Ciclopirox: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Ciclopirox is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 3 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Topical · Solution · Kit · Suspension
- Sold as
- 3 products — Ciclopirox, Loprox and Penlac
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $0.29 per gm — not your price
Every ciclopirox product we track (3)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Solution | Generic | $0 | View → |
Ciclopirox recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
Ciclopirox and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for ciclopirox: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadTopical ciclopirox has not been studied during breastfeeding. Because only about 1.3% is absorbed after topical application, it is considered a low risk to the nursing infant. Avoid application to the nipple area and ensure that the infant's skin does not come into direct contact with the areas of skin that have been treated. Only water-miscible cream or gel products should be applied to the breast because ointments may expose the infant to high levels of mineral paraffins via licking.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised November 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about ciclopirox
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 3,192 reports naming ciclopirox, and the FDA flagged 53% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- fatigue192 reports
- diarrhoea159 reports
- pruritus148 reports
- rash147 reports
- headache143 reports
- dyspnoea123 reports
- nausea121 reports
- fall109 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean ciclopirox caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take ciclopirox with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run ciclopirox against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is ciclopirox sold under?
We track 3 ciclopirox-containing products in the U.S.: Ciclopirox, Loprox and Penlac. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does ciclopirox come in?
Across the brands we track, ciclopirox is currently marketed as topical, solution, kit and suspension, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic ciclopirox?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic ciclopirox product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Has ciclopirox been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 2 recall records whose product description mentions ciclopirox. The most recent: Ciclopirox Shampoo (Dec 9, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Ciclopirox: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ciclopirox
- MLA
- “Ciclopirox: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ciclopirox.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for ciclopirox on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.