Treating a Real Problem: Toenail Fungus

 

 

Toenail fungus is not just an embarrassing problem, it's a real health problem that can affect your quality of life. As the nails get thicker and more deformed, they can cause infection or cause ingrown nails. If you have diabetes or some other immune problem, it can become a real health threat.

People say to me, "Why do I have fungus in my toenails? I'm not a dirty person." Well, that's not how you get nail fungus. In fact, probably one of the most common causes is trauma to the nail, and that trauma can come from something as simple as a shoe rubbing too much on your toenail. Or, perspiration inside your shoes, which is a great environment for fungus to grow.

There are a lot of ways to treat nail fungus. If you go to a pharmacy, you'll see a whole row of products for treating nail fungus, but none of them work really well. There are topical medicines that you need to paint on several times a day and have to use for at least a year, and at best they have about a 30 percent success rate. There are oral antifungal medications, which do have about a 40 - 50 percent chance of working, but they have some health concerns especially as pertains to your liver.

There is also a laser treatment for toenail fungus. We've been offering laser treatment of toenail fungus at The Foot & Ankle Center for the last three years. In fact, we were the first clinic regionally to have an FDA-approved laser. We've done thousands of procedures and have had good results, especially in patients for whom other treatments had failed. There is no significant pain during the procedure, and it takes about 20 minutes.

Take the first step to get rid of ugly toenail fungus — request an appointment for a consultation.

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