Antifungals

An antifungal drug is medication used to treat fungal infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm, yeast infections, and candidia, as well as serious systemic infections like cryptococcal meningitis. Antifungal drugs can be either prescription drugs or OTC drugs.

Antifungal medications work by exploiting differences between mammalian and fungal cells to kill off the fungal organism without significantly harming the host. Unlike bacteria, both fungi and humans are eukaryotes. The basic structure of fungal cells and human cells is nearly identical. Thus, it is more difficult to find a target for an antifungal drug to attack that does not also exist in the infected organism. Consequently, there are often side-effects to these drugs. Some side-effects can be life-threatening.