Infection Control & First Aid Blog

Antibiotics and painkillers are both frequently prescribed medications, but both have very different actions to achieve their goals of helping the person to feel better during the course of the infection.

Antibiotics are powerful medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used correctly, antibiotics can save lives. They either kill bacteria or keep them from reproducing. Your body's natural defenses can usually take it from there. However, they can cause side effects and lead to antibiotic resistance which can make them very dangerous.

Both fall under antimicrobials, a general category of compounds that kills microbes (bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens). An antibacterial is an antibiotic, but as the name implies, it can only target bacteria. Antibiotics, on the other hand, can kill or keep pathogens from growing.

When you go through the cabinets at work with all of the first aid items, and you are either looking for something to help relieve pain – or taking stock of inventory, it is sometimes overwhelming with all of the products that are available on the market. The question that many do not know is when to use a Single Antibiotic Ointment with Bacitracin or Neomycin; or jump to the next level up and use a Triple Antibiotic Ointment that contains Bacitracin Zinc, Neomycin Sulfate and Polymyxin-B Sulfate.