After calamine lotion was inexplicably popularized, another common dermatological medication, erythromycin ointment, has also become incredibly popular. This common ointment, which is almost a household essential, has been widely used for various conditions and scenarios, but in reality, most of these scenarios represent misuse.Under the promotion of some bloggers, erythromycin ointment is really regarded as a “panacea”,used for mosquito bites, eczema, acne, athlete’s foot, daily skincare products. Even many people use it to treat their baby’s diaper rash.
For example, there are more than 140,000 posts on a portal APP about “applying erythromycin ointment to treat diaper rash”. Can erythromycin ointment really easily and effectively eliminate the “red bottom” that many parents worry about for their babies?
Today, let’s discuss the common misuse scenarios of this ointment, which is almost every household’s choice, and how it should be used correctly.
Common Misuse Scenarios of Erythromycin Ointment
and Correct Response Methods
01 Baby’s “Red Bottom” (Diaper Dermatitis)
Diaper rash, also known as “red bottom,” is commonly referred to as diaper dermatitis. It is a common skin disease in babies, mainly manifested as redness and inflammation of the skin in the diaper area, which may be accompanied by rashes, ulcers, or peeling. In most cases, it is not recommended to use erythromycin ointment alone to treat “red bottom.”
The core elements of treating diaper rash are moisturizing, reducing irritation, and anti-inflammatory.
Key Points are as Follows
● Strengthen the application of moisturizing cream/lotion;
● Reduce the wearing time of diapers;
● Remove feces/urine in time;
●And apply corresponding ointments according to the severity of inflammation for anti-inflammatory treatment.
When the baby has a bowel movement,promptly detect; Change diapers and gently wipe the skin clean with wipes/moist towel and promptly apply moisturizer/petroleum jelly;
Also, according to theseverity of inflammation, choose zinc oxide ointment, hydrocortisone cream, etc.for symptomatic topical treatment.
In addition, diaper rash has a certain chance of developing secondary bacterial, fungal infections, if a secondary infection does occur, it requires anti-infection treatment.
Additional Tip: Skin inflammation ≠ infection, so anti-infection treatment is not the same as anti-inflammatory treatment.
Skin Inflammation: It is an immune response of the skin, which can be a reaction to certain irritants or injuries(e.g., ultraviolet radiation), and may also be due to immune abnormalities.
Skin Infection: It is a disease caused by microorganisms(e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) invading the skin.
Mosquito bites can be understood as allergic reactions caused by insect bites, so for severe mosquito bites, doctors may prescribe oral antihistamines, and may also prescribe topical corticosteroid ointments according to the situation to reduce inflammation, promote rash regression, and relieve itching. Of course, most bites will subside on their own even if not treated. Erythromycin ointment neither relieves itching nor reduces inflammation, and can only reduce the risk of infection at the bite site.
Eczema is the most common chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease, whose pathological core is the occurrence of non-infectious inflammation of the skin. The core of treatment is moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, so the role of erythromycin ointment in eczema is also approximately equal to petroleum jelly.
Acne, scientifically known as acne, is also the most common chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease, and its pathogenesis covers abnormalities in sebaceous gland function, blockage of sebaceous gland ducts, abnormal proliferation of microorganisms such as Propionibacterium acnes, and inflammatory reactions.
And acne rashes are divided into whiteheads, blackheads, red papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts, etc., according to the severity of their manifestations, each type corresponds to different topical measures, and it is not a one-size-fits-all approach using just one antibiotic ointment.
Athlete’s foot is actually a fungal infection of the skin on the feet, which requires antifungal treatment for foot care, and erythromycin has no significant antifungal effect.So in the above situations, erythromycin ointment is not the best choice in at least the vast majority of scenarios.
Reasons Behind the Misuse
There is no denying that erythromycin ointment has the following advantages:
● Low cost (many products are not more than 3 yuan on online shopping platforms);
● It is an over-the-counter drug (OTC) that can be easily obtained from pharmacies/online shopping without a doctor’s prescription;
● And it has good occlusiveness to create a moist healing environment.
But is it really versatile?No, at least from the case analysis above, erythromycin ointment is ineffective. If it were a real panacea, dermatologists would be eager to take it out and give it to all similar, hard-to-identify rashes to create a beautiful home for them.
What is the best applicable scenario for erythromycin ointment?
Let’s first analyze the main components of erythromycin ointment, which usually include:
Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that fights Gram-positive bacteria and some Gram-negative bacteria by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis. In simple terms, it is antibacterial.
Petroleum jelly, lanolin, liquid paraffin achieve a moisturizing effect by forming an ointment with appropriate spreadability and adhesion.
So, in general, the efficacy of erythromycin ointment can be summarized as a moisturizing cream with anti-infection effects. Therefore, the applicable occasions are often those with clear mild infections(e.g., impetigo) and for preventing/treating small area burns/injuries.
So, when is the best applicable scenario for erythromycin ointment? The answer is, preventing/treating small area burns/injuries.
For example, for minor bumps and bruises, not deep wounds, after we use iodine tincture for disinfection, physiological saline for cleaning, we can apply erythromycin ointment.
Not serious burns, immediately use cold water to cool down sufficiently, then you can also apply erythromycin ointment to prevent infection.
And it is not recommended to use it continuously for more than 1 week on your own.
For other scenarios, especially those where you don’t know what kind of rash it is, it is hoped that we can still get a clear diagnosis and use medication precisely.
1. “Chinese Clinical Dermatology (2nd Edition) Volumes 1 and 2” by Zhao Bian. Publisher: Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House, ISBN: 97875537714272. Translated by Xu Detian. “Cosmeceuticals” (3rd Edition). 20183. Dermatology, 4/E by Jean L. Bolognia, Julie V. Schaffer, Lorenzo Cerroni. 2018
