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The Under-the-Radar Ointment for Hard-to-Heal Wounds

Imagine looking in the mirror one morning and finding the side of your head black and your ear twice its normal size. That's what happened to Brad Burnam, who caught a deadly superbug at the hospital where he worked. Sometime after having emergency surgery--one of 21 surgeries over the next five years--he set out to cure himself. 

The result he created was a fusion of PHMB, an antibiotic common in Europe but little known in the US, in a petroleum jelly base (like Vaseline), held together with a stabilizer/emulsifier. It sticks to wounds, keeps them moist, and provides a barrier. It cured his antibiotic resistant superbug. After getting FDA clearance, he formed Turn Therapeutics, and Hexagen is now available by prescription. 

Screen shot from https://turntherapeutics.com/about/

Millions of Americans suffer from open wounds--chronic issues like diabetic foot ulcers. Readers probably have their blood sugar under control and avoid this condition, but might have parents, partners or other loved ones whose blood sugars are way too high to allow chronic wounds to heal. (I went through this myself after septoplasty--the wound in my septum finally healed after 11 years when I went on a low-carb diet and started taking lots of zinc.) 

According to Turn Therapeutics, Hexagen has been used in over 200,000 applications with zero adverse events. PHMB (the active ingredient) has been used for many years in Europe and has several studies backing it up as an antibiotic and antifungal. 

The insert for Hexagen says it is intended for first- and second-degree burns, venous stasis ulcers, diabetic ulcers, partial- and full-thickness wounds, donor sites, post-surgical incisions, trauma wounds and abrasions. "It can be used during wound dressing changes to soften encrusted dressings." However, it's not meant to be the sole treatment for infected wounds.

It's not something I've needed or tried myself, but it might help someone you care about. It's by prescription, so they'll need to ask a doctor. And while they're at it, they should ask for a continuous glucose monitor and strive to keep their blood sugar below 100. Nondiabetic blood sugars will greatly help diabetic wounds. 

Sources:

  1. "Breaking Brad," Full Measure by Sharyl Attkisson. October 12, 2025. https://fullmeasure.news/newest-videos/breaking-brad#
  2. Sen CK. Human Wound and Its Burden: Updated 2022 Compendium of Estimates. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2023 Dec;12(12):657-670. doi: 10.1089/wound.2023.0150. PMID: 37756368; PMCID: PMC10615092. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10615092/
  3. Turn Therapeutics--Medical Devices. https://turntherapeutics.com/portfolio-pipeline/#medical-devices
  4. Hexagen insert. https://turntherapeutics.com/hexagen-insert/
  5. Hat tip to Grok, X's AI feature. Grok came up with the title and offered some great sources and suggestions. 
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