Antiseptic Ointment
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Antiseptic Ointments
Cleanse scrapes, cuts and scratches with antiseptic ointment from the CVS store. Antiseptics kill bacteria, viruses and other germs on your skin's surface, reducing the risk of infection after an injury. They're ideal products to include in any home first aid kit.
What Is an Antiseptic Ointment?
Antiseptic ointments are topical products you can apply to your skin to help kill harmful microorganisms and control infection risk. When used correctly, these products can help keep a wound clean and may reduce the risk of skin infections, such as impetigo, transferring to other members of your household. They're an essential aspect of first aid treatment, and you should always consider using one before dressing a skin injury to help keep the area clean during healing.
Will Antiseptic Cream Help Infections?
Antiseptic creams, such as CVS Povidone Iodine and Bactine Max Wound Wash, play an important role in infection prevention and control as they can help prevent skin infections and limit their spread. They generally work best when applied as early as possible to your wound and several times throughout the healing process.
Antibiotic creams, such as Neosporin, and certain other forms of antiseptics can help treat some types of skin infections, but many conditions require the use of oral antibiotics or other medications after infection has already set in. Using antiseptic ointment for wounds may not work at this point because topical treatments only reach the surface of your skin, and bacteria may already have moved deeper into the underlying tissue.
Can You Put Antiseptic Ointment on an Open Wound?
Open wounds occur due to scratches, cuts, abrasions, punctures and many other kinds of injuries. Any time an injury breaks the skin, it produces an open wound. Dressing and cleaning this wound promptly and correctly can help you avoid infection and allow your skin to heal more quickly, with less risk of noticeable scarring.
While most antiseptic ointments are suitable for minor open wounds, it's usually best to cleanse the area first with lukewarm water, gentle soap and a soft washcloth. The benefit of antiseptic ointments for cuts is strongest at this point, and you can use a product such as Hibiclens Antiseptic Skin Cleanser before applying a dressing to kill microorganisms on the wound and prevent them from moving any deeper into it.
Check the package instructions first to confirm whether a specific antiseptic ointment is suitable for open wounds. If your wound is large or deep, see a doctor for further treatment, as it may require stitches or deeper cleaning.