Nystatin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Nystatin is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 6 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
- Tablet · Topical · Suspension · Powder · Suppository
- Sold as
- 6 products — Nilstat, Nysert and Nystatin, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $0.25 per gm — not your price
Every nystatin product we track (6)
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 | 72/100 | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 2 | 72/100 | Prescription | Suppository | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 3 | 68/100 | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Powder | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 5 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $0 | View → | |
| 6 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $0 | View → |
Combination products containing nystatin
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
Nystatin recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
How long nystatin keeps
No nystatin label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Nystatin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for nystatin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadAlthough no information exists on the milk excretion of nystatin, it is virtually unabsorbed orally, therefore most reviewers and clinicians consider it acceptable for use in nursing mothers, including topical application to the nipples. 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. Any excess cream should be removed from the nipples before nursing. Nystatin is less effective than other topical agents for the treatment of thrush.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised February 15, 2021. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about nystatin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 29,947 reports naming nystatin, and the FDA flagged 77% 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:
- nausea2,350 reports
- fatigue2,091 reports
- diarrhoea2,051 reports
- pneumonia1,775 reports
- dyspnoea1,704 reports
- vomiting1,650 reports
- pyrexia1,314 reports
- headache1,183 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean nystatin 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.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take nystatin 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 nystatin 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 nystatin sold under?
We track 6 nystatin-containing products in the U.S.: Nilstat, Nysert, Nystatin, Barstatin 100, Candex and Mycostatin. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does nystatin come in?
Across the brands we track, nystatin is currently marketed as tablet, topical, suspension, powder and suppository, 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 nystatin?
Yes. Our catalog lists 2 generic nystatin products 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 nystatin been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 1 recall record whose product description mentions nystatin. The most recent: Nystatin Cream USP (Jun 23, 2026). 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). Nystatin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/nystatin
- MLA
- “Nystatin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/nystatin.
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 nystatin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.