Treatment options

Mild, non-extensive athlete’s foot can be treated using topical antifungals. Treatment options include:

• Terbinafine 1% cream (licensed for the treatment of fungal foot infection in those over 12 years of age), applied thinly to the affected area once or twice daily for up to seven days⁴
• Clotrimazole 1% cream (children over 12), applied to the affected area two to three times a day, and continued for at least four weeks – a strip of cream about half a centimetre long is enough to treat an area about the size of a hand⁴
• Miconazole 2% cream, applied to the affected area twice a day for two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the lesions, and continued for 10 days after all the lesions are healed⁴
• Econazole 1% cream, applied to the affected area twice a day, and continued until all the skin lesions are healed.⁴

In addition to using a topical antifungal, hydrocortisone 1% cream can be applied once daily for a maximum of seven days if there is associated marked inflammation.⁵

If an adult has severe or extensive disease, an oral antifungal treatment may be required:

• Terbinafine should be the first-line treatment
• Itraconazole or oral griseofulvin may be tried, if terbinafine is not tolerated or is contraindicated.⁵