It is indicated for disinfection of fresh postoperative and post-traumatic scars, umbilical cord of newborns, abrasions, cuts, and other violations of the integrity of the skin, in the treatment of purulent-inflammatory processes of the skin - hordeolum ("barley"), meibomite, blepharitis, pyoderma, local furunculosis, carbunculosis, staphylococcal infection.

[citation needed] In Russia and Ukraine (and much of the rest of the former Soviet Union), the dilute alcoholic solution of brilliant green is sold as a topical antiseptic, also known under a Latin name solutio viridis nitentis spirituosa and the colloquial Russian name of zelyonka (зелёнка, lit.

[6] The main advantage of brilliant green over the more common antiseptics such as iodine is that it does not irritate mucous membranes as harshly on accidental contact.

[4] The compound may lead to serious injuries if it comes in contact with an eye, even resulting in bilateral blindness due to corneal opacification.

[8] Since 2016, many opponents of the Russian government have been splashed with zelyonka, including Alexei Navalny, Igor Kalyapin, liberal activists, Nadya Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Ilya Varlamov, Mikhail Kasyanov and Maria Ivanova.