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Laser Treatment

Is laser Treatment For Nail Fungus Useful?

When your nail gets infected with nail fungus it could turn yellow and become thick. Sometimes it could smell bad as well. On visiting your doctor he may prescribe you ointments, lotions and powders to apply on the affected fingernail or toenail. Alongside he may prescribe you oral medications to take. Perhaps you may get cured within a few weeks. Then all of a sudden you may find the nail fungus reappearing. So you start wondering whether there is indeed any absolute cure for nail fungus. The problem with nail fungus is that it has a tendency to reoccur.

But now there is a ray of hope. One of the newer treatments for nail fungus is laser therapy. Laser therapy can be had even if you were currently on topical and oral medications. It is worthwhile having a look at how laser treatment for nail fungus works. Perhaps this kind of treatment could be ideal for you.

Lasers provide a safe, efficient and easily performed option for treating nail fungus.

How does laser treatment work to cure nail fungus?

Essentially this treatment uses lasers to cure nail fungus. When a laser is used, it simply heats and melts away the fungus. It does not harm your skin but gets to work on the fungus by vaporizing them and kills them instantaneously. It’s a kind of pin-pointed and focused therapy for getting rid of the fungus.

Costs

Right now the cost of treatment is on the higher side because the technology is new. How much does the treatment cost? Laser treatment of toenail fungus is expensive. Depending on the extent of toenail fungus, the costs could be anywhere in the range of $200-500.

Side effects

Laser therapy for nail fungus does not cause side effects like oral medicines and topical creams, ointments, lotions etc.

What about the safety aspect? As a matter of fact you will not feel any pain nor does the laser harm your muscles or tissues. Laser treatment is essentially safe. In fact you will feel better after just one session of treatment.

Even after repeated treatments with laser the damage to the skin is nil. So even if your nail fungus is a serious condition and you have to undergo several sessions of treatment, it would still be perfectly safe.

Duration of laser treatment

Is laser treatment painful and how long does it take?

This depends on the severity of the nail fungus infection you have. Laser therapy for nail fungus is a fairly quick procedure. Results can be seen even after one session of treatment. In some cases laser treatment for nail fungus involves just a few minutes of treatment.

Usually it is done under local anesthesia so no pain is felt. Time taken for laser treatment would be between 10-40 minutes depending on severity. Often just 30 minutes of treatment with lasers is enough to bring appreciable change in most of the nail fungus condition.

Typically topical treatments take about 6-12 months to be effective. If you want to be cured of nail fungus quickly then go in for laser treatment of nail fungus

Is laser treatment for nail fungus beneficial and is the treatment irreversible?

Yes it is. It has been clinically proved that 90% of the people treated started getting normal nail growth after just one episode of treatment. Laser treatment for nail fungus is irreversible and results can last a lifetime. For example, if toenail fungus is treated at the initial stage using laser technology, then it could be effectively cured without chances of relapse.

Both topical and oral medicines exert their medicinal effect on the human body to cure nail fungus. At times this can be toxic for your body. Oral and topical medicines could also cause resistance to treatment in the microorganisms causing the nail fungus. Laser treatment has none of these problems.

Laser treatment for nail fungus is safe and much more effective than drugs. To what extent is it more effective than drugs? The success rate of laser treatment in curing nail fungus is in the range of 80%. But in the case of drugs the success rate is only 15-30%

What types of laser treatments are available for nail fungus?

At present there are 2 technologies available for laser treatment of nail fungus.

Novoen laser

Novoen laser is presently used for hair removal, cataract and dental problems. It is now awaiting FDA approval for treatment of toenail fungus. With Novoen laser, the nail fungus gets destroyed by 2 dissimilar wavelengths of near-infrared light.

PinPointe Foot Laser

It’s been a year since PinPointe Foot Laser has been given FDA approval for nail fungus treatment. Each session of this treatment takes about 40 minutes. Fresh toenails start growing no sooner the damaged one is removed.

Conclusion

If you have nail fungus infection don’t think you have a rare infection. In fact research studies have shown that nail fungus affects 7-10% of U.S. population and 900 million people worldwide. It is more common in elderly people, those who are diabetics and in people with immune system problems. For some people, the fact that they have nail fungus could be a cause of low self esteem, sometimes due to the appearance of the nail, and sometimes due to the odor. Either way laser treatment for nail fungus offers a quick solution to the problem.