My doctor prescribed this ointment for Impitego ....I had redness with lots of annoying itching around my mouth and cracked lips ( I thought I got too much sun, as I was just home after two weeks at the beach). I have been on it for 5 days now and still have lots of redness and some itching...how long does it take to work? PS - I never had the oozing or bumps of Impitego---Could I possibly have been misdiagnosed? - C.
Mupirocin Ointment?
- Posted:
- 3+ months ago by CarolynT
- Topics:
- pruritus, mupirocin, skin and structure infection
Answers (1)
Mupirocin will only treat a bacterial infection - so if there isn't a bacterial infection present, it will not work.
If your condition was caused by a bacterial infection, you should have seen some signs of improvement during the 5 days you have been using the mupirocin ointment.
You should go back to your doctor.
see http://www.drugs.com/mtm/mupirocin-topical.html
Glad to hear you got a second opinion. If the infection is fungal then the Ertaczo should work well. Make sure you use the cream for the prescribed amount of time even if the symptoms have cleared. You will need to keep your skin well moisturized (dry skin is prone to irritation) and make sure you protect your skin from sun and wind to prevent the problem returning in the future.
Thank you sooo much for your comments and help!! This is really a great website! I actually had to stop using the Ertaczo, too drying so the docotr prescribed Locoid lotion
0.1% for the irritation and Oxistat cream for the infection. Both have been so much better!!
What do you think? -- :)

You are correct - thank you!! I did return to a different doctor(the original shut down practice) and was sent to a dermatologist who diagnosed a fungal infection. The medicine prescribed is Ertaczo. She says I have the infection (sides of my mouth) from drooling at night mainly. The medicine is helping a bit, been 5 days now...what do you think?