Provide a valuable resource to your clients or customers by linking to this resource page. Just place the following link on your website.
An antifungal is a medicine used to treat infections caused by fungi. Fungal infections can affect the skin, nails, mouth, vagina, lungs, bloodstream, or internal organs. Antifungals can kill fungi or stop them from growing. The right medicine depends on the fungus, infection location, severity, immune status, and other medicines.
read more about antifungal ...Antifungals target features that fungal cells need to survive. Some damage the fungal cell membrane, while others block production of ergosterol, a substance fungi need for cell membrane strength. Other antifungals attack the fungal cell wall or interfere with fungal DNA processes. These targets help antifungals treat fungi without working the same way as antibiotics.
Antifungals are used for athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, nail fungus, yeast infections, oral thrush, and more serious internal fungal infections. Mild skin infections can sometimes be treated with topical products. Nail, scalp, lung, bloodstream, or immune-related fungal infections can need prescription oral or IV treatment. A clinician should check infections that spread, return, cause fever, or do not improve.
Common antifungal classes include azoles, allylamines, polyenes, echinocandins, and antimetabolites. Examples include clotrimazole, miconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, terbinafine, nystatin, amphotericin B, caspofungin, micafungin, and flucytosine. Some are creams, powders, sprays, tablets, liquids, lozenges, or IV medicines. Antifungals are not interchangeable because each medicine treats different fungi and body sites.
Antifungals can cause skin irritation, burning, itching, nausea, diarrhea, headache, rash, or taste changes. Oral and IV antifungals can affect the liver, kidneys, heart rhythm, or drug levels of other medicines. Patients taking blood thinners, seizure medicines, cholesterol medicines, or immune medicines should review interactions with a clinician. Seek care for yellowing skin or eyes, dark urine, severe rash, trouble breathing, or symptoms that worsen during treatment.
Yes, antifungals can treat yeast infections. The best product depends on the infection site, severity, pregnancy status, and whether symptoms keep returning.
No, antifungals treat fungal infections, while antibiotics treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics do not treat fungal infections.
Yes, terbinafine is an antifungal. It is used for certain skin and nail fungal infections.
Seek medical care if the infection spreads, returns, affects the nails or scalp, causes fever, or does not improve with proper treatment. People with diabetes or weakened immune systems should be more cautious.
Antifungals: What They Treat, How They Work & Side Effects. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/21715-antifungals. Date Accessed June 3, 2026.
Treating Fungal Diseases with Antifungals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/treatment/index.html. Date Accessed June 3, 2026.
Antifungal Agents. StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538168/. Date Accessed June 3, 2026.
Fluconazole: MedlinePlus Drug Information. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a690002.html. Date Accessed June 3, 2026.
Label: FLUCONAZOLE tablet. DailyMed. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=fa2fa2f8-f3a6-4bc0-943c-03dabd0f1581. Date Accessed June 3, 2026.