Antifungal medicines

Antifungal medicines are medicines that have been designed to treat fungal infections.

Fungal infections

Fungi are plant-like organisms but, unlike plants, they cannot turn sunlight into food (photosynthesis). Therefore in order to feed, fungi have to break down living tissue, including human tissue.

Fungi that cause infections in humans are known as dermatophytes. Dermatophytes are particularly attracted to a type of tissue known as keratin, which is a tough, waterproof tissue that can be found in many parts of your body including:

• your nails,
• the outer surface of your skin, and
• your hair.

This explains why fungal infections typically occur on your skin, nails or scalp.

Invasive fungal infections

Invasive fungal infections are a less common but more serious type of fungal infection. They are infections that occur deep inside the body’s tissue or in one of the organs, such as the brain (fungal meningitis) or the lungs.

People with a weakened immune system are particularly vulnerable to invasive fungal infections. Those at risk include:

• people with HIV/AIDS,
• people undergoing high-dose chemotherapy to treat cancer, and
• people who are taking medicines to suppress their immune system (immunosuppresants).