This is a common question that I get asked a lot. Fungus, on the skin or on the toenails, will grow in areas that are dark, warm, and moist. The perfect environment then is your shoes. You tend to perspire inside your shoes and, poof, you now have a toenail fungus.
You then search the internet and see multiple ways of treating toenail fungus, which includes topical and oral medications as well as laser with or without application of a resin, called Keryflex. You see your local NJ Podiatrist and discuss all of the treatment options.
No Side Effects with Laser & Keryflex
You don’t want to take any medication that might affect your liver and you don’t want to apply a topical that might only work 30 percent of the time and you definitely don’t want to apply this medication twice a day for a year. So, you have decided that the best option for you is the laser. At Family Foot & Ankle Specialists, we also use the Keryflex after the laser treatment.
The Keryflex is applied once a month for five months. The Keryflex makes the laser more efficacious, meaning it makes it work better. Remember, that any treatment will take about one year for you to see the best results, this is because we are treating the new nail growing in, not the old, present nail.
Why Does Toenail Fungus Come Back
The cause of the fungus, those shoes you wear, is still present, so, of course your nail fungus can still grow back. This is why we have implemented a preventive maintenance program. Who would want to go through of the trouble to treat the nail fungus just to see it grow back? After the treatments, we recommend using Mycomist inside the shoe, or one can just get a steri-shoe. Steri-shoe looks like a shoe tree that gets plugged into the wall and kills about 99.9% of the junk inside the shoe. It is easy to use, and highly effective.
A Little Laser Goes a Long Way
In addition, like going to the dental hygienist, we recommend coming to our office every six months for another laser treatment. The cost for these additional treatments is nominal, and it will save you loads of time and frustration by preventing the regrowth of the nasty fungus.
If you didn’t like the way your toenails looked this summer, don’t wait too long to get treatment. Now is the time to get rid of this fungus if you want it gone by next summer. In addition, if you had previous treatment, give our office a call, and get on our maintenance program. Your feet will love you.
