Drug Database: Miconazole

What is miconazole?

Miconazole is an antifungal prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mucocutaneous candidiasis, including: 

• Oropharyngeal candidiasis, a fungal infection of the part of the throat at the back of the mouth
• Vulvovaginal candidiasis

Oropharyngeal candidiasis and vulvovaginal candidiasis can be opportunistic infections (OIs) of HIV. An OI is an infection that occurs more frequently or is more severe in people with weakened immune systems—such as people with HIV—than in people with healthy immune systems. To learn more about OIs, read the HIVinfo What is an Opportunistic Infection? fact sheet.  

How is miconazole used in people with HIV?

The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV include recommendations on the uses of miconazole to treat oropharyngeal candidiasis and vulvovaginal candidiasis.

The recommended uses may not always be consistent with FDA-approved uses of miconazole. See the Guidelines for complete information on recommended uses of miconazole in adults and adolescents with HIV. Miconazole may have other recommended uses not listed above.

What should I tell my health care provider before using miconazole?

Before using miconazole, tell your health care provider:

• If you are allergic to miconazole, milk protein concentrate or any other ingredient in miconazole, or any other medicines.
• About any medical conditions you have or have had, for example, diabetes or liver problems.
• About anything that could affect your ability to use miconazole, such as difficulty with inserting a vaginal suppository or trouble with remembering a scheduled dose.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Talk to your health care provider about the risks and benefits of using miconazole during pregnancy. The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV may include other recommendations on the use of miconazole during pregnancy. Please refer to these guidelines for additional information. 
• If you are breast/chestfeeding or plan to breast/chestfeed. For people with HIV in the United States, the Guideline recommends speaking with your health care provider to discuss options for feeding your baby. People with suppressed viral load have a less than 1% chance of transmitting HIV to their baby via their own milk.
• About other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Miconazole may affect the way other medicines or products work, and other medicines or products may affect how miconazole works. Ask your health care provider if there are interactions between miconazole and the other medicines you take.

Ask your health care provider about possible side effects from miconazole. Your health care provider will tell you what to do if you have side effects.

How should I use miconazole?

Use miconazole according to your health care provider’s instructions. Your health care provider will tell you how much miconazole to use and when to use it. Before you start miconazole and each time you get a refill, read any printed information that comes with your medicine.

How should miconazole be stored?

• Store miconazole tablets at room temperature, 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C). Protect the tablets from moisture.
• Store miconazole vaginal suppositories at 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C).
• Keep miconazole in the container that it came in and keep the container tightly closed.
• Do not use miconazole if the original seal over the container opening is broken or missing.
• Throw away miconazole that is no longer needed or expired (out of date). Follow FDA guidelines on how to safely dispose of unused medicine.
• Keep miconazole and all medicines out of reach of children.

Where can I find more information about miconazole?

• Recommendations on the HIV-related uses of miconazole, from the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV.
• This Patient Version drug summary is based on the following FDA label(s): Tablet; Vaginal suppository. The Patient Counseling Information section of the label and Patient's Instructions include information for people using miconazole.
• The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Patient Medication Information for miconazole buccal and miconazole vaginal available from MedlinePlus.
• Miconazole-related research studies, from ClinicalTrials.gov. (The ClinicalTrials.gov search can be modified so that you can get results that better match your interests. To learn more about the ClinicalTrials.gov search features, please see How to Search.)