Tolnaftate cream

Does it work?

Yes. Putting tolnaftate on athlete's foot will probably get rid of it. But there's not as much evidence that tolnaftate works as there is for other treatments that you put on your skin to treat this infection, such as terbinafine cream or topical azoles.

Treatments such as tolnaftate or terbinafine cream that you put on your skin are called topical treatments.

What is it?

Tolnaftate is a drug that stops infections caused by fungi from spreading. Athlete's foot is caused by a fungus.

The common brand name for tolnaftate is Tinaderm-M. You can buy it over the counter at a pharmacy.

How can it help?

About 7 in 10 people who use tolnaftate will be cured of their athlete's foot.[2] [1]

Why should it work?

Tolnaftate kills the types of fungus that cause athlete's foot. Scientists don't understand exactly how tolnaftate kills the fungus.[3]

Can it be harmful?

We didn't find any research that talked about the side effects of tolnaftate. But we did find that there's a slight chance that your skin may be irritated by this medicine.[4]

What's the evidence for tolnaftate cream?

References

Hart R, Bell-Syer SE, Crawford F, et al. Systematic review of topical treatments for fungal infections of the skin and nails of the feet BMJ. 1999; 319:p.79-82.
Crawford F, Hart R, Bell-Syer S, et al. Topical treatments for fungal infections of the skin and nails of the foot (Cochrane review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2006. Wiley, Chichester, UK.
Slagle D. Antifungal drugs. In: Craig CR, Stitzel RE. Modern pharmacology with clinical applications. 5th edition. Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; 1997.
US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Tolnaftate. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202572.html (accessed on 30 November 2006).

Glossary

fungus: A fungus is an organism that is sometimes considered to be a type of plant. A fungus lives by feeding on other organisms. The mushrooms we eat in salads are fungi, but so are candida and cryptococcus, which can cause infections in people's bodies.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.