Topical antibiotics

Topical antibiotics are antimicrobial medicines applied to the skin to treat or prevent localized bacterial infections. They act at the application site rather than throughout the body.

Bacterial cell wall: A rigid structure surrounding most bacteria that helps maintain shape and resist osmotic pressure. Bacitracin and other topical agents disrupt cell-wall construction.
Impetigo: A contagious bacterial skin infection that causes sores or blisters, often around the nose and mouth. Topical mupirocin may be prescribed for limited cases.
Systemic antibiotics: Antibiotic medicines absorbed or administered to act throughout the body. They can treat deeper or widespread infections that skin-applied medicines cannot reach.
Antimicrobial stewardship: Coordinated practices that improve antimicrobial use and limit avoidable resistance and harm. Stewardship favors targeted use rather than routine antibiotic application to every minor wound.
Protein synthesis inhibitor: A substance that slows or stops protein production by interfering with ribosomes or related processes. Mupirocin blocks bacterial protein synthesis through a distinctive target enzyme.
Folliculitis: Inflammation of hair follicles, sometimes caused by bacterial infection. Localized bacterial folliculitis is one setting where topical treatment may be considered.
Antiseptic: A chemical agent applied to living tissue to reduce or inhibit microorganisms. Antiseptics are not antibiotics and often act on a broader range of microbes.
Allergic contact dermatitis: An itchy inflammatory skin reaction caused by delayed immune sensitivity to a substance touching the skin. Neomycin and bacitracin can trigger this reaction and mimic worsening infection.
Mupirocin: A topical antibiotic that inhibits bacterial isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase and is used against susceptible skin pathogens. Its unusual target distinguishes it from many other topical antibiotics.
Topical mupirocin for MRSA decolonization: Use of intranasal mupirocin, often with other measures, to reduce carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This targeted use is distinct from applying ointment to an infected skin lesion.

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