Bactroban - Are there any OTC substitutions / alternatives?
Question posted by meadoni on 30 June 2011
Last updated on 1 September 2017
Answers
There is nothing OTC that contains the same ingredient as Bactroban (which is Mupirocin calcium cream) The closest you could come would be a triple antibiotic ointment or cream (TAO). What matters most is what organism you are trying to kill. If you have an organism that is resistant to the ingredients of TAO, it wont help. Bactroban may be able to kill organisms that TAO cant. Do you know what organism is infecting your skin? What are you treating?
My son is 7 yrs old and he was diagnosed with Impetigo.
Well, that is a staph infection and TAO might work. Get something like a store brand substitute for Neosporin ointment and try that for a few days. With impetigo you have to soak those honey colored scabs with a clean, wet warm washcloth then gently scrub the scabs away for the medicine to get in there to work. With a young one this is best done after his bath. Let him soak and be sure to hold a wet, clean washcloth over the scabbed area until they are very soft then gently scrub them loose. The area will bleed a little. If you dont remove those crusts the medicine cant get into where it needs to be to kill the staph infection. if you do not see improvement within a few days, you might want to go ahead and get the Bactroban. If it doesnt respond to the TAO, then it might be a resistant strain of Staph which would need the Bactroban. Good Luck!
Is there anything that can be purchased over the counter that is very similar or basically the same as Mupirocin Ointment 2% for infected hair follicles?
Related topics
bactroban, antibiotics, otc, staphylococcus aureus infection
Further information
- Bactroban uses and safety info
- Bactroban prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Bactroban (detailed)
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