: Nail fungus can be treated many ways in Minnesota, but if you don’t maintain the health of your nails, you could get a repeat infection. Your physician will give you instructions on how to take care of your nails to keep them free of fungal infection after treatment. Keeping your feet clean and dry is one of the best ways to prevent another infection. Below is information on treatment options for nail fungus.
Laser treatments
Using a laser to treat nail fungus is very popular in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas now. Many people in Minnesota are coming to their physicians to learn more about this process. It can be a little uncomfortable for some people but the results are amazing. Laser is able to treat the existing nail and the nail matrix. Laser treatments in Minneapolis require more 3 treatments to get the best results. It could take up to 12 months for the new healthy nail to grow.
Oral Medications
Your physician may prescribe an oral antifungal medication. These oral medications will help the nail grow out into a new healthy nail. It is a long process for the nail to grow out so patience is required. It could take up to 12 months. The down side of oral medications is that they can cause liver damage. Skin rashes are also a possible side effect. People with liver disease or heart failure should not take these medications. You need to do lab tests to monitor the liver function during the treatment. The efficacy of oral medications is lower than the laser treatments.
Surgery
In some cases the nail fungal infection is so advanced that causes severe nail deformity and ingrown toenail, both situation are painful with walking, The physician would then recommend removing the nail so that a new healthy nail will grow in its place. It could take up to 12 months for the nail to regrow. Again patience is required. Nail removal may correct the nail deformity and cure ingrown toenail, it is necessary to cure nail fungus. In the most time, you still need the laser treatment or oral medication to clear the fungal infection.
Topical treatments
Along with laser treatments in Minneapolis you physician many recommend over the counter topical ointments such as Lamisil and Lotrimin to help with the surrounding skin tissue as many times there is also athletes foot as well as the nail fungus. Penlac may be prescribed to help with the effectiveness of the nail treatment. It is brushed on like a clear nail polish every day for a week and then taken off with alcohol on the 7th day. It is then repeated for up to 6 months. The efficacy of topical agents alone to treat nail fungus is very low, typically less than 10%, so it is not recommended to use any topical agents alone to treatment nail fungus.
