I've been using Bactroban Ointment wrongly?

Question

I didn't know it was so strong, i thought it was kind of like polysporin, so i was using it on acne or cuts, and even put some on the side of my nose. Today i felt very unwell and had a headache and ear troubles with stomach pains, I read that those are symptoms of this? right now my head feels pretty fine and ears seemed to clear up. can using this ointment in the wrong way seriously harm you? or just make you feel sick for a while.. i never knew how strong it was. my mom gave it to me to use on a cut i had and i just kept using it ever since then.

Answer 1

You should only be using prescription medication for the purpose it was given to you for, as far as I can tell it is a fairly strong antibiotic but misuse of any medication can be harmful.

Never share medication, you never know what side effect it can have on you or whether it could interact with other medications, vitamins or food.

Misuse of antibiotics is the reason why we have bacteria strains that are resistant to most treatments, you don't need antibiotics for a cut unless it has become infected, and in which case go and see your doctor.

Sorry if this sounds mean but I had to be honest.

Just to add- over the counter medications are just as dangerous as prescription ones, always ask the pharmacist!

Answer 2

You might be having one of those 'rare systemic reactions' to the drug, but generally most people do not have reactions that extend beyond the skin.

I wish I knew what those 'rare systemic reactions' were, but that is all my pharmacology text tells me.

You are promoting bacteria to grow that are resistant to the drug, even though the drug has been out more than 10 years, it really is in a class by its own, and not used that much. I would stay away from it, its a black box of unknowns really, and its use should be narrowly restricted by a physicans prescription.

Answer 3

Why would you connect your symptoms with the mupirocin use? There are reasons you shouldn't be using it willy-nilly, but this isn't one of them.

Answer 4

It's definitely stronger than polysporin, that's why it's prescription.  If you used it the wrong way for a long time, it could hurt you.  I think you're fine since you stopped.  

It's hard with ointments and those kinds of things, they don't seem like they could really do much (compared to prescription pills), but they are active drugs.

It was smart of you to put 2 and 2 together to see that the symptoms you were experiencing were related to the Bactroban.  

Answer 5

It may cause those problems if it is prescription strength. If it is over the counter, I don't know. (Can you even get it OTC?)

Anyway call you doctor's office and ask a nurse.