Resorcinol is a benzenediol. Resorcinol is commonly used in hair dyes and acne medication. Resorcinol works by breaking down rough, scaly, or hardened skin. Resorcinol also disinfects the skin to help fight infection. Resorcinol topical (for the skin) is used to treat pain and itching caused by minor cuts and scrapes, burns, insect bites, poison ivy, sunburn, or other skin irritations. Resorcinol topical is also used to treat acne, eczema, psoriasis, seborrhea, corns, calluses, warts, and other skin disorders. Resorcinol is included in the FDA final rule list of all permitted active ingredients for OTC topical acne products. Permitted combination active ingredient product - Resorcinol in 2 percent concentration in combination with sulfur in concentrations of between 3 and 8 percent. In oxidative hair dyes, resorcinol is regulated to 5% or below in practice, however, many manufacturers limit the level of free resorcinol in oxidative hair dyes to 1.25%. Resorcinol is limited to 0.5% in shampoos and hair lotions. Resorcinol is usually present in anti-acne preparations at a maximum concentration of 2%. The concentration of resorcinol can be much higher in peels, in some cases around 50%. Jessner’s solution (resorcinol in ethyl alcohol, 14% w/v; lactic acid, 14%; and salicylic acid, 14%) is commonly used in chemical peeling. A specialized medical use of resorcinol is in biological glues (gelatin–resorcinol–formaldehyde glue) for cardiovascular surgery, in particular aortic operations.

Bibrocathol (trade names Noviform and Posiformin) is a well-established topical antiseptic for the treatment of acute eyelid diseases like blepharitis. Eye ointments containing 2 or 5 % bibrocathol and the excipients liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin, and lanolin have been marketed since 1967 for the treatment of eye irritation, chronic blepharitis, and uninfected corneal injuries. Reports of clinical experience with bibrocathol for inflammation of the edge of the palpebra exist since the beginning of the 20th century. Until recently, no controlled, randomized clinical studies according to the guidelines for Good Clinical Practice for Trials on Medical Products for Human Use (GCP) as defined by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) have been performed with bibrocathol 2 % ointment, as these were not required for marketing authorization in the 1960s. A first double-blind, prospective, controlled, GCP-compliant clinical study was recently performed to assess the efficacy of bibrocathol 5 % (Noviform®) in acute blepharitis. It demonstrated superior efficacy of bibrocathol 5 % ointment as compared to an ointment vehicle (placebo) after 2 weeks of treatment as assessed by a combined measure of slit-lamp examination results and patients’ subjective complaints.

Methyl salicylate (or methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate), also known as wintergreen oil, is a natural product and is present in white wine, tea, porcini mushroom Boletus edulis, Bourbon vanilla, clary sage, red sage and fruits including cherry, apple, raspberry, papaya and plum. Methyl salicylate is topically used in combination with methanol and under brand name SALONPAS to temporarily relieves mild to moderate aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with: strains, sprains, simple backache, arthritis, bruises. The precise mechanism of action of methyl salicylate is not known, but there is suggested, that it cause dilation of the capillaries thereby increasing blood flow to the area.

Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments, and eye drops. In vitro tests have demonstrated that neomycin is bactericidal and acts by inhibiting the synthesis of protein in susceptible bacterial cells. It is effective primarily against gram-negative bacilli but does have some activity against gram-positive organisms. Neomycin is active in vitro against Escherichia coli and the Klebsiella-Entero. Topical uses include treatment for superficial eye infections caused by susceptible bacteria (used in combination with other anti-infective), treatment of otitis externa caused by susceptible bacteria, treatment or prevention of bacterial infections in skin lesions, and use as a continuous short-term irrigant or rinse to prevent bacteriuria and gram negative rod bacteremia in bacteriuria patients with indwelling catheters. May be used orally to treat hepatic encephalopathy, as a perioperative prophylactic agent, and as an adjunct to fluid and electrolyte replacement in the treatment of diarrhea caused to enter pathogenic E. coli (EPEC). Neomycin sulfate has been shown to be effective adjunctive therapy in hepatic coma by reduction of the ammonia forming bacteria in the intestinal tract. The subsequent reduction in blood ammonia has resulted in neurologic improvement. To reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of Neomycin Sulfate Oral Solution and other antibacterial drugs, susceptible bacteria should use Neomycin Sulfate Oral Solution only to treat or prevent infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused. When culture and susceptibility information are available, they should be considered in selecting or modifying antibacterial therapy. In the absence of such data, local epidemiology and susceptibility patterns may contribute to the empiric selection of therapy. Neomycin binds to four nucleotides of 16S rRNA and a single amino acid of protein S12. This interferes with decoding site near nucleotide 1400 in 16S rRNA of 30S subunit. This region interacts with the wobble base in the anticodon of tRNA. This leads to interference with the initiation complex, misreading of mRNA so incorrect amino acids are inserted into the polypeptide leading to nonfunctional or toxic peptides and the breakup of polysomes into nonfunctional monosomes