Sodium Sulfacetamide Sulfur Cleansing Pads

Generic name: sulfacetamide sodium and sulfur
Dosage form: topical pads
Drug class:Topical antibiotics

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jun 21, 2021.

Disclaimer: This drug has not been found by FDA to be safe and effective, and this labeling has not been approved by FDA. For further information about unapproved drugs, click here.

Rx Only
FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR OPHTHALMIC USE.

DESCRIPTION:

Each pad is coated with a cleanser-based formulation. Each gram of solution contains 100 mg of sodium sulfacetamide and 40 mg of colloidal sulfur in a vehicle consisting of: benzyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, fragrance, glyceryl stearate (and) PEG-100 stearate, phenoxyethanol, propylene glycol, purified water, sodium aluminum silicate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium magnesium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, steryl alcohol and xanthan gum. Sodium sulfacetamide is a sulfonamide with antibacterial activity while sulfur acts as a keratolytic agent. Sodium sulfacetamide is C 8H 9N 2NaO 3S·H 2O with molecular weight of 254.24. Chemically, sodium sulfacetamide is N-[(4-aminophenyl) sulfonyl]-acetamide, monosodium salt, monohydrate. The structural formula is:

Sodium sulfacetamide is an odorless, white, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. It is freely soluble in water, sparingly soluble in alcohol, while practically insoluble in benzene, in chloroform and in ether.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY:

The most widely accepted mechanism of action of sulfonamides is the Woods-Fildes theory, which is based on the fact that sulfonamides act as competitive antagonists to para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), an essential component for bacterial growth. While absorption through intact skin has not been determined, sodium sulfacetamide is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract when taken orally and excreted in the urine, largely unchanged. The biological half-life has variously been reported as 7 to 12.8 hours. The exact mode of action of sulfur in the treatm..