It's that time of year again, when we are all hiding our toes in shoes during these cold winter months.Even in Central Florida this weekend we hit below 40 degrees! But we all know that as we thaw out from the winter cold we will be excited to go back to our sandals and flip flops. Not everyone will be as excited as the next guys. There are many of you out there suffering with unsightly nail fungus that want to wear the sandals and flip flops, but will cover those tootsies up instead!
We would like to give you reasons why not to wait one more second to treat your nail fungus! The number one reason to not ignore your nail fungus even one more second is because it takes FOREVER to get rid of your nail fungus! Even with the latest technology to help improve the appearance of the nails, like the PinPointe Laser we have in our offices, nail fungus is slow to progress after treatment for a couple of years. So the sooner you get started with your treatment the better chance you have to healthier prettier toe nails.
Over the last several years, our personal approach to treating nail fungus with the PinPointe laser has changed. Currently, we offer patients many choices to help improve the appearance of their nails. I tell every patient that they will be treating their nail fungus for a long time, they need to have a realistic expectation of the time it takes to win the war on nail fungus. I also tell every patient that they need to have a home course of care established as well. And we spend a lot of time talking about avoiding reinfection by avoiding places like pedicures and other high risk places like showers in a gym.We also speak with the patient about the other big place they get reinfected, which is their shoes! Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest culprits of reinfection for many people. Fungus is not like bacteria, fungus does not require a live host to thrive. Translation is, fungus will slough off in your shoes with your dead skin cells and can live for quite some time, you put your shoe back on and BAM you get reinfected! I tell patients to give their shoes the "sniff test" if your shoes smell like corn chips, it's time to throw them out. But for the shoes that do not stink I recommend a shoe sterilizer. In many studies, the UV light shoe has been proven to kill the fungus and molds that are common causes of nail fungus. Below I have attached a couple different ones I found on AMAZON.com. Well worth the investment for healthy feet.
Besides sterilizing your shoes, the after care for the laser requires you to use a topical medication. Some people choose a prescription medication and others want a cheaper but effective alternative. We discuss both with our patients. When prescription is not an option due to price we often recommend the products below that are a small fraction of the cost of the prescription medication and if used on a regular routine can work very well to protect your investment of the laser. (Topicals will not cure the fungus but can prevent re-infection and prevent your current fungus from getting worse.)
If you are interested in the laser it is best to come in and see Dr. McGowan or Dr. Henne for a consultation. At our website http://centeranklefootcare.com/id17.html you can go to our Laser Center page to read on and learn more about nail fungus and the laser as a treatment option.
