Laser treatment for toenail fungus?

[Wade Lippman]

Has anyone had this? What were the results?
Medication doesn't do anything. My dermatologist doesn't do it, and says it doesn't always work, but recommended a clinic that does it.
It is not cheap and insurance doesn't cover it, but it would be great to find a cure.

[Thomas McCurnin]

My doctor said it doesn't work. I just live with the disease and once a year have my podiatrist cut away the infected nails, which is actually fairly painful.

[Tom M King]

I had it on one. I sprayed Clorox Cleanup on it a couple of mornings before I put on my socks and it went away. I thought it might burn, but it didn't.

[roger wiegand]

My podiatrist, who sells a fair share of witchcraft in his practice, says he won't do it because it doesn't work. I'm inclined to believe him. The only proven approach is systemic antifungal drugs. The side effect profile of these drugs is sufficiently bad that I'd need to be having a whole lot worse problem to be willing to take them. Since it's what I worked on for a long time I'd also worry about selecting a drug resistant strain and then being hosed if I ever needed to be immune suppressed and ended up with an untreatable fungal infection. I just live with the toe fungus.

[Brian Elfert]

At least half of my toenails have fungus. One of my big toes is so bad I can barely cut the toenail with a clipper. I broke a clipper some years back trying to trim it. My family doctor (now retired) removed one of my big toenails in his office because it was so bad and causing a fair bit of pain.

The doctor gave me medication to try to kill the fungus, but I had to alternate weeks taking the medication. The medication can damage the liver so that is why I had to alternate weeks. Normally, you need regular liver function tests while taking the medication. The medication did not kill it all off and it is nearly as bad again.

[Pat Germain]

Wow, the situation seems pretty bleak and is most disconcerting. Strange how something seemingly so simple can confound modern medicine.

[Mel Fulks]

I had it on one. I sprayed Clorox Cleanup on it a couple of mornings before I put on my socks and it went away. I thought it might burn, but it didn't.

I’ve heard of that method. Pretty sure Tom knows about “ toe nailing” .
There are ‘over the counter remedies’ too.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Wow, the situation seems pretty bleak and is most disconcerting. Strange how something seemingly so simple can confound modern medicine.

Obviously, it's not so simple. My last two physcians wouldn't prescribe the medicine for me because of the side effects of damaging the liver. I just live with it.

[Ted Calver]

A friend who is a nail technician recommends tea tree oil.

[Brian Deakin]

I am a retired pharmacist and live in the Uk (https://mail.aol.com/d/3/edit/1316341050#)
A number of years ago there was a trend for using teatree (https://mail.aol.com/d/3/edit/1316341050#) oil
I think it would be probably be as effective as rubbing your toe nail with a dollar bill



The link below may be helpful but always discuss all healthcare decisions with a doctor first

The target audience for this CKS topic is healthcare professionals working within the NHS in the UK, and providing first contact or primary healthcare.


https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/fungal-nail-infection/management/management/

[Bill Howatt]

I got a page that said site only available in UK,...

[Alan Rutherford]

Looks like the CKS info is only available in the UK. Here are a couple of reputable sources for the rest of us:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2600469

(https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2600469)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162761/

[Ole Anderson]

Dropped a manhole cover on my big toe 15 years ago and ended up with fungus under the nail. Having some pain recently so my doctor suggested I try an 8% solution of Ciclopirox anti-fungal applied as a toenail polish daily. Didn't hold out much hope it would work, but I can't take the oral drugs. Said it would take months if it worked at all. A month in and I see little change.

[Alan Rutherford]

I think a lot of things will work - vinegar is another one - but it can take months or a year for a toenail to grow out and you need to keep applying.