* Photo: Thomas Hannich * Butenafine Hydrochloride
This antifungal agent is especially effective against the subset of fungi known as dermatophytes (skin plants!), which feed on the epidermis. Nearly 90 percent effective at curing athlete's foot, the compound works by inhibiting sterol production, which increases the permeability of the fungi's plasma membrane, causing the contents of the cells to leak out (in this case onto your foot). Hey, it's better than having itchy feet.
Benzyl Alcohol
The natural anesthetic anti-itch properties of this sweet-smelling substance make it a perfect fit for antifungal medication. Often used as a pharmaceutical solvent, industrial quantities are made by hydrolizing benzyl chloride with soda ash, but we much prefer the old-school method of production: Feed toluene to Cladosporium fungi, which will digest it and excrete benzyl alcohol.
Cetyl Alcohol
Originally refined from sperm whale oil (cetus = whale), this waxy white cream is more properly called hexadecanol and is now made from vegetable oil. It is commonly used as a thickener in skin creams, but if you find that your car's lug nuts are too hard to remove, it's also an excellent water-based grease for screws, bolts, and other mechanical fasteners.
Diethanolamine
Although a mouse tumor scare 10 years ago put this foaming agent in a bad light, the FDA and the EPA say there's no link between DEA and human cancer. But the federal agencies haven't yet weighed in on a University of North Carolina finding that it inhibits fetal brain growth in mice. Maybe this stuff is just a terrific mouse poison — that also happens to be great at making Lotrimin easy to spread between your toes.
White Petrolatum
Nature's Vaseline. Modern man's first contact with this substance was as a waxy effluvia that rose up from oil-drilling rigs, clogging equipment and causing all kinds of other problems. Soon, however, roughnecks started putting it on cuts and burns, because they found that it accelerated healing. Now it's the slippery foundation of a multibillion-dollar industry.
Sodium Benzoate
Biologically based waxes are great for holding medicines in a spreadable cream form, but they go rancid if left around too long. Sodium benzoate (the sodium salt of benzoic acid) is used as a preservative here, and it's a good one. Only about 0.1 percent by volume is enough to properly preserve the product against microorganisms. After all, you wouldn't want an athlete's-foot cream to go all moldy.
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