycline tablets along with treating the rash with ointment.
Tetracycline for acne – one of the most popular and often recommended remedies in the treatment of acne. But acne can be treated in this way only when it has an infectious cause.
And although you can buy many other medications at the pharmacy intended for the treatment of acne, tetracycline should be considered the most affordable and easiest to use.
But before you start using tetracycline to treat acne, you need to know exactly what you should pay attention to before using this medicine. But first I would like to clarify how exactly acne appears, especially bacterial acne.
How do acne appear?
Our skin is the pores from which hairs grow. And with each hair there is a sebaceous gland. The secretion of the sebaceous gland, that is, the substance that it secretes, is necessary not only for nourishing the hair itself. It also protects the skin, moisturizes it and helps protect it from harmful environmental influences.
Moreover, there are areas of the skin where these glands are larger in size than on other parts of the body. This is the face, back and shoulders. This is where acne appears most often.
If for some reason more secretion is secreted than necessary, and there is constantly contamination on the skin, and most often it is dust, cosmetics that are not removed for several days, dead epidermal cells, then the sebaceous gland can become clogged. The sebum that continues to be secreted in it, but has no way out, serves as an excellent source for the proliferation of bacteria.
If everything is left to chance, then pus gradually begins to accumulate in the skin pores. After some time, it breaks through, comes to the surface of the skin and the skin pores are cleansed. This means it continues to work as before.
It turns out that the provoking factors for the appearance of acne are skin pollution and excess sebum.
But it also happens that an infection joins the inflammatory process inside the skin pores. And in this case, you will have to use antibiotics, among which the most popular is tetracycline.
Tetracycline against acne. What kind of medicine is this
Tetracycline AKOS is an antibiotic that can fight a wide variety of microbes. Its main effect is bacteriostatic. This means that it helps block the proliferation of microorganisms without destroying them themselves.
The drug affects both staphylococci and streptococci, as well as many other gram-positive and gram-negative microbes and anaerobic bacteria (capable of developing without oxygen).
It is for these reasons that tetracycline is most often used for acne.
However, there are microbes that tetracycline does not affect. Therefore, before you start using ointment or tablets for acne, you should definitely go to the doctor and get tested for sensitivity to antibiotics. Only after the result comes and it becomes clear to which antibiotics the cultured microbes are sensitive can treatment begin.
How is it produced?
Tetracycline comes in two forms. These are acne pills and acne ointment.
Ointment maybe 1%, but it is not suitable for treating acne. It treats eye inflammation. Tetracycline eye ointment for acne has too low a concentration of the main substance. Therefore, it is powerless against acne.
There is a 3% option. It is this tetracycline ointment that helps fight acne.
If you use eye ointment, then due to the minimal concentration, you may not get the effect.
Pills tetracycline for acne is prescribed if acne of the third or fourth degree has been diagnosed. If one pimple pops up on your face or back, no doctor will prescribe such treatment.
But for second-degree acne, tetracycline ointment can be prescribed. Sometimes a dermatologist may prescribe both tablets and ointment at the same time. You should not take the medicine in this combination without a doctor’s prescription.
You can buy tetracycline in the form of ointment or tablets to treat acne at the pharmacy without a prescription.
Features of acne treatment
To understand helps whether tetracycline for acne, you should understand all the features of the treatment of this disease.
First of all, it is necessary to understand exactly what caused acne. This could be a hormonal imbalance, which is especially typical for teenagers, poor nutrition, diseases of internal organs, or stress. Finding the cause of acne on your own is quite difficult. Therefore, you should not neglect the help and advice of a doctor.
The best results in acne treatment can only be achieved with integrated approach to treatment. This includes diet, the use of medications prescribed by a doctor, and proper skin care.
It should be remembered that it will take a long time to treat acne. Even if you take tetracycline antibiotic for acne. In most cases, in order to avoid relapse of the disease, you should learn to eat right, give up bad habits and change your lifestyle.
Today there is not a single magic drug that could cure acne in one use. And at the same time it would help to cope with their further rash, preventing such an unpleasant phenomenon as a relapse.
Tetracycline for acne. How to use
Treatment of acne with tetracycline AKOS can be carried out using different methods. And they will all be effective.
How to use pills tetracycline for acne? The tablets should be taken 3 times a day. Depending on the doctor’s prescriptions, you can take 2–4 tablets at a time. The dosage of each is 100 mg. The difference between doses should be at least 6 hours.
You should not take more than 4 grams of tetracycline tablets per day. Remember that you should not take antibiotics with milk or eat dairy products while taking tetracycline. They completely neutralize the effect of the active substance.
The full course of treatment is most often 5 days. And you should not shorten the treatment period, even if you see that already on the third day there will be significantly less acne.
Masks
Tetracycline for acne on the face can also be used as a mask. In this case, the medicine is applied only to the surface of the skin, does not penetrate into the blood, and therefore does not enter the bloodstream. There are two recipes for masks with tetracycline.
Recipe one
Crush a few tetracycline tablets, dilute the powder with a little water and apply the mixture only to the pimples. Leave for 15 minutes and rinse with water.
Recipe two
Mix several crushed tablets of this medicine with powder, preferably baby powder. Use equal amounts of both ingredients. Pour hydrogen peroxide over everything. Apply to inflammation for 20 minutes. You can do this procedure 2 times a week.
Lotion
Tetracycline for subcutaneous acne can also be used as a lotion. It not only helps get rid of acne, but will also be an excellent preventative, reduce oily skin and get rid of severely enlarged pores.
The lotion should be prepared according to the following instructions:
- Crush 10 tetracycline tablets into powder.
- Crush 10 tablets of chloramphenicol into powder.
- Mix 1 bottle of salicylic acid and 1 bottle of boric acid.
- Add the powder from the tablets to the mixture.
- Add 10 ml of 1% dimexide solution.
- Mix.
- Pour into a dark glass bottle.
- Place in the refrigerator for a day.
Wipe your face with the resulting lotion twice every day.
Acne is unpleasant, but not at all fatal. Today there are many medications that can help you:
Chatterbox
If ulcers appear on the face, then a tetracycline-based mash would be the ideal solution. This remedy not only has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect, but also relieves purulent rashes.
It’s easy to prepare such a mash. To do this, add 10 crushed tetracycline tablets to a bottle of calendula tincture, which you can buy at a pharmacy. Shake the bottle and use the medicine 2 times a day. Remember to shake the bottle before each use.
Tetracycline ointment for acne on the face. How to use
Tetracycline ointment for acne on the face is applied only to cleansed skin. This can be done using any lotion or facial wash.
It is recommended to use only the 3% version of the ointment. The manufacturer of the drug does not matter, but tetracycline AKOS is most often used.
Apply the ointment locally or over the entire area of inflammation. This should be done in a thin layer, then lightly rubbed into the skin. Apply 3% tetracycline ointment - AKOS 3 times a day.
If you have been diagnosed with subcutaneous acne, then it is good to use compresses with tetracycline ointment. For a compress, the ointment should be applied to a cotton pad, applied to the site of inflammation and secured with an adhesive plaster. Exposure time is from 20 minutes to one hour.
Tetracycline in ointment form has many positive reviews. However, there were cases when the ointment did not help. This is caused by the fact that pimples did not appear due to a bacterial infection, but due to other reasons. And antibiotics simply cannot cope with these reasons.
Advantages
Tetracycline AKOS for acne has many advantages.
- Both ointment and tablets have excellent effectiveness against many microbes that cause pimples and blackheads.
- Minimum price.
- Availability - you can buy it at any pharmacy.
- You can buy it without a prescription.
- Easy to use.
- Maximum effect in a short period of time.
Flaws
- If you take the pills for a long time, thrush or dysbacteriosis may develop.
- There are side effects.
- An allergic reaction may occur.
- If acne is not the result of a bacterial infection, then the drug will not do any good.
Dangerous Misconceptions
Often reading reviews about tetracycline for acne, you can find out that most people prefer to use expensive drugs, as they are believed to be more effective. But tetracycline is a domestically produced drug, and therefore its price is not so high.
If a burning sensation or other unpleasant sensations appear when using tetracycline ointment, then this is as it should be. No, that's not true. There should be no burning or discomfort when using the ointment. If there is a burning sensation or itching, or redness appears, this indicates an allergic reaction. In this case, tetracycline cannot be used as a treatment for acne.
A sensitivity test is not necessary when using tetracycline ointment. This is one of the most common misconceptions. You should do a sensitivity test when using any drug if you are being treated with it for the first time.
Video: does tetracycline ointment help with acne?
Contraindications
- Pregnancy.
- Feeding a baby with breast milk.
- Fungal skin disease.
- Liver diseases.
- Allergy.
Side effects
- Digestive disorder.
- Dizziness.
- Headache.
- Dysbacteriosis.
- Thrush.
- Skin rash and itching.
- Increased sensitivity to light.
Author - Anna Mikhailova, dermatologist-cosmetologist of the first category, specialist at the Academy of Scientific Beauty. Especially for the site “Treating Acne”.
Reviews
Milena: “Did tetracycline help me get rid of acne? Yes, he literally saved my life. Having been diagnosed with stage 4 acne, life was scary. But a full course of this medicine, along with other drugs, brought me back to life.”
Alena: “I tried to get rid of acne for several years. Nothing helped. And finally, a dermatologist at a paid clinic advised me to use tetracycline ointment, and not those expensive drugs, lotions and foam that I had used before. And it helped. Tetracycline, which costs literally pennies, cured me of acne.”
Stanislav: “My dermatologist advised me to try tetracycline. And I was very surprised that such a simple remedy helped me get rid of acne. Thank you".
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