Let’s face it: some medical problems are more interesting than others.
For example, there is a disorder called “Foreign Accent Syndrome” in which patients randomly start speaking with a foreign accent (re: not their own), even if they have never been to the country of the accent they are speaking with. .
Another interesting medical condition is “cold urticaria,” in which people are literally allergic to cold. Skin exposed to cold develops a histamine reaction that includes hives, which means a polar bath could cause a life-threatening allergic reaction. It also gives the victim an excellent excuse to move to Bermuda.
But then there is nail fungus.
The only thing exotic about nail fungus is where you got it from. That’s it. And even then, nobody looks at your fungus-infested fingers or toes and says with pleasant curiosity “Oooh, and where did you get that?”
Unlike foreign accent syndrome or cold urticaria, fungal nail infections are quite common and quite treatable. From lasers to pills and creams, there is a wide spectrum of treatment options available for this unsightly problem.
The good news: treatment options have never been better
Historically, nail fungus treatment included rubbing the nail with sandpaper, dipping it in a solution called “potassium permanganate” that dyed the nails and skin brown, or disinfecting shoes with formaldehyde vapor.
Fortunately, treatment options have improved in recent decades.
These days, the medical establishment has devised distinctly modern approaches to treating infected nails. As mentioned above, lasers are the newest (and by far the best) treatment option. Nail fungus professionals have deduced that lasers that emit 1064nm light are the most effective for treating nail fungus, including toenails… Which can be more challenging for nails since they are often thicker and covered with a warm sock or shoe. And mushrooms love to be covered in heat.
However, applying lasers to fungal nails is a relatively new approach to treating toenail fungus. Also, some people are uncomfortable with the idea of lasers burning off the fungus on their nails. For these reasons, your doctor or podiatrist may recommend a more traditional treatment method (ie, pills or creams) or a combination treatment to combat fungus. In the worst case, the nail needs to be surgically removed to allow a new healthy nail to grow properly. Either way, there are safe and effective treatment options to treat nail fungus.
With this in mind, the bottom line of this article should be that there is hope for those struggling with devilish toenail fungus. Prescription pills or over-the-counter creams or super cool lasers, the options for getting rid of nail fungus have never been better.