Nail Fungus

A fungal nail is an infection characterized by a change in the nails colour, thickness, and quality. It is also known as onychomycosis. It may cause pain and difficulty in walking. Nail fungus is unsightly and may smell bad and be a source of embarrassment.

Nail fungus is an embarrassing chronic condition that impacts a patient’s quality of life and can lead to serious health problems for those with diabetes or immune disorders. It is a difficult infection because it is under and inside the nail, which makes it hard for other procedures to reach and destroy the infection.

Laser provides new hope for your patients who suffer from onychomycosis. In fact, clinical studies show that after a single procedure, more than 70% of patients experienced sustained improvement.*

Studies estimate that fungal nail infections affect three to five percent of the population. However, podiatrists believe that because so many cases go
unreported, the incidence is much higher.

Until recently, sufferers of onychomycosis had few options for successfully
treating this embarrassing condition. Often, the treatments could take months
or even longer with limited success. Unlike Laser treatment for toenail fungus infection, most oral medicines to treat toenail fungus (such as Lamisil) have potential risks and side effects that can eliminate them from usage to treat toenail fungus infection. Topical toenail fungus treatments for toenail fungal infection and fingernail fungal infection also have significant precaution in that one should never use Lamisil cream for toenail fungus infections in children. It should not be used to treat toenail fungus in expectant and lactating women as well. Lamisil cream to treat toenail fungus contains some ingredients that are harmless to most people but can cause serious complications in very young children and unborn babies.

The use of laser for treating onychomycosis is well accepted. Clinical success rates are in the 80 to 95% range. Laser light is absorbed into the target area and destroys the fungus. It is believed that the laser affects the ability of the fungus to reproduce. The laser toenail fungus treatment  targets the fungal infection in the toenail and the area below called the toenail matrix. Laser toenail fungus treatment will destroy the fungal infection and is relatively painless. The specific wavelength of the laser toenail fungus treatment targets only the living fungi. In this course participants  acquire the knowledge and skill to perform laser nail fungus therapy and it is suitable for Podiatrists, MD’s, Nurse Practitioner’s, Physician Assistant’s and related health care providers.