Bacitracin vs Neosporin

Bacitracin and Neosporin are two popular brands in the US markets for infection prevention of small cuts and scrapes.

But not many people know their differences.

The differences between those two are as below:

#1 Number of active pharmaceutical ingredients

There are 3 active ingredients in Neosporin: neomycin sulfate, bacitracin zinc, and polymyxin b sulfate.

While bacitracin ointment only contains bacitracin.

#2 Chances of allergy

More people are allergic to Neosporin while no problem with bacitracin ointment.

That’s because Neosporin contains more active ingredients than bacitracin ointment, especially when neomycin within is prone to cause allergies.

When people are allergic to neomycin sulfate and polymyxin b sulfate, they can only use bacitracin ointment for another try.

Bacitracin has less chance to give you allergies.

If you are allergic to bacitracin, you must be allergic to Neosporin, that’s for sure.

#3 Bacteria Killing Range

Neosporin is a combination of antibiotics, so it has a wider bacteria-killing range and a better infection-preventing effect than bacitracin.

#4 Production process

Because bacitracin ointment only contains one active ingredient, the production process is relatively easier.

Trust me, mixing all the 3 ingredients in Neosporin evenly is not an easy job.

It takes longer to blend and the production process is more complicated.

#5 Price

As Neosporin is a famous brand, it costs more than bacitracin ointment in many markets.

Even when you compare Neosporin with Triple Antibiotics containing the same active ingredients as Neosporin, it still costs more.