potassium permanganate (medical use)

Uses include for fungal infections of the foot, impetigo, pemphigus, superficial wounds, dermatitis (eczema), and tropical ulcers. Typically it is used in skin conditions that produce a lot of liquid. For tropical ulcers it is used together with procaine benzylpenicillin for two to four weeks.

It can be used in children and adults.{{cite web|title=WHO Model Prescribing Information: Drugs Used in Skin Diseases: Antiseptic agents: Potassium permanganate|url=http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2918e/25.2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706195746/http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2918e/25.2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 6, 2009|website=apps.who.int|access-date=12 October 2017}} It can be applied as a soaked dressing or a bath. Petroleum jelly may be used on the nails before soaking to prevent their discoloration.{{cite book| vauthors = Burge S, Wallis D |title=Oxford Handbook of Medical Dermatology|date=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780199558322|page=592|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDxsjyTSnawC&pg=PA592|language=en}} The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recommend its use in either the crystal or tablet form.{{cite web |title=CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=250.108|website=www.accessdata.fda.gov|access-date=11 October 2017}}

Side effects may include irritation of the skin and discoloration of clothing. A harsh burn on a child from an undissolved tablet has been reported. For treating eczema, it is recommended using for a few days at a time due to the possibility of it irritating the skin. Higher concentration solutions can result in chemical burns.{{cite book| vauthors = Olson KR |title=Poisoning and Drug Overdose, Sixth Edition|date=2011|publisher=McGraw Hill Professional|isbn=9780071716765|page=121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ju7diy73Z2wC|language=en}} Therefore, the British National Formulary recommends 100 mg be dissolved in a liter of water before use to form a 1:10,000 (0.01%) solution.{{cite web|title=Should potassium permanganate be used in wound care?|url=https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/wound-care/should-potassium-permanganate-be-used-in-wound-care/205220.article|website=Nursing Times|access-date=12 October 2017|language=en|date=5 August 2003}} Wrapping the dressings soaked with potassium permanganate is not recommended.

If taken by mouth it is toxic.{{cite book| vauthors = Schachner LA, Hansen RC |title=Pediatric Dermatology E-Book|date=2011|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0723436652|page=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAlGLYplkacC&pg=PA131|language=en}} Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath may occur.{{cite book| vauthors = Patnaik P |title=A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances|date=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780471714583|page=710|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CRRJBVv5d0C&pg=PA710|language=en}} If a sufficiently large amount (about 10 grams) is eaten death may occur.

Concentrated solutions when drunk have resulted in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or swelling of the airway. Recommended measures for those who have ingested potassium permanganate include gastroscopy. Activated charcoal or medications to cause vomiting are not recommended.{{cite book| vauthors = Dart RC |title=Medical Toxicology|date=2004|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=9780781728454|pages=904–905|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfdighlyGiwC&pg=PA904|language=en}} While medications like ranitidine and N-acetylcysteine may be used in toxicity, evidence for this use is poor.

Potassium permanganate functions as an oxidising agent. Through this mechanism it results in disinfection, astringent effects, and decreased smell.

Potassium permanganate was first made in the 1600s and came into common medical use at least as early as the 1800s. During World War I Canadian soldiers were given potassium permanganate (to be applied mixed with an ointment) in an effort to prevent sexually transmitted infections (resulting mostly in violet stained genitals.){{cite book| vauthors = González-Crussi F |title=A Short History of Medicine|date=2008|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|isbn=9781588368218|page=111|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKpBZi8uG8IC&pg=PA111|language=en}} Some have attempted to bring about an abortion by putting it in the vagina, though this is not effective.{{cite book| vauthors = Solinger R |title=Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America|date=2005|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814741191|page=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xe6gBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120|language=en}}{{cite book|title=Code of Federal Regulations: Record 2: 2007-|date=2008|publisher=U.S. General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service, Office of the Federal Register|page=178|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbVRAQAAMAAJ|language=en}}{{cite web|title=CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21|url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=250.108|website=www.accessdata.fda.gov|access-date=11 October 2017}} Other historical uses have included as an effort to wash out the stomach in those with strychnine or picrotoxin poisoning.{{cite web|title=Potassium permanganate definition {{!}} Drugs.com|url=https://www.drugs.com/dict/potassium-permanganate.html|website=Drugs.com|access-date=11 October 2017}}

In the United States the FDA requires tablets of the medication to be sold by prescription. Potassium permanganate, however, does not have FDA approved uses and therefore non medical grade potassium permanganate is sometimes used for medical use.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

It is available under a number of brand names including Permasol, Koi Med Tricho-Ex, and Kalii permanganas RFF.{{cite web|title=Potassium Permanganate - Drugs.com|url=https://www.drugs.com/international/potassium-permanganate.html|website=Drugs.com|access-date=11 October 2017}} It is occasionally called "Condy's crystals".{{cite web|title=Potassium permanganate {{!}} DermNet New Zealand|url=https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/potassium-permanganate/|website=www.dermnetnz.org|access-date=11 October 2017|language=en}}

Potassium permanganate may be used to prevent the spread of glanders among horses.{{cite book| vauthors = Scott DW, Miller WH |title=Equine Dermatology - E-Book|date=2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1437709216|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0-v1vOq3x4C&pg=PA168|language=en}}

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