Laser Treatment For Toenail Fungus Showing Promising Results

By Allyson Burke


It is a very common problem. You probably know at least one person who suffers with this condition. There have been some very promising results with laser treatment for toenail fungus. Although it is a relatively new procedure, it seems to be quite successful so far.

Toe fungus looks very ugly. It can cause the nails to become hard, thick, and discolored. It can also cause them to become very soft and start to peel. It sometimes results in the total loss of the toenail. It is more common in the elderly and is much more prevalent in males than in females.

Dermatophytes is the name for the fungi that cause this particular condition. This type of fungi thrive in moist, dark places like showers or gyms. One or more nails may be affected. The first signs are usually small, white spots on the nail. It gets in by a cut or under the nail. In some people, it seems to spread rather easily.

Common other treatments are both oral medications and/or topical medications. Neither, however, have been terribly successful. The oral medications are successful about fifty percent of the time, and the topical usually only work about ten percent of the time. It had typically been difficult to treat. It also tends to reoccur even when the treatments do work.

Lasers seem to be a much better solution for this condition. The doctor uses a special laser for a brief time period. This causes the fungi to heat up. It is then vaporized and killed. The doctor has the choice of using various wavelengths. He bases how much to use by looking at the severity of each individual patient's case.

The good news is that no adverse side effects seem to occur when this technique is used. In contrast, the oral medications did have some negative effects on some patients. This procedure can be done in the doctor's office. It usually takes approximately 20 minutes. Another positive is that neither the nail nor the toe is damaged when this technique is used. Shoes can be worn immediately after the procedure is done. Some more severe cases may take more than one treatment. The doctor should discuss this with you in advance.

At the present time, this procedure is not covered by most medical insurance plans. They see it as a cosmetic procedure instead of a medical one. The cost is something else you can discuss with your doctor.

There have been promising results with using laser treatment for toenail fungus. It seems to be effective for about ninety percent of the users. It may take a long time for the healthy nail to grow back. More studies are being done to test for its long term results. With other types of treatments, the problem has come back with some patients. This procedure is so new that it is unclear if it will be a long term solution. However, so far it seems to be the best way available to deal with this condition. Be sure to talk with your doctor to see if he believes this is a good option for you to try.




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