What is the best treatment for onychomycosis?

What is the best treatment for onychomycosis?

Systemic antifungal agents are the most effective treatment for onychomycosis, but cure rates are much less than 100%. Terbinafine (Lamisil) is the most effective systemic agent available.

What causes onychomycosis?

Onychomycosis is caused by 3 main classes of fungi: dermatophytes, yeasts, and nondermatophyte molds. Dermatophytes are by far the most common cause of onychomycosis. Two major pathogens are responsible for approximately 90% of all onychomycosis cases.

How effective is fungal nail treatment?

Results of treatment Antifungal treatments are thought to be effective in treating about 60-80% of fungal nail infections. It can take between 6 and 18 months for the appearance of the affected nail to return to normal, and in some cases the nail may not look the same as before the infection.

Is onychomycosis curable?

To successfully cure toenail onychomycosis requires long treatment duration that may extend to a full year. Even then, complete cure, defined as clinical cure (implying nail clearing) plus mycological cure (both negative microscopy and dermatophyte culture), is often unattainable.

What are the causes and symptoms of onychomycosis?

Common signs that may be noticeable around the nail area include:

• Discoloration of the nail to white, black, yellow or green.
• Thickening of nail.
• Brittle nails that chip or break easily.
• Discoloration of nail bed and skin around the nail to white or yellow.
• Dry or scaly skin around the nail.
• Foul smell.

Is onychomycosis a skin disease?

The fungus that causes onychomycosis may be of several types, including yeasts, dermatophytes or molds. In almost all the cases, onychomycosis is caused by dermatophytes, which affect not only the nails but also the skin and the hair, that are tissues containing keratin.

What does onychomycosis look like?

Whitish to yellow-brown discoloration. Brittle, crumbly or ragged. Distorted in shape. A dark color, caused by debris building up under your nail.

Is onychomycosis serious?

A severe case of nail fungus can be painful and may cause permanent damage to your nails. And it may lead to other serious infections that spread beyond your feet if you have a suppressed immune system due to medication, diabetes or other conditions.

How is onychomycosis diagnosed?

Staining in the laboratory should be performed with periodic acid-Schiff stain (PAS) or methenamine silver stain to reveal fungal elements. A comparison of diagnostic methods revealed that a nail biopsy and staining with PAS is the most sensitive technique available to diagnose onychomycosis.

What happens if toenail fungus is left untreated?

What happens if onychomycosis is left untreated?

If you have toenail fungus and it goes untreated, you may experience: Pain in your feet and toes due to thickened, distorted toenails. Spread of the fungus to your skin, causing athlete’s foot. Infection of the surrounding areas, causing cracked skin, and increasing bacterial spread.

Does onychomycosis go away?

Fungal infections of the toenails — also known as onychomycosis — don’t go away on their own, and if left untreated, the fungus will spread and can eventually destroy the nail.