How to Treat a Burn Infection With Cipro

A burn can be caused by heat, chemical reactions or electricity. In most cases, a burn should be cleaned and bandaged to help it to heal quickly. Even with the best first aid treatment, you can develop a burn infection if bacteria get into the wound. Most infections are treated with prescription antibiotics. One such antibiotic, Cipro, treats burn infections by preventing the infection-causing bacteria from making proteins essential to their survival.

Instructions

• 1

  Recognize the signs of a burn infection. You may notice an increase in the pain, redness or swelling in your burn wound. Your burn wound might leak fluid or pus, too. In some cases, an infected burn wound might also develop red streaks emanating from the wound.

• 2

  Go see your doctor. He will examine your burn wound to verify that it is infected. He may also take a swab of the burn infection to culture in the lab. The bacteria found in the pus and drainage is grown in the lab so that it can be identified as a type of bacteria that can be disarmed by Cipro.

• 3

  Tell your doctor about all of your allergies, especially any allergies to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin or norfloxacin. You should also disclose any medicines you are taking, both prescription and over the counter. Your doctor will also need to know about any pre-existing health problems you may have, including heart rhythm disorders. All of this information is essential to anticipating any adverse reactions to Cipro.

• 4

  Take Cipro with a glass of water and drink a few of extra glasses of water each day that you are on it. You can take it with food if you prefer but it is not necessary. Avoid taking Cipro with dairy products unless it is a part of a meal. If you are taking liquid Cipro, shake it for about fifteen seconds before taking it. Do not chew any of the medicine beads that may be in the liquid Cipro. Cipro is also available in extended release tablets, which should be swallowed completely and not chewed or crushed.

• 5

  Take Cipro at the same time each day and at regular intervals, because it works best if there is a constant level of the antibiotic in your body. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you realize it. If you don't realize that you've missed the dose until it's close to the time for the next dose, just wait and take the next dose as scheduled.

• 6

  Keep taking your Cipro prescription until it is completely gone. You will start to notice improvement in your burn infection in just a few days. However, you must complete the course of prescription antibiotics to prevent the burn infection from reoccurring.

• 7

  Pay attention to the side effects that you may experience from Cipro, including nausea, dizziness or insomnia. You may also experience sensitivity to sunlight or blurred vision. Discuss your side effects with your doctor, especially if you see an increase in side effects or they become unmanageable. He may change your dose or stop your Cipro prescription completely.