Suggest Treatment For An Inflamed And Infected Wound

Posted on Thu, 23 Jul 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 Answered on

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : does this look infected? been putting A+D cream on it and keeping it covered. anything else?

Answered by Dr. Polash Sannigrahi (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Looks infected; antibiotics needed

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,

Thanks for your query.

I have gone through the picture as attached to your post.

You have not mentioned any case history regarding how you got this lesion, any past history of systemic illness like Diabetes/ Hypertension/ Thyroid disorder, etc.

The lesion does appear infected and inflamed.
Presence of pus formation & redness in the periphery is indicative of that.

A+D cream acts as skin protectant. It mainly works by moisturizing the skin.
However, it will not be able to control the infection/ inflammatory process.
You need to apply antibiotic ointment like Neosporin along with a course of oral antibiotics and analgesic, anti-inflammatory preparations like Paracetamol/ Ibuprofen.

Clinical examination is important for diagnosis, so I will advise you to consult your Doctor for a proper clinical examination.
Certain investigations like complete blood count, blood glucose estimation and culture & sensitivity(C/S) from the lesion will be helpful in selecting the appropriate antibiotic.

Wishing you a good health.
Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj