In
medicine, a
finger tip unit (
FTU) is defined as the amount of
ointment,
cream or other semi-solid
dosage form expressed from a tube with a 5mm diameter nozzle, applied from the distal skin-crease to the tip of the
index finger of an adult. The "distal skin-crease" is the skin crease over the joint nearest the end of the finger. One FTU is enough to treat an area of skin twice the size of the flat of an adult's hand with the fingers together, i.e. a “handprint”. Two FTUs are approximately equivalent to 1g of topical
steroid.