Amorolfine (P medicine)

Pharmacy guide

This pharmacy guide will help you and your pharmacy teams supply amorolfine nail lacquer over the counter (OTC) for the treatment of mild fungal nail infections quickly and safely, in line with its marketing authorisation. 

It covers all the considerations before supply and includes handy flowchart to help you with decision-making, as well as a summary of the product information so you can be satisfied that the supply will be clinically suitable and used responsibly and appropriately.

Amorolfine is licensed as a pharmacy (P) medicine and available OTC as amorolfine 5% medicated nail lacquer. It’s indicated to use in mild fungal nail infections (onychomycosis) in people aged 18 years or older.

^{Published: 8 September 2016
Updated: 27 February 2026}

Onychomycosis

Onychomycosis is a fungal infection that can affect both fingernails and toenails.

Symptoms of onychomycosis include:

1. Brittle and/or broken parts of the nail
2. Changes to the nail spreading along the length of the nail towards the nail base
3. Debris accumulating under the nail, causing scaling and distortion of the nail
4. Thickening of the nail
5. Turning yellow/white in colour at the tip.

Differential diagnosis

There are a variety of other conditions that could cause nail changes, resembling fungal nail infections, such as: 

• Eczema
• Lichen planus
• Nail trauma
• Psoriasis
• Tumour of the nail bed
• Yellow nail syndrome.

Ideally, suspected onychomycosis should be confirmed by microscopy. However, given that treatment is unlikely to cause harm, OTC medicines can be given without a positive diagnosis.

For further information on amorolfine and onychomycosis see Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) website and NHS.UK website.