The Best Time to Treat Fungal Nails
One of the benefits of living outside of New Orleans is the winter weather. It’s cool and wet, but it’s rare to get those icy storms that affect places even just a little to the north of us. Even so, sensible people wear closed-toed and weather-proof shoes instead of sandals this time of year. All that time in shoes can keep issues like embarrassing fungal nails hidden. After all, it’s “out of sight, out of mind.” However, now is the time to treat fungal nails and eliminate them instead of letting them fester—particularly if you want to show off your toes in sandals this summer!
Fungal nails take a while to recover. Once the infection has been eradicated, you still have to wait for the damaged keratin to grow out for your nails to look clear again. Unfortunately, it can take several months for you to even see a difference in your nails. That’s why treating them right away is so important.
There are lots of ways to treat fungal nails, from topical to oral medications. Topical medicines—antifungal creams, ointments, sprays, and powders—kill the pathogens on the surface of your nails and skin. Medicated nail lacquers are another option. Prescription oral medication travels through the blood stream to reach the nail bed and destroys the infection there. Putting these two together is an effective way to get rid of the problem.
Our PinPointe laser treatment may be able to target the fungus without damaging the nail itself. You can also have the damaged section of your nail excised and the infection cleaned out of the nail bed below it. This is particularly helpful if the infection is severe or painful. It gets rid of the unsightly and uncomfortable nail, deals with the fungus, and allows new, healthy keratin to grow back right away. Our Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC team can help you figure out the best treatments for you own toes.
If you’re already self-conscious about your nails, but want to be able to show them off, now is the time to get started. Don’t wait! Give your feet time to heal and look beautiful again before summer gets here. The sooner you deal with the fungus, the easier it is to get rid of it. Call Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC at (504) 708-4810 to make an appointment to deal with it right away.