FUNGAL TOENAIL
What is a Fungal Toenail?
Nail fungus is a common condition that begins as a white or yellow spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail. As the fungal infection goes deeper, nail fungus may cause your nail to discolor, thicken and crumble at the edge. It can affect several nails.
Symptoms of Fungal Toenail
- Thickened nail
- Whitish to yellow-brown discoloration
- Distorted nail shape
- Brittle, crumbly or ragged
- Smelling slightly foul
- Dark Color caused by debris building up under your nail
- Crumbling of the outside edges of the nail
- Loosening or lifting up of the nail
Causes of Fungal Toenail
- Skin or nail injuries, also conditions, such as psoriasis
- Walking barefoot in damp communal areas
- Blood Circulation Problems, diabetes or a weakened immune system
- Moist Skin, common in feet that perspire a-lot
- Not Sterilised Utensils, sharing others’ pedicure tools
- Poorly Fitted Shoes, Wearing poorly fitting shoes
When to see a podiatrist?
You may want to see a podiatrist if self-care steps haven’t helped and the nail becomes increasingly discolored, thickened or deformed. Also check with a podiatrist if you have diabetes and think you are developing nail fungus.
Treatments for Fungal Toenail
- Anti-fungal solutions/creams: Your podiatrist may prescribe an antifungal, which you rub into your infected nails after grinding the nail back. These may work better if you first thin the nails. This helps the medication get through the hard nail surface to the underlying fungus.
- Lacuna fungal nail treatment: This involves thinning out the nail and creating little holes around the area of infection. The holes create a route of entry to the anti-fungal to reach the nail bed. You then apply anti-fungal topi-cations daily to kill off the fungus. This procedure needs to be repeated every 3 weeks in order to keep the holes in the nail open.
- Laser treatment: Laser treatment for nail fungus involves first grinding back the nail as much as possible. The laser is then applied to the infected nail and the surrounding tissue. The laser energy targets the fungi with the goal of heating and destroying them. The laser’s heat may penetrate the nail plate, reaching the underlying fungal colonies and potentially inhibiting their growth.
- Nail removal: This involves removing the entire nail under local anesthesia. Daily applications of anti-fungal are applied in order to kill all of the fungus that is embedded into the nail bed. The nail then takes 6-12 months to grow.
Is Fungal Toenail Treatment covered by Private Health Insurances?
Call us to find out whether your fungal toenail treatment is covered by your private health care provider. There are a few things to consider with your private health fund such as your level of cover, your policy waiting periods, annual limits and fund rules. It is important to know what you are up for prior to your visits to avoid unwanted, expensive surprises.