Medical Treatment

The physician will typically prescribe oral or topical antibiotics or both.

• Oral: The most common types of antibiotics taken as pills are special types of penicillin or related medications called cephalosporins. If you have a penicillin allergy, the treatment is usually with erythromycin (or other similar medicines such as clarithromycin (Biaxin) or azithromycin (Zithromax)).

• Topical: Topical antibiotic treatment is with a medication called mupirocin (Bactroban).