Nail Fungus – Lasers Prove Viable Treatment Option

Are you embarrassed to wear your favorite pair of shoes because of toenail fungus? Have all the prescription medications failed? If so, it’s time to take the next step with laser toenail fungus removal.

You may trip over the pronunciation of “onychomycosis,” but it’s the term for nail fungus. Nail fungus is caused by fungi that cause superficial infections of nails, skin, and hair. This infection represents over 50% of all nail disorders and affects the toenails in the majority of adults.

Most patients recognize toenail fungus as yellowish/greenish discoloration, thickening, and in some advanced cases, lifting of the nail. The cuticles may also become red and tender. Unfortunately, there are limited options, and many available topical and oral medications have long treatment programs with high recurrence rates.

For topical medications, penetration of the nail is always a challenge. When oral medications are used, the concerns over how these may affect the liver is a concern. For the elderly or those with immune system problems, this is heightened concern. Monitoring lab values for liver enzymes is a requirement when using these oral medications which leads to more time and effort for the patient.

Although there are limited long-term studies, research reveals a disappointing success rate of between 40 and 50% failure for oral medications, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4106353/.

This is where lasers enter the picture. LASERS are high powered LIGHT and HEAT that come together to produce a very good alternative to traditional toe fungus medications. The concept is to use LASERS to destroy the fungus with heat.

At Celibre Medical, we use two different lasers to reach a level of heat/light that has led to over a 95% success rate with patients. Although “success” may not be realized for a few months until the new nail bed begins to grow at the base of the cuticle, early cosmetic benefits of improved color/texture of the nails are often observed in the first few weeks of treatment.

There is no downtime with treatments, and only with mild to moderate heat discomfort during the short treatment. Most treatment plans end after a series of three treatments performed once weekly

https://celibre.com/toenail-fungus-treatment/

Lori Ishii Haney

RN, MEP-C, ANS
Certified Medical Laser Safety Officer
Diplomate of the American Board of Lasers and Surgery