Let Your Feet See the Summer Sun with Nail Fungus Treatment Options
During this time of year, we all tend to wear open-toe shoes and sandals due to the warm summer weather. Many people, however, suffer from a condition called Onychomycosis; also known as nail fungus. Oftentimes, people with this type of infection patients don’t want to expose their feet to the summer sun for others to see because the discoloration can be embarrassing. These types of infections can be hard to treat with 100% recovery, however, there are many treatment options that are employed to solve the problem and get your feet exposed to the summer sun again.
As this is a pesky problem, we typically offer many treatments to nail the issue – no pun intended. These treatments include medicated foot soaks, topical medicine, oral medication and laser therapy.
More and more recently we are finding that when treating these infections and doing nail cultures to determine the underlying problem, the results are showing a high level of bacterial involvement. This discovery is leading to treating the issue with antibacterial medicated foot soaks as one of the ways we address the issue.
Recommendations during treatment include making sure to keep all toenail polish off the nails and to make sure to file the dorsal aspect (top layer) of the nails weekly. This will help to ensure to reduce the thickness of the nail and allow a freshened area of the nail for the topicals to absorb to increase the success rate of the treatment.
The nails can also become thickened and discolored due to trauma inside shoes. Make sure your shoes fit properly and are not too narrow. This will help to ensure less trauma to the nails and also help to ensure a better result during the treatment and recovery from the issue.
The oral medication is a good treatment, however, the medicine that is prescribed is processed through the body’s liver. Despite the fact that the medicine is a strong, but safe option, treatment should be monitored by you and your physician properly, as the protocol with oral medication will require blood work to test for liver function.
Laser therapy is another safe and highly effective treatment method with no risks or complications. This has been a great alternative to oral medication. The procedures are not covered by insurance, but to have the laser treat what has been a long suffering issue for some patients rather quickly and effectively, it can be worth the aggravation and investment.
Contact us here at Gulf South Foot and Ankle for a proper evaluation and consider a treatment protocol that best fits your needs.