Mafenide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Mafenide is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for bacterial infections and wound infection. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Bacterial Infections and Wound Infection
- Available as
- Topical
- Sold as
- Sulfamylon
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How mafenide is dosed
From the FDA label for Sulfamylon (application NDA019832). Other mafenide products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Prompt institution of appropriate measures for controlling shock and pain is of prime importance. The burn wounds are then cleansed and debrided, and SULFAMYLON Cream is applied with a sterile gloved hand. Satisfactory results can be achieved with application of the cream once or twice daily, to a thickness of approximately 1/16 inch; thicker application is not recommended. The burned areas should be covered with SULFAMYLON Cream at all times. Therefore, whenever necessary, the cream should be reapplied to any areas from which it has been removed (e.g., by patient activity). The routine of administration can be accomplished in minimal time, since dressings usually are not required, if individual patient demands make them necessary, however, only a thin layer of dressings should be used. When feasible, the patient should be bathed daily to aid in debridement. A whirlpool bath is particularly helpful, but the patient may be bathed in bed or in a shower. The duration of therapy with SULFAMYLON Cream depends on each patient’s requirements. Treatment is usually continued until healing is progressing well or until the burn site is ready for grafting. SULFAMYLON Cream should not be withdrawn from the therapeutic regimen while there is the possibility of infection. However, if allergic manifestations occur during treatment with SULFAMYLON Cream, discontinuation of treatment should be…
Mafenide side effects
It is frequently difficult to distinguish between an adverse reaction to SULFAMYLON Cream and the effect of a severe burn. A single case of bone marrow depression and a single case of acute attack of porphyria have been reported following therapy with SULFAMYLON Cream. Fatal hemolytic anemia with disseminated intravascular coagulation, presumably related to a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, has been reported following therapy with SULFAMYLON Cream. Dermatologic: The most frequently reported reaction was pain on application or a burning sensation. Rare occurrences are excoriation of new skin and bleeding of skin. Allergic: Rash itching, facial edema, swelling, hive, blisters, erythema, and eosinophilia. Respiratory: Tachypnea or hyperventilation, decrease in arterial pCO 2 . Metabolic: Acidosis, increase in serum chloride. Accidental ingestion of SULFAMYLON Cream has been reported to cause diarrhea. To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc. at 1-844-874-7464 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
Who shouldn’t take mafenide
SULFAMYLON is contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to it. It is not known whether there is cross sensitivity to other sulfonamides.
Every mafenide product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Sulfamylon.
What people report to the FDA about mafenide
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 11 reports naming mafenide, and the FDA flagged 91% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- multiple organ dysfunction syndrome2 reports
- aspergillus infection1 reports
- bradycardia1 reports
- drug effective for unapproved indication1 reports
- drug resistance1 reports
- dry skin1 reports
- erythema1 reports
- haemolysis1 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean mafenide caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is mafenide?
Cream is a soft, white, nonstaining, water-miscible, anti-infective cream for topical administration to burn wounds. SULFAMYLON Cream spreads easily, and can be washed off readily with water. It has a slight acetic odor. Each gram of SULFAMYLON Cream contains mafenide acetate equivalent to 85 mg of the base. The cream vehicle consists of cetyl alcohol, steryl alcohol, cetyl esters wax, polyoxyl 40 stearate, polyoxyl 8 stearate, glycerin, and water, with methylparaben, propylparaben, sodium metabisulfite, and edetate disodium as preservatives.
Can you take mafenide with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run mafenide against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does mafenide come in?
Across the brands we track, mafenide is currently marketed as topical, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic mafenide?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled mafenide product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Mafenide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/mafenide
- MLA
- “Mafenide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/mafenide.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for mafenide on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.