Mycelex troche is a 10-milligram antifungal lozenge that you dissolve slowly in your mouth to treat oral thrush. The key to using it correctly is patience: you should not chew or swallow the troche. Instead, let it dissolve completely in your mouth, which typically takes 15 to 30 minutes. The medication works by coating the inside of your mouth and binding to the tissue lining, where it continues killing fungus for up to three hours after the troche is gone.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Place one troche in your mouth and let it dissolve slowly and completely. You can move it around gently with your tongue, but resist the urge to chew or bite down on it. The goal is to keep the medication in contact with the infected tissue for as long as possible. Swallowing the troche whole or crushing it between your teeth defeats the purpose, because the drug needs prolonged contact with the mouth’s surface to work.
The standard dose is one troche five times a day for 14 consecutive days. Spacing doses evenly throughout your waking hours (roughly every three to four hours) helps maintain consistent antifungal levels in your saliva. If you miss a dose, use the troche as soon as you remember, then continue your regular schedule. Don’t double up to make up for one you skipped.
Why the Slow Dissolve Matters
Unlike pills that work after being absorbed into your bloodstream, Mycelex troches work locally. The medication binds directly to the mucous membrane inside your mouth, and the antifungal concentrations in your saliva remain at effective levels for up to three hours after the troche finishes dissolving. Very little of the drug enters your bloodstream at all. This local action is why the dissolving time is so important: the longer the troche stays in your mouth, the more thoroughly it coats the infected areas.
The active ingredient works by blocking fungal cells from building their outer membranes. Without an intact membrane, the fungal cells can’t survive or reproduce. It also disrupts the internal chemistry of fungal cells in several other ways, making it effective against the yeast that causes thrush.
Food, Drinks, and Timing
To get the most out of each dose, avoid eating or drinking while the troche is dissolving. After it’s fully dissolved, it’s also a good idea to wait before eating or drinking so you don’t wash the medication off the tissue where it has settled. Planning your doses between meals or snacks helps the drug maintain contact with the infected areas for as long as possible.
Finishing the Full Course
Fourteen days is the standard treatment length, and it’s important to use all of them even if your symptoms clear up earlier. Oral thrush can look and feel better within a few days, but stopping early gives surviving fungal cells a chance to regrow. The full two-week course is designed to eliminate the infection, not just suppress symptoms.
Who Can Use Mycelex Troches
The troches are approved for adults and children ages 3 and older. They are not appropriate for younger children, partly because of the choking risk and partly because young children are unlikely to let a lozenge dissolve slowly without chewing or swallowing it.
Storage
Store your troches at room temperature, between 68°F and 77°F (20°C to 25°C). Do not freeze them. Keep the container tightly closed and out of reach of children, since the lozenges can look like candy.