Treatment

If your athlete's foot doesn't respond to nonprescription products and self-care, you may need to see a doctor to get a prescription-strength cream or ointment, such as clotrimazole (Lotrisone), econazole (Ecoza, Spectazole) or ciclopirox (Loprox, Penlac). If you have a more serious infection, your doctor might prescribe antifungal pills, such as terbinafine (Lamisil) or itraconazole (Sporanox, Tolsura). Or you might need both topical and oral medicine.