Over-the-Counter vs. Prescription
There are two ways to actually cure a yeast infection: orally (a systemic pill, only available in a prescription) and vaginally (a topical over-the-counter treatment like MONISTAT®). There are big differences between the two, so it is very important to understand both of these treatments.
Yeast Infections
| MONISTAT® Vaginal Therapy | Oral Prescriptions | |
| Availability | Available over-the-counter No prescription necessary Sold at a lot of local stores and pharmacies |
Need to get a doctor’s appointment Prescription needed Can only purchase at pharmacies |
| Relief | Rapidly relieves symptoms |
Oral therapies slowly travel through entire system before reaching vagina to alleviate symptoms and cure yeast infection Slower action Can take up to 24 hours to feel relief View animation |
| Drug Interactions | Less potential for drug interaction Topical miconazole nitrate products (like MONISTAT®) may interact with Warfarin, a prescription blood-thinning medicine* Find out more about Warfarin Drug Interactions MONISTAT® Safety Guide |
More likely to interact with prescription drugs, including some antihistamines, antidepressants, asthma medications and oral hypoglycemic agents |
| Statistics | Vaginal Treatments like MONISTAT® were chosen 60% of the time | Oral prescriptions picked only 25% of the time |
*Tell your doctor if you're taking any blood-thinning medications such as Warfarin.
Find out more about Warfarin drug interactions. MONISTAT® Safety Guide
Starts to relieve faster than Diflucan®. Faster for onset of symptom relief (symptoms include itching, irritation and burning).
Your Doctor