Gentamicin Topical
Gentamicin topical is an antibiotic used to treat a wide range of bacterial skin infections, from impetigo and infected wounds to infected eczema and acne.
🧬 Where this information comes from Click to expand
The clinical label records used on this page are FDA-filed Structured Product Labeling (SPL) retrieved through openFDA. We identified 7 clinical label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, strengths, and NDC product-record counts are built separately from matching FDA National Drug Code Directory records. The linked DailyMed document is a representative official source for verification, not the page’s only clinical source. View the linked label on DailyMed →
📖 Gentamicin Topical: Patient Information Guide
A plain-language walkthrough of Gentamicin Topical — what it treats, how it works, how it’s taken, side effects, warnings and interactions. Tap any section to expand it.
🎯What it's used for▾
Gentamicin topical treats bacterial skin infections — both infections that start in the skin and infections that develop in already-damaged or irritated skin.
- Primary skin infections: impetigo contagiosa, superficial folliculitis (infected hair follicles), ecthyma, furunculosis (boils), sycosis barbae, and pyoderma gangrenosum
- Secondary skin infections: infectious eczematoid dermatitis, pustular acne, pustular psoriasis, infected seborrheic dermatitis, infected contact dermatitis (including poison ivy), infected excoriations, and bacterial infections layered on top of fungal or viral skin conditions
- Infected stasis ulcers and other skin ulcers
- Infected superficial burns
- Paronychia (infected nail folds)
- Infected insect bites and stings
- Infected lacerations and abrasions
- Wounds from minor surgery
- Infected skin cysts and certain skin abscesses, when used after incision and drainage
- Gentamicin sulfate cream (0.1%) is specifically recommended for wet, oozing primary infections and greasy secondary infections such as pustular acne or infected seborrheic dermatitis
- Gentamicin sulfate ointment is particularly useful for infections on dry eczematous or psoriatic skin, as it helps retain moisture
⚙️How it works▾
Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. It works by attaching to the prokaryotic ribosome — the part of a bacterial cell that builds proteins. By blocking this process, it prevents bacteria from making the proteins they need to survive, ultimately killing them. It is bactericidal (bacteria-killing) against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, two major categories that cause skin infections.
It is important to know that gentamicin is not effective against viruses or fungi. If a skin infection has a viral or fungal cause, this medication will not treat that underlying cause, though it can help with a bacterial infection occurring at the same time.
💊How it's taken▾
Apply a small amount of gentamicin sulfate topical cream or ointment gently to the affected skin area three to four times a day. The area may be covered with a gauze dressing if needed.
- For impetigo, remove crusts before applying so the medication can reach the bacteria
- If a water-washable preparation is preferred, the cream is the better option
- Follow your prescriber's specific instructions — do not use more or less than directed
🤒Side effects — in detail▾
Gentamicin topical is generally well tolerated, but some people do experience mild skin reactions.
- Skin irritation at the application site
- Redness (erythema)
- Itching (pruritus)
- Possible photosensitization (increased sensitivity to sunlight) in rare cases
These reactions did not usually require stopping treatment in the small number of patients who experienced them. Let your doctor know if irritation is persistent or gets worse.
⚠️Warnings & precautions▾
Do not use gentamicin topical if you have ever had a sensitivity reaction to gentamicin or any other ingredient in the product. This is a contraindication — a situation where the medicine should not be used.
- Not effective against viruses or fungi: Gentamicin only kills bacteria. Using it on a viral or fungal infection will not treat the underlying cause.
- Sensitivity to neomycin or other topical antibiotics: If you've had reactions to similar antibiotics, your doctor should monitor you closely while you use this medication.
- Take care not to further contaminate the infected area during application.
🔀What it interacts with▾
The FDA label for gentamicin topical does not describe specific drug, food, or supplement interactions for the topical form.
This is not a complete list of interactions. Always talk with your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
📋Before taking it▾
- Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic or sensitivity reaction to gentamicin or to any ingredient in this product
- Tell your doctor if you are sensitive to neomycin or other topical antibiotics — you can still use this medication but should be monitored
- Gentamicin sulfate cream (0.1%) has been used safely in infants over one year of age, as well as in children and adults; check with your child's doctor before using in young children
📡Pharmacodynamics — effects in the body▾
Gentamicin is bactericidal — it kills susceptible bacteria rather than just slowing their growth. It is active against a broad range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. It does not have activity against viruses or fungi, so it will not address those types of skin infections.
📦How to store it▾
Store at 2° to 30°C (36° to 86°F).
📄 Written from Gentamicin Topical’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Every point is grounded in that labeling — nothing is invented. How we use AI →
Supplements & herbs that interact with Gentamicin Topical
38 supplements and herbal products have documented interactions with Gentamicin Topical in the licensed clinical database we use. Most are manageable — but your pharmacist should know about everything you take, including vitamins and herbals.
- Major · 2
- Moderate · 33
- Minor · 3
Educational information from a licensed clinical database (Natural Medicines) — see our data sources & update cadence. Not medical advice: an interaction being documented does not mean it will happen to you; do not start or stop medications or supplements without professional guidance.
Nutrient depletion considerations
Gentamicin Topical has been associated with lower levels of 8 nutrients in the clinical literature. This does not mean a deficiency will occur — it means these may be worth discussing with your pharmacist or healthcare provider, especially with long-term use.
- Higher significance · 6
- Moderate · 2
Educational information from a licensed clinical database (Natural Medicines) — not medical advice. Do not start or stop medications or supplements without professional guidance.
🩺 Pharmacist Counseling Corner
Quick, plain-English answers to the questions patients ask most about Gentamicin Topical — the kind of thing our pharmacy team would talk through with you at the counter.
What kinds of skin infections does gentamicin topical actually treat? ▾
Should I use the cream or the ointment? ▾
How often do I apply it, and is there anything special I should do before putting it on? ▾
What side effects should I watch out for? ▾
Is it safe to use if I've had reactions to neomycin in the past? ▾
Can my child use this? ▾
Is Gentamicin Topical available over the counter? ▾
When was Gentamicin Topical first available? ▾
Who makes Gentamicin Topical? ▾
💬 Answers drafted from Gentamicin Topical’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Grounded in that labeling — nothing is made up. How we use AI →
🧰 Keep exploring
💊 How Gentamicin Topical comes
Gentamicin Topical is available in 2 forms. Different forms and brands can have different approved uses, doses, schedules, and directions. Follow the instructions for your exact product, and do not switch forms without guidance from your prescriber or pharmacist.
Topical cream, ointment or gel
How this form is used
- Treats primary bacterial skin infections such as impetigo, folliculitis, furunculosis, and pyoderma gangrenosum
- Treats secondary skin infections including infected eczema, infected contact dermatitis, pustular acne, and pustular psoriasis
- Gentamicin sulfate cream (0.1%) is recommended for wet, oozing primary infections and greasy secondary infections such as pustular acne or infected seborrheic dermatitis
- Gentamicin sulfate ointment helps retain moisture and is useful for infections on dry eczematous or psoriatic skin
- Apply a small amount gently to the lesion three to four times a day
- The treated area may be covered with a gauze dressing if desired
- For impetigo, remove crusts before applying to allow maximum contact between the antibiotic and the infection
- If a water-washable preparation is preferred, the cream formulation is the better choice
Eye ointment
📊 Gentamicin Topical across the U.S. market
How Gentamicin Topical appears in the FDA’s National Drug Code Directory — including its dosage forms, strengths, brand names, manufacturers, and FDA-listed product records. These are directory records, not sales or prescription volume.
FDA-listed product records by dose form (tablet variants merged) — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
Share of FDA-listed product records by manufacturer — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
📈 How widely Gentamicin Topical is used
A general measure of how commonly Gentamicin Topical is prescribed, based on Medicaid — one of the largest public drug programs. The figure below is prescriptions filled in Q1–Q4 2025, summed across every form and brand of the drug.
Think of this as a proxy for how widely Gentamicin Topical is used, drawn from freely available public data. Medicaid is just one program — these numbers don’t include Medicare, other government coverage, or commercial and cash-pay prescriptions, so real-world use is higher than what’s shown here.
How commonly is Gentamicin Topical prescribed? Of the 1,596 medications we measure, Gentamicin Topical ranks #673 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 58% of them.
Utilization by Gentamicin Topical product
Pick a product to see its own Medicaid numbers. Each chip is one clinical product — a specific strength & dosage form as defined by RxNorm — with brand-name and generic versions combined.
gentamicin 1 MG/ML Topical Cream Most dispensed
Summed across the 4 of 10 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 197735
gentamicin 0.001 MG/MG Topical Ointment
Summed across the 4 of 8 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 310465
Shares are of the Medicaid prescriptions shown here. Product grouping follows RxNorm (the National Library of Medicine’s drug terminology), so “one product” means one strength & dosage form regardless of manufacturer. Dollar figures are gross Medicaid reimbursement before mandatory rebates — rebates (often large, especially for brand-name drugs) are confidential, so actual net cost to Medicaid is lower than shown.
Source: Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data (CMS), aggregated by generic ingredient — summed across every NDC (all brands, strengths, salt forms and dosage forms) of Gentamicin Topical, and across all states and both fee-for-service and managed-care claims. A general popularity signal; it excludes Medicare, commercial insurance and cash prescriptions, so it is not total U.S. use. Based on the 8 of 18 listed Gentamicin Topical NDCs with Medicaid activity.
🔍 Compare Gentamicin Topical products
A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Gentamicin Topical — across manufacturers, strengths, and dosage forms, grouped by form with each product’s manufacturer and how the FDA approved it. The same medicine may be made and packaged by different companies, so a single drug can have many directory entries. (It’s also why a refill can look different — a new shape, color, or box — even though it contains the same medication.)
| Strength | Route | Manufacturer / Labeler | Category ⓘ | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💊Eye ointment | ||||
| 3 mg/g | Ophthalmic | A-S Medication Solutions | ANDA | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
| 3 mg/g | Ophthalmic | Akorn | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 3 mg/g | Ophthalmic | NuCare Pharmaceuticals,Inc. | ANDA | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
| 3 mg/g | Ophthalmic | Proficient Rx LP | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 💊Topical cream, ointment or gel | ||||
| 1 mg/g | Topical | Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc. × 4 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 1 mg/g | Topical | Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd × 4 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 1 mg/g | Topical | Proficient Rx LP | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 1 mg/g | Topical | Teligent Pharma, Inc. | ANDA | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
Showing 14 of 14 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 14 Gentamicin Topical NDCs →
📈 What people report — real-world data (FDA FAERS)
After a medicine reaches the market, patients, doctors and drugmakers can send the FDA reports of problems they think may be linked to it. Here’s what’s been reported for Gentamicin Topical — a signal of what to watch for, not proof the drug caused it.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). These are voluntary reports — they don’t prove the drug caused the effect, and counts reflect how often something was reported, not how often it actually happens. Reports also often name the very problem the medicine is taken for — a common reason to file one is that the drug didn’t help — so for a pain reliever you may see “pain” high on the list; that points to why the report was filed, not to the drug causing the symptom. This counts every report that lists Gentamicin Topical in any role, so the total runs higher than the FDA’s official dashboard, which counts only cases where the drug is the suspect. For the authoritative figures, see the FDA FAERS Public Dashboard. Always talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
🏛️ The road to your pharmacy
How Gentamicin Topical went from FDA review to the pharmacy shelf — the key milestones in its regulatory journey.
Source: Drugs@FDA.
🚨 Recall history
A recall is when a specific batch of a medicine is pulled from the market — usually a manufacturing issue, not a problem with the drug itself. Class I is most serious, Class III least.
Source: openFDA drug enforcement (recall) reports.
RxNorm Concept Web — From Ingredient to Every Form and Strength
This page starts with one ingredient concept (IN). The branches below show its dose-form concepts (SCDF), then the available clinical drug and strength concepts (SCD). Combination products remain separate concepts with their own pages.
RxCUI 1596450 7 dose forms · 18 strengths
-
Dose form (SCDF) Injectable Solution RxCUI 1870216No current FDA listingClinical drug / strength (SCD) 5 MG/MLRxCUI 10277010 MG/MLRxCUI 23920440 MG/MLRxCUI 313996100 MG/MLRxCUI 1485222 -
Dose form (SCDF) Injection RxCUI 1870244No current FDA listingClinical drug / strength (SCD) 2 ML gentamicin 10 MG/MLRxCUI 18706762 ML gentamicin 40 MG/MLRxCUI 187065050 ML gentamicin 1.2 MG/MLRxCUI 187063350 ML gentamicin 1.6 MG/MLRxCUI 31047750 ML gentamicin 2 MG/MLRxCUI 197736100 ML gentamicin 0.8 MG/MLRxCUI 310473100 ML gentamicin 1 MG/MLRxCUI 242816100 ML gentamicin 1.2 MG/MLRxCUI 1870631 -
Dose form (SCDF) Irrigation Solution RxCUI 1870319No current FDA listingClinical drug / strength (SCD) 100 MG/MLRxCUI 1090525 -
Dose form (SCDF) Ophthalmic Ointment RxCUI 1870220In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 0.003 MG/MGRxCUI 310466 -
Dose form (SCDF) Ophthalmic Solution RxCUI 1870228No current FDA listing -
Dose form (SCDF) Topical Cream RxCUI 1870264In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 1 MG/MLRxCUI 197735 -
Dose form (SCDF) Topical Ointment RxCUI 1870479In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 0.001 MG/MGRxCUI 310465
Look up RxCUI 1596450 in the RxCUI Atlas →
RxNorm is the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s normalized drug vocabulary. Its concept hierarchy can include forms that are not currently marketed; the status on each branch compares that concept with current FDA listings. RxCUIs identify vocabulary concepts, not individual packages or manufacturers.
📦 Supply & shortage status
Whether Gentamicin Topical is in short supply in the U.S. right now, plus any shortage history the FDA has on record. A shortage usually reflects a manufacturing or demand issue — not a safety problem with the drug.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Drug Shortages database.
🏷️ Sold under these brand names
🏭 Manufacturers & labelers
RxNorm drug class
Gentamicin Topical belongs to the Aminoglycoside Antibacterial class.
Classified by RxNorm RxClass — the U.S. National Library of Medicine's standardized drug-classification service (Established Pharmacologic Class from the FDA, the ATC drug family from the WHO, and mechanism of action). Reference only, not medical advice.
🔬 Where this comes from
Core label, product, RxNorm, safety, and utilization data on this page come from the sources identified below. AI-written, editorial, and licensed sections are labeled separately.
How we combine label and product data
HelloPharmacist combines public FDA and NLM records; we don’t author the underlying clinical facts. We identified 7 FDA-filed SPL label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. The representative label is the starting point for the displayed reference monograph; the 12 largest stored in-scope SPL records, which may include that representative, are compared section by section, and the longest available version of each section is retained. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, product-listed strengths, and product-record counts are aggregated separately from ingredient-matched FDA NDC Directory records; package records listed above are associated with the linked SPL; and the normalized concept hierarchy comes from NLM RxNorm.
Where a section is identified as AI-written, its plain-language text is generated from bounded label evidence. New draft drug pages remain in the admin review queue before first publication. Proficient Rx LP is the representative DailyMed label linked for verification and dates; it is not the sole source used for the page.
This is general education, not medical advice — always consult your doctor or pharmacist about your medications and any medical condition. For the exact wording of the linked representative label, view that label on DailyMed; some displayed composite sections may come from other in-scope SPL labels. Learn how we use AI and our data sources & update cadence.