Union Medical Pharmacy

Here are four reasons why you should ask for compounded topical medicines to treat your wound.

Compounded Therapy Treats a Variety of Wound Types

There are many types of wounds that are occur for a variety of reasons:

• 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.

Compounded Treatment Reduces Bacterial Load

Infection is one of the primary concerns when treating wounds. The bacteria 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.

Traditionally, oral antibiotics have been used 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. 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.

Compounded Treatments Resolve Pain Without Risk of Addiction

Opioids and other painkiller addictions are serious problems for people with wound pain. 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.

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. Compounded medicines can help resolve issues with slow healing.

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. In compounded medications ingredients or substances that trigger reactions can be left out.

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.