Laser Fungus Treatment Effectiveness

How effective is laser treatment for toenail fungus.

Laser fungus treatment effectiveness. But what is the process if you use laser therapy for toenail fungus and what can you expect you ask. Talk with your doctor if self care strategies and over the counter nonprescription products haven t helped. Toenail fungus is very difficult to eradicate. It can be either performed in a clinic.

Luckily laser therapy for toenail fungus is now an option. Laser therapy is a treatment for toenail fungus infection onychomycosis a hard to treat infection that changes the appearance and texture of the nail there are several types of laser treatment options including those that use light and those that use carbon dioxide co2. Even when effective it s not uncommon for the fungus to return. Laser treatment of toenail fungus success rate the past treatment option with anti fungal medications seems undesirable because they do not penetrate deep enough in order to eradicate the fungus.

Sinai and director of the juva skin laser center in new york ny. Since 2010 more than a handful of laser devices have been fda approved and are used with success by podiatrists as a safe quick effective form of treatment. The theory is that a precisely directed laser can eliminate the fungus without harming the surrounding nail tissue. The q clear protocol is a significant improvement over earlier laser systems.

Recently lasers are being used to treat toenail fungus. There is not a great deal of published data on this treatment and only one laser machine is currently fda approved for this primary purpose. In clinical studies the q clear laser system demonstrated a 97 rate of significant clearance of each treated nail. Effectiveness of laser treatment for nail fungus approximately 12 of americans are affected by this fungus according to the academy of dermatology.

Katz clinical professor at the icahn school of medicine at mt. Since the 1960s the laser has been used to treat various medical conditions. Most nails treated by a q clear laser achieve substantially complete improvement after only a single treatment. Laser treatment is expensive a full treatment series runs around 1 000 and it isn t usually covered by health insurance.

How effective is the q clear laser system. Only hot lasers work because it is the heat from the laser that destroys the fungus concludes dr. According to harvard medical school toenail fungus laser treatment is a painless process with no known side effects. Two lasers using different types of laser energy have attracted attention as treatments for fungal infection of the toenails a condition called onychomycosis pronounced oh nee koh my koh sis which can also affect the fingernails.

Fungal nail infections can be difficult to treat. Laser treatments for nail fungus do work but it has to be done properly explains dr. It can take months to see results.