# Gentamicin in Nigeria

Gentamicin has 59 active NAFDAC registrations in our October 2026 copy of the register, from 48 registration holders; 36 further listings have lapsed.

- Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/gentamicin/
- Drug class: Aminoglycoside antibiotic (Antibiotics)
- Also known as: Gentamycin, Gentamicin sulfate, Genticyn
- Prescription required: yes
- On the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- Last updated: October 2026

## 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.

## What is Gentamicin?

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.

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?

- 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

Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information.

- 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

Common: 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 (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

Do not take if: 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.

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.

## Brands in Nigeria

Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: Gentamicin 0.3% Eye/Ear Drops (Fidson Healthcare PLC, made in Nigeria); Reagan Gentamycin Eye/Ear Drops (Reagan Remedies Limited, made in Nigeria); Gentamicin Skin Ointment (Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited, made in Nigeria); Tricuten Cream (SKG - Pharma Ltd, made in Nigeria); Teka Gentamicin Eye/Ear Drops (Teka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, made in China).
Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/gentamicin/brands/

## How to verify it is genuine

1. Check 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.
2. Drugfield's Gentamicin Skin Ointment is registered as 04-1446 and SKG's Tricuten Cream as 04-8698.
3. Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker. Gentamicin has a deep registered field in Nigeria, so a product you cannot find deserves questions.
4. Check 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.
5. Read 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.

Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/

## FAQs

### Can I use gentamicin eye drops in my ear, or ear drops in my eye?

Many Nigerian products are registered as combined eye/ear drops and are labelled for both, in which case either use is fine. But a product labelled for the ear only must never go in the eye — ear preparations are not made to eye standards of sterility and acidity. Read the label rather than assuming. And regardless of labelling, drops must not go into an ear with a perforated eardrum without a doctor's direction, because aminoglycosides reaching the inner ear can cause permanent hearing loss.

### Is gentamicin good for apollo?

Usually not. 'Apollo' — the Nigerian name for conjunctivitis — is most often viral, and no antibiotic touches a virus. Viral apollo is intensely red and watery, spreads through a household in days, and clears by itself in a week or two with hygiene and cold compresses. Bacterial conjunctivitis, which produces thick sticky discharge that glues the lashes shut overnight, is the one antibiotic drops help. A painful red eye with blurred vision or light sensitivity is neither and needs same-day medical attention.

### Why is gentamicin injection dangerous?

Because the gap between an effective dose and a harmful one is narrow, and the harm is often permanent. Aminoglycosides damage the hair cells of the inner ear, causing hearing loss and balance problems that do not recover, and they injure the kidneys. Safe use means calculating the dose by body weight and kidney function, measuring blood levels, and monitoring — which is why it belongs in a hospital and not in a home or a patent medicine store. Topical gentamicin carries none of this risk because almost nothing is absorbed.

### Are gentamicin combination creams safe for any rash?

No, and they are one of the most misused product categories in Nigeria. Creams pairing gentamicin with a steroid and an antifungal are sold for anything itchy, and the steroid makes almost any rash feel better at first — including fungal infections, which it then allows to spread far more widely and become much harder to treat. Long use also thins the skin permanently, especially on the face and in skin folds. A rash that has not cleared in a week or keeps returning needs a diagnosis rather than a stronger cream.

### How much is gentamicin in Nigeria?

It is inexpensive across all its forms, and the topical preparations in particular are among the cheapest medicines in the pharmacy — a deep field of registered products, most made locally, keeps prices low. Check the price section of this page for current sampled figures. Cost is genuinely not a reason to buy gentamicin from an unverified source.

### How long can I use gentamicin eye drops?

Short courses only — typically about five to seven days, and not beyond what a doctor or pharmacist advises. Longer use encourages resistant bacteria and fungal overgrowth, and it can mask a problem that is not a simple infection. Throw the bottle away a month after opening even if drops remain: eye drops are preserved for a limited period once the seal is broken, and an old bottle can seed the very infection you were treating.

## Sources

- NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria)
- WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- British National Formulary (BNF)
- Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)