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Whitfield's ointment

Acidic ointment used for topical treatment of dermatophytosis

Whitfield's ointment
Summary

Acidic ointment used for topical treatment of dermatophytosis

Circular design with green/turquoise and white backgrounds. The text 'Whitfield's ointment' in the centre and other text about ingredients and instructions placed in the green sections.
Whitfield's ointment

Whitfield's ointment is an acidic ointment used for the topical treatment of dermatophytosis, such as athlete's foot. It can have a slight burning effect that goes away after a few minutes. It is named after Arthur Whitfield (1868–1947), a British dermatologist.

The original ointment contains 3% salicylic acid and 6% benzoic acid in a suitable base, such as petrolatum. Alternatively, a short-chain alcohol or fatty alcohol can be used as the base.

Whitfield's ointment is not advised for areas of thinner skin, such as the scrotum or the groin, and in such sites should only be used diluted to half-strength.

A systematic review of the medical literature comparing treatments for ringworm and jock itch was generally critical of the quality of data available. It concluded that there was "insufficient evidence to determine if Whitfield's ointment, a widely used agent, is effective", implying that the studies were of poor quality and therefore effectiveness could not be determined. Individual studies support its use as a cost-effective treatment.

References

References

  1. (2008). "Antimicrobial Drugs: Chronicle of a twentieth century medical triumph". Oxford University Press.
  2. (2009). "[[British Pharmacopoeia]]".
  3. (2006). "United States Pharmacopeia".
  4. Sauer, Gordon C.. (1957-09-01). "Whitfield's Ointment". Archives of Dermatology.
  5. (2010). "Rook's Textbook of Dermatology". Wiley-Blackwell.
  6. El-Gohary, M.. (Aug 4, 2014). "Topical antifungal treatments for tinea cruris and tinea corporis". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
  7. Gooskens V. (1994). "Treatment of superficial mycoses in the tropics: Whitfield's ointment versus clotrimazole". [[International Journal of Dermatology]].
  8. (1973). "Comparison of clotrimazole cream, Whitfield's ointment and Nystatin ointment for the topical treatment of ringworm infections, pityriasis versicolor, erythrasma and candidiasis". [[British Journal of Dermatology]].
  9. (1986). "An institutional survey of tinea capitis in Harare, Zimbabwe and a trial of miconazole cream versus Whitfield's ointment in its treatment". Clinical and Experimental Dermatology.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

ointments antifungals-for-dermatologic-use
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