Wednesday 28 January 2015

Treatment for Nail Fungus

Nail fungus, which mostly occurs in your feet, is a common problem troubling many. Your feet support your entire body weight and bear the constant wear and tear. However, neglecting the feet is a common trend among most people, which in turn paves way for a lot of pain and discomfort. One of the major foot problems is nail fungus, which usually occurs when fungus enters the nail through a break or cut in it.

The common symptoms of nail fungus are thick and discolored nails that are either distorted in shape or are brittle/ragged. However, pain at the fingertips or toes is quite uncommon. Nail fungus can lead to severe health issues, if not treated on time. Hence, it is important to treat nail fungus with the help of an expert podiatrist. 

Here are some of the tried and tested methods to cure nail fungus.


Medications


Keeping your nails properly trimmed and filed can help reduce the amount of fungus in the nails. Taking oral antifungal drugs, and applying medicated nail polish as well as nail creams are some of the most common methods that you can follow in order to cure nail fungus.

  • Medicated nail polish – Podiatrists often prescribe antifungal nail polish to combat this disease. You should paint the affected nail and its surrounding skin with this nail polish. It is advisable to apply the nail polish once a day, consecutively for seven days. After that, you can wipe off the piled-on layers and begin fresh application. 
  • Oral antifungal drugs – Doctors often prescribe oral antifungal drugs to treat nail fungus, as they encourage the growth of new nail that can replace the infected nail. Usually, it is advisable to take these drugs for six to twelve weeks. However, it may take as long as four months to eliminate the infected nail completely. People aged over sixty five years are reported to have lesser benefits from such drugs. If suffering from nail fungus, you may get better results by combining topical and oral antifungal therapies.
  • Medicated nail cream – Just like medicated nail polish, nail creams too are often prescribed by podiatrists. You need to rub this cream into the infected nail once you have soaked it in water. It is advisable to make the nail thinner before applying such creams. This will ensure that the cream gets through the hard nail surface to reach the underlying fungus. You may request your foot doctor to thin the surface of the nail using a nail care tool.
In case the medications don’t help, your podiatrist may consider either of these two procedures to treat nail fungus.
  • Surgery to remove the affected nail: Your foot doctor may recommend removing your affected nail in case the infection is very painful or at a severe stage. You shouldn’t worry though, as a new nail will grow in its place, though it may take up to a year. At times, doctors may decide to treat the nail bed by combining a surgery with Ciclopirox.
  • Other therapies: Carbon-dioxide laser treatment and light-based therapy, coupled with medications such as antifungal nail cream, can offer speedy relief and help improve your nails.
If you or anyone you know is troubled by nail fungus, and over-the-counter medicines and products haven't helped much, you should consult your podiatrist right away to get the condition treated.

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