Toenail Fungus Treatment – What Doctors Recommend?
Toenail fungus infection can prove to be very painful and unsightly and you should treat it as soon as you can. There are several ointments you can buy from the chemist but it is best to consult a doctor before you start with any one of them. In certain cases surgery may be needed to remove the infected nail.
Are your toenails turning yellow? Have they become brittle and flaky? Well in all likelihood you are suffering from toenail fungus. Never heard of it? Well many people suffer from it without even knowing what it is and what is to be done about it. Toenail fungus is caused by fungi called dermatophytes. It can affect you if you have a family history, suffer from poor health, suffered any kind of trauma or use occlusive footwear. You must be wondering about the toenail fungus treatment.
When it comes to toenail fungus treatment you need to understand the treatment can be difficult and no treatment can guarantee against future recurrence. You will be able to get quite a few ointments and antifungal creams at the chemist’s shop but these are not very effective. In case you are suffering from athlete’s foot along with the toenail fungus your primary concern should be treating the athlete’s foot. First threat the athlete’s foot by applying topical medication and while doing so always remember to keep your feet dry and clean. Once your athlete’s foot is taken care of you can effectively treat toenail fungus.
If you want the best toenail fungus treatment the first thing you need to do is consult a doctor. The doctor will give you some antifungal medicines. The best medicine for toenail fungus is Itraconazole and Terbinafine. The doctor is likely to prescribe oral medication if you have a history of cellulitis, diabetes or other risk factors and are in severe pain because of the infection. In case you want to treat the infection because it is too unsightly the doctor is likely to give you oral drugs. These medicines usually take at least 12 weeks to show the result and it helps new infection- free nail to grow replacing the infected one.
Other kinds of toenail fungus treatment the doctor might recommend are the Topical medications and the Antifungal Lacquer. In case of the former you will be asked to apply topical antifungal creams along within lotions containing urea on the infected area. The urea will speed up the absorption process of the medicine making it more effective. To make the topical medicine more effective the doctor may file your nail surface. In case of antifungal lacquer he may prescribe ciclopirox- a kind of antifungal nail varnish. You have to apply the nail varnish on the infected nail and its surrounding area once daily. After a week you remove the varnish with alcohol and apply fresh coat. Continue this for a year and you will get amazing results.
If none of these toenail fungus treatment are effective in your case and the pain refuses to subside the doctor might ask you to undergo a surgery to remove the infected nail. A new and uninfected nail will grow in place of the removed one but it may take as long as one whole year. At times surgery along with ciclopirox is used to heal the nail bed.
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Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: toenail fungus treatment