Toenail fungus treatment might not all be as easy as you think, especially if you live in the Boston, MA area. It’s easy to get your nail infected with fungus. Furthermore, you can easily catch a fungal infection in moist places like the pool area, gym locker rooms, or even in your sweaty socks. When your nail gets infected, it will become deformed and discolored. What’s difficult is treating your infected nail. It’s difficult because the fungus goes through and under the nail. There are different ways to treat nail fungus: Oral and topical medication, surgery, and laser treatment.
What is toenail fungus?
Toenail fungus starts when fungal spores get trapped in the cracks of the nails or cuts surrounding the nails. As the infection progresses, it’s common to see discoloration and thickening of the nails. Thick nails become really hard to trim. This may also cause pain when wearing shoes. Sometimes the nails may also become very brittle and may start crumbling. Patients may lose the whole nail due to the infection. In other cases, the nails start lifting and can get caught on things that may cause additional pain. It is best to treat the infection as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the worse the infection will get.
Commonly, fungal nail infections are due to a lack of footwear in public places. This is due to the fact that fungus thrives in warm, dark, and moist environments. The most common places to catch a fungal infection are public showers, gym locker rooms, and public swimming pools.
Additionally, people with weakened immune systems might also be more likely to contract toenail fungus. And if your feet tend to get sweaty often, make sure you change your shoes often and wear socks that dry easily.
Common Toenail Fungus Symptoms
Below are some common toenail fungus symptoms that people experience when they are first infected. Make sure to see a nail doctor if you do start to experience any of these symptoms.
- Discoloration on the toenail
- This includes yellow, white, clouded, brown, and even black nails
- Brittle nails
- The toenail becomes brittle, loosened, and malnourished
- Thickened toenails
- This makes it difficult to cut your nails and keep them maintained
- Smelly toenails
- In some cases, toenail fungus can make your toenails smelly and stinky
Tips on how to avoid Toenail Fungus
Avoiding toenail fungus can be easier than you think. During the summertime, people are more prone to getting toenail fungus infections. If you believe you have a toenail fungus infection, schedule a consultation to see one of our nail doctors.
- Always wear shoes in public areas
- This includes public swimming pools, gyms, locker rooms, and public showers/bathrooms.
- Never share nail clippers with anyone
- If someone who has a toenail fungus infection uses your nail clippers, you can get infected as well
- Always disinfect your nail clippers
- Make sure to sanitize your nail clippers and any other nail tools you use to maintain your nails
- Avoid sharing shoes with other people
- Sometimes people who share shoes can get infected with toenail fungus, especially if no socks are worn
- Avoid wearing the same closed-toe shoes for an extended period of time during hot weather
- This allows for the perfect warm, moist environment for toenail fungus to develop in your shoes
Treatment Options
A doctor may prescribe oral antifungal drugs such as Lamisil and Sporanox that would need to be taken for a certain period of time. These medications may come with side effects like a skin rash or even liver damage. There are also topical treatments like medicated nail polish or nail creams. These topical treatments take a longer time to cure the infection and may harm the skin around your nails. For severe infections, some doctors may suggest nail removal.
Laser Treatment is the easiest and most efficient way to cure nail fungus. The laser would penetrate beneath the nail and kill the fungus that infects the nail. As a result, it only requires one treatment and does not come with any pain or side effects.
Laser Treatment for Nail Fungus in the Boston, MA area
As you can see, tips for healthy feet without nail fungus can be easy to find. If you have caught nail fungus, it can be easily treated using the FDA-approved PinPointe laser. It typically only takes one treatment. Other treatments, like topical solutions and oral medication, are not as effective. Topical solutions have a very low cure rate. This is because the solution does not penetrate all the way through the nail bed. This is because it can lead to liver toxicity. You would need to have consistent blood tests throughout the course of taking the medication.
Our nail doctors near the Boston area recommend this toenail fungus treatment. The PinPointe Laser treatment has the highest cure rate in the market. It has no side effects and no recovery period. As a result, you can go about your daily activities right after the treatment. Also, there’s no pain. If you have any signs of nail fungus, call us at (800) 672-0625. Visit our website for more information on our doctors at one of our over 150 locations.
