Pharmacist

Back Menu
Take This Know This What If Comments

 

 


Nail fungus is difficult to treat. Let's take a look.

Pharmacist

The objective here is to outline the steps involved in the treatment of nail fungus. You will then have to make a decision on how you want to proceed.

To start with, you will have to see a doctor for the treatment of nail fungus. Preferably a podiatrist.

Don't be fooled by the "before and after" pictures of toenails and fingernails on the boxes of over-the-counter anti-fungal liquid advertised for nail fungus. If you read carefully, it would tell you it is not effective on nails. Go figure.

They are only effective for the surrounding skin areas and not the nail plate. The reasoning is that some toenail fungi infection does spread to the surrounding skin area and some do come with an athlete's foot. If the athlete's foot goes away, then you've gotten your money's worth.

So don't even waste your money on OTC anti-fungi medications if you think you are looking at a nail fungus.

With this in mind, see what is recommended below.

Lady with nail fungus


Keep this in mind

1. With prescription medications, the cure rate for fingernail infection is probably about 70%, and 50 to 68% for toenail infections.

2. Even if treatment is successful, the nails may appear abnormal for over a year because of their slow growth.

3. Relapse occur in about 20 - 25% of treated nail fungus.

Lady's feet

4. You may have to apply prescription topical solutions or nail lacquer for up to a year. Should the doctor decide to give you the tablets, you may have to take it for up to 6 weeks for fingernail infection and 12 weeks for toenail.

woman applying nail lacquer

To make matters worse, some insurance don't cover these prescription medications. Those that do, require prior authorization. The doctor will have to fill out a form stating the medical necessity for the treatment. According to them, it is a cosmetic issue and not a medical problem. Your doctor may have to write something like if it is not treated, your finger is going to fall off or it is going to lead to a secondary bacteria infection or something.

5. You may have to do a liver function test before you take some of the oral medications.

 

Know this

See a doctor. Preferably a podiatrist due to the long term commitment involved. Skip urgent care even if it is swollen.

If you have athlete's foot, start treating that now with over-the-counter athlete's foot creams.

Know that if not treated, it may grow leading to a gradual destruction of the nail plate.

If not treated, it may spread to other nails or lead to bacteria infection.

It may become painful at some point or lead to a disfigured nail.

These information provided are to give you an idea of what you are looking at. If it is pretty bad, see a doctor now to get started.

There is some good news in all these. Some nail fungus do clear on their own and it is not life threatening. But you may start avoiding the beaches or swimming pool due to the feeling of stigmatization.

 

OTC medications

Nothing over-the-counter will treat a nail fungus.

Over-the-counter medications are for taking care of the skin surrounding the nails. Don't waste your money if this is not what you want to achieve. The idea is that, if the affected surrounding skin area improves, then you have gotten your money's worth. If you read the product label carefully, it will tell you that it does not cure the nail fungus. Go figure.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 08/30/2018

 

 

 

Know this about the safe and effective use of this recommendation.
Article photo

Our disclaimer

  • Recommendation is the opinion of a registered US Pharmacist currently practicing as a community pharmacist.
  • Recommendation is not an attempt to discuss all possible self care or treatment approach to this health challenge.
  • The responsibility of the recommending pharmacist is limited to this question:
    "If a patient presents with these symptoms, what will you recommend and why?"
    It is not an attempt to publish an article on the treatment of any condition. Just what would you tell a patient who present with so and so in the usual course of your practice.
  • The pharmacist image presented in this article may or may not be the actual image of the authoring pharmacist.
    Because we insist on using articles written by currently practicing community pharmacists, these pharmacists may choose to remain anonymous especially if they are employed by an employer to avoid being pressured to recommend a particular product to drive sales.
  • Please read the policies and terms of use for self-care OTC, selfcarepharmacist.com and it's affiliates by clicking on the button below.

 

 

 

 

What if you are currently experiencing the conditions listed below?

Or if you have a question for the pharmacist?
Pharmacist


You have a question

Please contact the pharmacist. He or she will gladly answer your questions.

Contacting the pharmacist

You may have to unlock the contact form using social networking tools (facebook, twitter, google+, linkedIn) we have made available to you.

If you would rather not do this, you will have to wait a few seconds depending on the number of users at the time.

Unlock Socially


What to expect

  • Expect a reply as soon as possible.
  • If the pharmacist cannot reply within 24 hours, the system will push your email to the rest of the team. Any available pharmacist will answer your question as soon as possible.
  • If you have a comment and not a question, please post it in the comments section for all to read.

What we can't do:

  • We do not reply to vulgar, disrespectful emails. Our system is programmed to look for certain words that are disrespectful and will automatically delete such emails. They don't get to the pharmacist. This will blacklist your email address automatically.
  • We do not save your email address or questions. It is deleted once answered and never stored in a database. So if you have to follow up, copy the previous question(s) along with your new message for quick reference.
  • The pharmacist does not reply to emails that are not relevant to the topic he or she authored. Such emails may be forwarded to the author of the related topics and they are under no obligation to reply.
  • While we encourage pharmacists to respond to questions, they are under no obligation to answer questions.

 

 

 

 

 

No comments or ratings on this recommendation yet. How about being the first to say something?
Pharmacist

 

 

Leave a comment Why?


  • Let others know if the recommendation worked for you.
  • Share your treatment outcome with others.
  • Add to the recommendation.
  • Improve on the recommendation.
  • Quickest way to ask a pharmacist a question.
  • What about you answering a question?