About Ketoconazole

Ketoconazole is an antifungal medicine. It's used to treat skin infections caused by a fungus (yeast). It can also prevent them coming back.

It treats different types of fungal infections including:

• athlete's foot
• jock itch, an infection in the groin area
• sweat rash (intertrigo), a rash that usually appears in folds of skin
• dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis, where your scalp or other areas of your skin become scaly and dry or greasy
• pityriasis versicolor, sometimes called tinea versicolor, where small patches of skin become scaly and change colour

Ketoconazole works by killing the fungus that causes the infection.

Ketoconazole is available as a cream or shampoo.

You can buy most ketoconazole creams and shampoos in pharmacies and shops. You can also get them on prescription. For treating pityriasis versicolor, you'll need a prescription.

Ketoconazole also comes as tablets but these usually only treat a rare condition called Cushing's syndrome. The tablets are available on prescription only, and they are not covered here.

Key facts

• Ketoconazole usually works within 2 to 3 weeks for most fungal infections, but it can take 6 weeks for athlete's foot to get better.
• The most common side effect of ketoconazole cream and shampoo is irritated skin.
• For most infections, you'll usually use the cream once or twice a day and the shampoo twice a week.
• Some people use ketoconazole shampoo every 1 to 2 weeks to help stop dandruff coming back.

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