A Better Solution: Laser Treatment for Fungal Nails

For decades, fungal nail infections were defined by just as much their stubbornness and resistance to treatment as they were by their unsightliness. The sad truth was that foot specialists really didn’t have any great options for treating fungal nails, especially for patients who were older or suffered from liver or heart disease.

The best option we had was oral antifungal medications, and those came with plenty of drawbacks. They took forever, requiring six to twelve weeks of treatments. They were known to cause side effects in some patients, including rashes and liver damage. And the cure rate, which hovered around 70 percent or so, wasn’t even that impressive. If it didn’t work, there wasn’t much else that could be done—and fungal toenails almost never go away on their own, either.

Fortunately, there’s a better way now, and it’s beginning to filter into more and more clinics around the country—including the Foot Specialists of Long Island. It’s laser therapy, and it represents a quantum leap forward over the old way of doing things:

• Laser therapy is more convenient. Instead of daily pills, most patients require only three brief monthly office appointments. Sessions are often short enough to cover on a lunch break!
• Laser therapy is safer. The technology has no known side effects and is not painful. It will not damage any healthy nail or skin tissue—only the fungus.
• Laser therapy is more effective. About 80% of patients will see clear nail growth after three treatments. For those that don’t, an additional one or two booster sessions is usually plenty. The overall cure rates are much higher than oral medications.

Our comprehensive laser treatment packages at the Foot Specialists of Long Island include three treatment sessions for one or both feet. It also includes a UV shoe sanitizer and medicated nail gel; this helps you eliminate common sources of re-infection and keeps your nails looking and feeling soft and clear.