Medical Treatment

• If only one or two lesions exist, topical antifungal therapy is sufficient. You may be given a prescription for any of the following topical medications:
  
  
  • Imidazoles (clotrimazole or Lotrimin, miconazole or Micatin, ketoconazole or Nizoral, econazole or Spectazole, oxiconazole or Oxistat, and sulconazole or Exelderm)
    
    
  • Allylamines (naftifine or Naftin, terbinafine or Lamisil)
    
    
  • Naphthiomates (tolnaftate or Tinactin)
    
    
  • Substituted pyridines (ciclopirox olamine or Loprox)

• In addition, the doctor may prescribe a topical corticosteroid to help relieve the itching. It is never used as the only treatment in ringworm infections.

• Seriously infected or deep abscesses may require surgical drainage. Bacterial superinfections usually require antibiotics.

• Antifungal medication may be given as a pill for extensive infections, infections that are not cleared with a topical medicine, or infections in people with weakened immune systems. Examples include itraconazole (Sporanox), terbinafine (Lamisil), fluconazole (Diflucan), ketoconazole (Nizoral), and griseofulvin (Grisactin). Some newer tinea infections are resistant to oral griseofulvin and require the use of oral itraconazole or terbinafine.