{"id":906740,"date":"2026-09-26T23:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T23:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/906740\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T23:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T23:18:13","slug":"the-common-medicine-cabinet-staple-that-doctors-say-you-should-stop-using","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/906740\/","title":{"rendered":"The Common Medicine Cabinet Staple That Doctors Say You Should Stop Using"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tube of antibiotic ointment has become almost automatic first aid for a scraped knee, paper cut or minor nick. But Washington Post gastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha, MD, says that habit deserves another look.<\/p>\n

In her Sept. 21 column, Pasricha argues that topical antibiotics such as bacitracin and similar products often offer little advantage over plain petroleum jelly for uncomplicated minor wounds. The surprising part is that this is not simply a new medical theory.<\/p>\n

A 1996 randomized controlled trial published in JAMA<\/a> followed 922 patients with 1,249 wounds after dermatologic surgery. Infection rates were similarly low between patients treated with bacitracin and those given white petrolatum, while healing showed no clinically significant difference.<\/p>\n

As Pasricha puts it, the topical antibiotic may not \u201cwork any better than plain old petroleum jelly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antibiotic May Create Another Problem\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

vorDa \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The issue is not that antibiotic ointments are useless in every medical situation. Rather, their routine use on small, clean cuts can expose people to potential downsides without providing much additional benefit.<\/p>\n

Allergic contact dermatitis is one concern. Earlier research has documented reactions associated with topical antibiotics, particularly neomycin. One study found postoperative allergic contact dermatitis in patients using topical antibiotics, while other research has identified bacitracin among common sensitizers in people with chronic leg ulcers.<\/p>\n

That creates an ironic scenario: someone trying to protect a tiny wound can potentially irritate the surrounding skin with the product intended to help it heal.<\/p>\n

So, What Should You Put on a Minor Scrape?<\/p>\n

Pasricha\u2019s answer<\/a> is refreshingly simple: clean the wound, keep it moist with petroleum jelly, and cover it appropriately. Her argument is particularly relevant because minor cuts and scrapes are common, especially among children.<\/p>\n

The evidence does not mean antibiotics should never be used. Deeper, contaminated or infected wounds can require medical assessment and, in some circumstances, antibiotic treatment.<\/p>\n

But for the ordinary household scrape, the humble petroleum jelly sitting in the medicine cabinet may be all that\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Men’s Journal<\/a> on Sep 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health<\/a> section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tube of antibiotic ointment has become almost automatic first aid for a scraped knee, paper cut or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,137,490],"class_list":["post-906740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}