Synopsis: India’s unchecked market for topical steroids and irrational antifungal combinations is driving a growing cross-border medical emergency. Dermatologists from Nepal and Bangladesh say cheap Indian products, often sold as unlabelled “beauty creams”, are fuelling dangerous practices, including the use of reserve antifungals intended for life-threatening infections. Experts warn that without coordinated regulation and strict prescription controls, the subcontinent risks entering a future in which even routine fungal diseases may become difficult to treat.

India’s uncontrolled sale of topical steroids and irrational antifungal combinations is no longer a domestic crisis. It has become a cross-border medical emergency, disrupting fungal treatment patterns across the subcontinent.

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