Question

I had a scratch in my leg. Instead of the wound to heal it became bigger please what should i use to heal it faster. I need drugs to make it heal

Answer 1

Sorry to hear that — a scratch that gets larger instead of healing can be a sign of infection. I can’t prescribe medicines here, but I can tell you what most clinicians would consider and what to do now. If you want more specific advice, tell me: how long ago did the scratch happen, does it have pus or bleeding, is it warm/tender or spreading redness, do you have fever, diabetes, or any drug allergies, and when was your last tetanus shot?

Immediate steps you can do right now
- Clean thoroughly: wash with soap and running water for several minutes; irrigate with sterile saline if available.
- Remove any visible dirt or debris with clean tweezers if you can do so safely.
- Apply an antiseptic (povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine) then rinse if needed.
- Put on a thin layer of topical antibiotic ointment (mupirocin or bacitracin/fusidic acid if available) and cover with a sterile dressing.
- Keep the limb elevated and avoid contaminating the wound. Change the dressing daily or sooner if wet/soiled.

When to seek medical care urgently
Go to urgent care or the emergency department if you have any of:
- Rapidly increasing size of redness or swelling, red streaks toward the heart, severe pain
- Pus, dark/black tissue, or foul smell
- Fever, chills, feeling generally unwell
- Numbness, loss of function, or a deep puncture wound
- Diabetes, immune suppression, or poor circulation (higher risk of serious infection)

Likely treatment options a clinician may choose
- For a small localized infected scratch: topical mupirocin (applied 2–3× daily) and wound care may be enough.
- For spreading cellulitis (oral antibiotics): commonly used choices include cephalexin (a beta‑lactam) for typical skin bacteria. Typical adult dosing used by clinicians is cephalexin 500 mg every 6–8 hours for 5–10 days.
- If MRSA (antibiotic‑resistant staph) is suspected: trimethoprim‑sulfamethoxazole (one double‑strength tablet twice daily) or doxycycline 100 mg twice daily are commonly used alternatives; clindamycin is another option but has more GI side effects.
- For animal/human bites or mixed contamination: amoxicillin‑clavulanate is commonly used.
- For older adults or if you haven’t had a tetanus booster in >10 years (or >5 years for a dirty wound), you may need a tetanus shot.

Important cautions
- I can’t safely prescribe or tailor antibiotic choice/dose to you here — antibiotic selection depends on the likely organism, allergies, local resistance patterns, and your health history.
- If you have penicillin allergy, kidney disease, are pregnant, or are on other medications, that changes safe choices.

If you want, tell me the details I asked (when it started, a short description of appearance, fever, allergies, diabetes) and I’ll give more specific guidance on what to tell a clinician or whether you should go for urgent care right away.