From the Guidelines
Tinea facei is best treated with oral antifungal medications, specifically itraconazole 100 mg once a day for 15 days, which has shown a superior mycological cure rate of 87% compared to other treatments. When considering treatment options, it's essential to prioritize morbidity, mortality, and quality of life as the primary outcomes.
Treatment Options
- For mild to moderate cases, topical antifungal medications such as terbinafine 1% cream or azole creams like clotrimazole 1% or miconazole 2% may be used, but the evidence suggests that oral antifungal therapy is more effective 1.
- Oral antifungal therapy, such as itraconazole, has proven efficacious in the treatment of most cases of T corporis, which is similar to Tinea facei, and has shown superior results compared to griseofulvin 1.
- Terbinafine appears to be superior for T tonsurans, but the study found itraconazole to be more effective for T corporis, which is relevant to Tinea facei treatment 1.
Additional Considerations
- Good facial hygiene practices, such as avoiding skin-to-skin contact with people known to have lesions, not sharing towels or personal items, and limiting exposure to swimming pools that have recently been associated with known outbreaks, can help prevent the spread of the infection 1.
- Discontinuing the use of topical steroids, which can worsen fungal infections, is also crucial during treatment.
- It's essential to continue treatment for at least one week after visible symptoms resolve to prevent recurrence.
- If symptoms persist after a complete treatment course, consulting a healthcare provider is necessary, as resistant infections may require culture identification and alternative medication approaches.
From the FDA Drug Label
Uses • cures most athlete's foot (tinea pedis) • cures most jock itch (tinea cruris) and ringworm (tinea corporis) • relieves itching, burning, cracking and scaling which accompany these conditions The answer to Tinea facei treatment is not directly addressed in the provided drug label for terbinafine (TOP) 2. The label mentions treatment for tinea pedis, tinea cruris, and tinea corporis, but does not explicitly mention tinea facei.
- Key points:
- The drug label does not provide information on tinea facei treatment.
- Terbinafine (TOP) is used to treat other types of fungal infections, but its use for tinea facei is not specified.
From the Research
Tinea Facei Treatment
- Tinea faciei is a relatively uncommon dermatophyte infection, and the studies on its clinical forms and isolated species of dermatophytes are limited 3.
- The most common causative agents of tinea faciei are Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex, and Microsporum canis 3.
- Clinical presentations of tinea faciei often involve plaques and scales on the cheeks, and mycological cure is observed significantly less often in patients with lesions on the cheek 3.
- Topical antifungal treatments can be used with favorable outcomes, but the history of past infection and lesion on the cheeks should be carefully assessed to be vigilant for recurrent infection 3.
- Although there are no direct studies on the treatment of tinea faciei using oral antifungal agents like terbinafine, itraconazole, and fluconazole, these agents have been shown to be effective in treating other types of dermatophyte infections, such as tinea capitis and tinea pedis 4, 5, 6, 7.
- Terbinafine, itraconazole, and fluconazole have been shown to be effective, safe, and have the advantage of a shorter treatment duration compared to griseofulvin in the treatment of tinea capitis 4, 6.
- A one-week course of terbinafine 1% cream has been shown to be more effective in the treatment of tinea pedis than a four-week course of clotrimazole 1% cream 7.
Treatment Options
- Topical antifungal treatments, such as terbinafine 1% cream, can be used to treat tinea faciei 3, 7.
- Oral antifungal agents, such as terbinafine, itraconazole, and fluconazole, may be considered for the treatment of tinea faciei, especially in cases where topical treatment is not effective 4, 5, 6.
- The choice of treatment should be based on the severity of the infection, the causative agent, and the patient's medical history 3, 6.