ONYCHOMYCOSIS
If you have been infected with onychomycosis, laser treatment is the solution to your problem. Onychomycosis is the fungal infection of the nail which causes changes and deformities in nail appearance and texture.
The changes, that take place gradually and deteriorate with the passage of time, include:
- Discolouration, commonly tending to yellowish, white or brown
- Degradation of the nail into flakes or powder on or below the nail surface
- Separation of the nail from the nail bed (onycholysis)
- Brittling of the nail or changes in texture
- Deformity/ distortion of the nail, ie. Increased curvature
Typical treatment of onychomycosis is oral medication as it is more effective than topical applications. However, oral medication may often be avoided in some cases due to side effects or incompatibility with parallel medication and drug interactions. Given that onychomycosis is a serious and not easily treatable condition, new Laser treatments are attracting particular attention as they can attain complete eradication of the fungi in some cases. One should bear in mind, though, that risk of recurrence is high even following effective treatment.
Application
During treatment, laser apparatus conveys heating to the targeted tissues via pulsed mode. This heating is proposed to reach the nail bed where fungi are usually found to cause the destruction of fungal structures and thereby to eradicate the fungal infection of the nail. The fact that laser beams can penetrate the nail plate makes it the optimal theurapetic regimen for onychomycosis.
With the use of laser pulsar beam or various wavelength energy beam we can reduce heat, so the procedure is completely painless and well tolerated. However, the patient may report mild heat during application.
In the first laser session, the practitioner clinically evaluates the symptoms. Laser can be applied to nail infection of any extent, even to asymptomatic nails.
The duration of the session is commonly 30 minutes or less.
Results can be achieved after the first session, though more than one sessions may be necessary. The optimum result can be achieved after 6-12 months, when we notice normal nail growth and we can assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the application.