In the U.S., over six million people suffer from chronic wounds that don’t heal properly. The economic impact of treating chronic wounds is over 25 billion dollars per year. Patients also suffer from acute wounds that need immediate treatment with medicines.
Compounding pharmacies make custom drug treatments that you apply directly to acute and chronic wounds. Here are four reasons why you should ask for compounded topical medicines to treat your wound.
1. Compounded Therapy Treats a Variety of Wound Types
Wounds happen for a wide variety of reasons. Some wounds are traumatic injuries from car crashes and work-related accidents. Surgical scars often turn into wounds that refuse to heal. Venomous spider bites result in wounds around the bitten areas.
Compounded topical pharmaceuticals treat all of the above types of wounds. Compounded creams, gels, and powders also treat wounds including:
- Diabetic ulcers
- Pressure sores
- Vascular lesions
- Cellulitis
No two wounds are identical in the way they heal or form scar tissue. Compounding pharmacists create specialized therapies that address the unique challenges of each type of wound. Compounded topical medicines work in conjunction with other therapies to enhance wound healing.
When mixed by a compounding pharmacist, a single cream or gel can include more than one active ingredient to address the specific challenges of a wound. Instead of needing three different medicines for pain relief, infection control, and increased blood flow, patients only need one topical treatment for wounds.
2. Compounded Treatment Reduces Bacterial Load
Infection is a huge concern when treating wounds. If left unchecked, the bacterial load inside a wound can delay healing and damage cells. In extreme cases, antibiotic-resistant germs invade wounds and lead to tissue loss well beyond the original cut or lesion.
Increased bacterial load spurs granulation of tissue in and around a wound site. Commonly known as proud flesh, granulated wound tissue can become an unsightly scar when it heals.
According to research, the most common bacteria found in chronic wounds is Staphylococcus aureus. If patients have poor hygiene, or a wound is in a susceptible location, E. colibacteria can join the bacterial load.
In the past, doctors prescribed oral antibiotics to treat wound infections. However, use of oral antibiotics can increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, lead to stomach issues, and may not adequately target the bacterial load in a wound.
When applied correctly, topical gels, ointments, and powders release the antibiotics right where the germs are most active. Your compounding pharmacist can also add ingredients to the topical antibiotic that ease pain, increase vascular stimulation, and strengthen tissue at the wound site.
3. Compounded Treatments Resolve Pain Without Risk of Addiction
Opioid and other painkiller addictions are serious problems for people with chronic and acute pain. The CDC estimates that over 72,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2017. Because of the overdose epidemic, many doctors and patients are wary of opioids and prescription painkillers.
Topical pain relief is a safer approach to pain management for acute and chronic wounds. For example, when morphine sulfate is administered in a gel form to the site of a wound, very little of the drug is absorbed in the patient’s system.
Drugs used for topical compounded pain relief include:
- Lidocaine
- Capsaicin
- Clonidine
- Dextromethorphan
- Ketamine
- Ibuprofen
- Naproxen
Each one of these drugs targets different pain receptors at the wound site. Physicians and compounding pharmacists can adjust the amounts and types of medications in topical treatments for more complete pain relief at a wound site.
4. Compounded Topical Medicines Address Unique Risks
Wounds heal more slowly when patients suffer from conditions including diabetes and heart disease. Older patients can also have slower and complex wound healing issues.
Your doctor can prescribe compounded medicines and specialized wound dressings that help resolve issues with slow healing. Specialized wound coverings and topical treatments are chosen for their ability to stimulate tissue growth and increase healing times.
People with allergies are often unable to use commercial ointments and creams for pain relief. The patients can be allergic to active and inactive ingredients in available prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Some people can’t take oral pain relievers or antibiotics due to adverse allergic reactions.
A compounding pharmacist custom mixes wound care medicines, so they can leave out any medicines or substances that trigger reactions. When a patient has known allergies to inert and active ingredients, their compounding pharmacist creates topical wound medicines that are safe and effective plus free of allergens.
Topical compounded medicines help with drug interaction issues. Painkillers and antibiotics interfere with the actions of some prescription medications that people take for serious health problems. The topical creams, ointments, gels, and powders are administered at the site of wounds and can be made with medicines that don’t disrupt other necessary pharmaceutical agents in a patient’s system.
If you have a wound that won’t heal, contact Potter’s House Apothecary Inc. to learn more about custom topical wound therapy. We create custom medications for patients throughout the state of Arizona.
