nt Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy This problem is a type of antimicrobial resistance . It occurs when fungi, viruses, bacteria and parasites don’t respond to medications developed to treat them. Your body doesn’t develop antifungal resistance — fungi do. Today, while antifungal medicines may still help you, fewer drugs can treat drug-resistant fungi. What are antifungal medications? Antifungal drugs help your body get rid of certain fungal infections. They treat fungal skin infections like yeast infections , athlete’s foot, jock itch and ringworm . Antifungal medicines also manage infections that affect the lungs, brain and blood. Why is antifungal resistance a problem? Drug resistance is a serious global health problem. It greatly limits treatment options. If a fungus doesn’t respond to one of three available classes of antifungal drugs, the other options may be less effective. Some drugs cause more severe, potentially toxic side effects. Nearly 3 million Americans will develop a drug-resistant infection this year. More than 35,000 of them will die. What causes antifungal resistance? There are several causes of antifungal resistance: Improper use of antifungal medicines: When you skip doses, stop treatment too soon or receive a dose that’s too low, a fungus gets better at fighting off the medicine’s effects. Antibiotic use: Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria. But they can also kill helpful bacteria in the digestive tract . As a result, Candida , a yeast naturally found inside the digestive tract, can start to grow too fast. A person taking antibiotics may then need antifungals to treat a yeast infection called candidiasis. Frequent treatment raises the risk of drug resistance to both treatments. Fungicide use: People who work closely with crops treated by fungicides may be more prone to fungal infections that are antifunga