Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic — a powerful, old and cheap drug that kills bacteria by wrecking their protein-making machinery. It has two very different lives. As an injection in hospital it is one of the workhorses of serious infection, used in sepsis, severe abdominal and urinary infections, and in newborns. As drops, creams and ointments it treats eye, ear and skin infections, and in that form it is bought casually across Nigeria.
In the NAFDAC register
95 registered products
from 73 registration holders
What it costs online
about ₦1,560cream
median of 2 listings
Also sampled: drops (2 listings, ₦700–₦800)
≈₦75 per ml (drops)
0% since August 2026 · like-for-like
Sampled from 4 listings across HealthPlus and MedPlus and Supermart.ng · October 2026
Found at HealthPlus and MedPlus and Supermart.ng: 2 listings of cream, only 2 of drops. With 13 active registrations as drops in the NAFDAC register, the headline figure above prices the cream, not the drops.
Full price breakdown →Brands of Gentamicin in Nigeria
Comes as
- Injection80 mg/2 mL· 10 makers
- Ear/eye drops0.3%· 8 makers
- Solution/Drops0.3%· 5 makers
In combinations: Triamcinolone + Econazole + Gentamicin · Betamethasone + Clotrimazole + Gentamicin · Beclometasone + Clotrimazole + Gentamicin
Those 95 products from 73 registration holders, counted in our October 2026 copy of the register, include combination products and older listings; below are the most common brands.
| Brand Name | Manufacturer | Strength | Form | NAFDAC Reg. No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fidson Healthcare PLC | 0.3% | Eye/ear drops | A11-0247 |
| Reagan Gentamycin Eye/Ear Drops | Reagan Remedies Limited | 0.3% | Eye/ear drops | A11-0003 |
 | Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited | 0.1% | Ointment | 04-1446 |
| Tricuten Cream | SKG - Pharma Ltd | 0.1% gentamicin combination | Cream | 04-8698 |
| Teka Gentamicin Eye/Ear Drops | Teka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd | 0.3% | Ear/eye drops | B4-5054 |
Gentamicin Price in Nigeria
As of October 2026, Gentamicin sells for about ₦1,560 for cream online in Nigeria at three online pharmacies; drops ₦700–₦800. The online price is roughly unchanged since August 2026. That figure is for Gentamycin; 26 other gentamicin brands are NAFDAC-registered and generic versions usually cost less. Open-market prices (e.g. Idumota, Ogbogwu) are often lower.
Online retail (sampled)
Cream/Ointment
₦870 – ₦2,250 · 2 listings
Drops
₦700 – ₦800 · 2 listings · ≈₦75 per ml
4 listings across HealthPlus + MedPlus + Supermart.ng · October 2026.
Unchanged since August 2026.
Gentamicin price by brand
Each brand's own listings, as its page states them — the range above spans every brand and pack size.
- Gentamicin Skin Ointment price₦870–₦2,250· 2 listings
- Gentamicin 0.3% Eye/Ear Drops price₦800· 1 listing
How to Verify Your Gentamicin is Genuine
- 1Check the NAFDAC number on the pack — Fidson's Gentamicin 0.3% Eye/Ear Drops carries A11-0247 and Reagan's carries A11-0003 in our copy of the register.
- 2Drugfield's Gentamicin Skin Ointment is registered as 04-1446 and SKG's Tricuten Cream as 04-8698.
- 3Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker. Gentamicin has a deep registered field in Nigeria, so a product you cannot find deserves questions.
- 4Check the expiry date on eye drops carefully, and throw the bottle away a month after opening — an old bottle of eye drops is a bacterial culture, not a medicine.
- 5Read the ingredients on combination creams. Many products sold as 'gentamicin cream' also contain a steroid and an antifungal, which changes what they should and should not be used for.
Where to Buy
Buying Gentamicin wholesale, by the carton
Cartons of gentamicin are bought at Nigeria's open drug markets: Idumota Market in Lagos, Ariaria Market in Aba, Ogbogwu Market in Onitsha and Sabon Gari Market in Kano. Each guide says where the market is and how to buy there safely; where we list sellers, they are named.
- Idumota Market, Lagos · wholesale sellers in Idumota Market
- Ariaria Market, Aba
- Ogbogwu Market, Onitsha
- Sabon Gari Market, Kano
No shop we list has Gentamicin on its confirmed product list yet — the market guides still tell you where the trade happens and how to buy there safely.
Which one are you?
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Wherever you buy, buy only from licensed pharmacies and verified distributors — not roadside vendors — and verify the pack's NAFDAC registration before you pay. Buying Gentamicin in bulk or for resale? See how to buy medicines in bulk in Nigeria safely.
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What is Gentamicin?
Our copy of the NAFDAC register shows a large gentamicin presence — fifty-nine active registrations from forty-eight companies, twenty-six of them gentamicin alone and thirty-three combination creams pairing it with a steroid and an antifungal — and most of it is topical and made in Nigeria: Fidson and Reagan eye/ear drops, Drugfield's skin ointment, SKG's Tricuten.
The two lives need different warnings. The injection is genuinely dangerous if used carelessly: it damages hearing and kidneys, and it needs dose calculation, blood-level monitoring and a hospital. The drops and creams are far safer but are massively over-used — particularly the steroid combination creams sold for any itch or rash, which can make a fungal infection spectacularly worse.
What is Gentamicin used for?
In Nigeria, Gentamicin is commonly used for:
- Bacterial conjunctivitis and other eye infections, as 0.3% drops
- Otitis externa — infection of the outer ear canal, as drops
- Infected wounds, burns, boils and impetigo, as cream or ointment
- Serious hospital infections including sepsis, severe urinary and abdominal infection, by injection
- Neonatal sepsis, by injection in hospital, usually with a penicillin
- Not for viral 'apollo' conjunctivitis, which needs no antibiotic at all
Dosage
IMPORTANT
Always follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions. The information below is for general reference only.
Adults
Eye drops: usually one or two drops into the affected eye every four to six hours, or more frequently at the start of a severe infection, for no longer than about a week. Ear drops: two to four drops into the affected ear three or four times daily. Cream or ointment: applied thinly to the affected area three or four times daily. The INJECTION is a hospital medicine, dosed by body weight and kidney function with blood-level monitoring, and no dose for it is given here — it is not something to buy and administer at home.
Children
Topical gentamicin is used in children under medical advice. The injectable form in children and newborns is calculated by weight and gestational age and is strictly a hospital matter, because the margin between an effective and a harmful dose is narrow.
Elderly
Older adults are considerably more vulnerable to gentamicin injection's effects on hearing and kidneys, and kidney function declines with age. Dose adjustment and monitoring are essential. Topical use is not a particular concern.
NEVER PUT GENTAMICIN DROPS IN AN EAR WITH A PERFORATED EARDRUM without a doctor's direction — aminoglycosides reaching the inner ear can cause permanent hearing loss and balance damage. If there is discharge from the ear, or the ear has been perforated, that is a doctor's decision. And do not treat every red eye with antibiotic drops: viral conjunctivitis, which is what most 'apollo' is, does not respond to them, while a painful red eye with blurred vision is an emergency rather than a pharmacy errand.
Side Effects
General information for a reader holding a pack, not a substitute for a doctor or pharmacist. If something on the serious list is happening, seek care now.
Common side effects
- •Stinging, burning or itching where the drops or cream are applied
- •Temporary blurred vision after eye drops
- •Local skin irritation or contact allergy with prolonged use
- •Thinning of the skin, with the steroid combination creams
Serious side effects — seek medical help immediately
- Hearing loss and tinnitus (ototoxicity) — mainly with injection, and often permanent
- Balance disturbance and persistent dizziness from inner-ear damage
- Kidney injury (nephrotoxicity) — mainly with injection, usually reversible if caught
- Worsening of muscle weakness in myasthenia gravis
- Severe allergic reactions
- Fungal overgrowth and masked infection with prolonged topical steroid combinations
When to see a doctor
Stop and seek advice for new ringing in the ears, hearing change, or unsteadiness — with injectable gentamicin these are urgent. See a doctor for an eye that becomes more painful, more red or blurred while on drops, for an ear infection with discharge, and for any skin infection that spreads or fails to improve within a few days. Reduced urine output during a course of injections needs immediate attention.
Warnings & Precautions
General information for a reader holding a pack, not a substitute for a doctor or pharmacist. If something on the serious list is happening, seek care now.
Do not take Gentamicin if you have:
- Known hypersensitivity to gentamicin or other aminoglycosides
- Perforated eardrum — topical aminoglycosides can reach the inner ear and cause permanent damage
- Myasthenia gravis
- Injectable gentamicin in significant kidney impairment without dose adjustment and monitoring
- Prolonged use of steroid-containing combination creams on an undiagnosed rash
Drug interactions
- •Other kidney-damaging drugs — NSAIDs such as diclofenac, ciclosporin, amphotericin
- •Loop diuretics such as furosemide — added risk of hearing damage
- •Muscle relaxants used in anaesthesia — prolonged paralysis
- •Vancomycin and other aminoglycosides — cumulative kidney and hearing toxicity
- •Interactions of concern apply mainly to the injection; topical use carries little systemic exposure
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Injectable gentamicin crosses the placenta and can damage the fetal inner ear, so it is avoided in pregnancy unless the infection is serious enough that no safer option will do. Topical eye, ear and skin preparations involve very little absorption and are generally considered acceptable, but should still be used on advice. Very little passes into breast milk from topical use.
Related Resources for Gentamicin
Guides, articles, and tools related to Gentamicin and other antibiotics medicines in Nigeria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- •NAFDAC Greenbook — the official database of all products registered with Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Brand-level NAFDAC numbers for Gentamicin on this page were cross-referenced against the Greenbook.
- •WHO Model List of Essential Medicines — Gentamicin is included in the WHO's list of essential medicines, meaning it is considered essential for basic healthcare needs.
- •British National Formulary (BNF) dosing and interaction guidance for Gentamicin.
- •Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health).
Daily puzzle: Meddle — pair five brands with their medicines. New game at midnight.