Monday, November 27, 2017

The Time to Act is Now!

Want Beach-Worthy Toenails? The time to take act is now!

One of the more frustrating problems with getting old for some of us is that our toenails can become a problem – yellowed, fungal, crusty, just yuck.  But I promise you, no one needs to think, “I’ll never wear flip-flops again!”.  Your unsightly toenails are indeed treatable.  BUT, it does take some time to get those tootsies in tip-top beach shape.
  You can’t start treatment right before Memorial Day 
and expect beach-worthy toes for the Summer! 
**do your feet look like this?**

To effectively clear a fungal infection in toenails usually takes about 6-12 months.  The first thing that we are going to do is take a small sample of the toenail to make sure that it is definitely a fungal nail infection.  We’ll take a simple nail clipping and send it to a pathology lab where the exact microorganism that is causing the problem can be identified – which allows us to design the most appropriate treatment plan together.  There is a possibility that you don’t have a fungal infection – in which case we’ll have a whole different treatment regimen (that’s a separate blog post).
If we are dealing with a fungal infection, we have three treatment options: 
Option #1  The most effective treatment is oral Lamisil. If you are over the age of 18, healthy, not pregnant or nursing, and have no prior liver problems; then Lamisil can be safe for you to use.  However, there are some occasional side effects associated with Lamisil and we’ll review those together before prescribing to make sure it is appropriate for you. 
Option #2  Topical medication treatment options are also available.  However, these need to be used every single day without interruption for at least one year.  While this can be a bit tedious, there are no systemic side effects associated with topical anti-fungal medications.  Not all topical medications are alike and we’ll talk through which ones have better efficacy and are covered by your insurance.
Option #3  You want to avoid side effects, but you don’t want to take 12 months to rid your nails of fungus?  Then Clearanail micro-drilling might be right for you.  This treatment method creates small micropores in the nail, so that it acts as a matrix to hold the topical medication in and bathes the nail bed – which makes your topical medication more effective, and decreases your treatment time.  Don’t worry, this is a painless procedure (I swear) that is performed in my office.

So if you have been hiding your toes in the sand, unwilling to let those piggies see the sunlight, have no fear….we can treat them!  It just takes some time.  No one can get rid of fungus in a few days or a few weeks.  If you want to make your feet beach-worthy by the Summer, the time to act is now (hint, hint….make an appointment!).  

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