Funky Toenails

Have you noticed those toenails changing color? Are they yellow, black or brown? Getting thicker or really flaky? And quite possibly a little musty odor in those socks? This all sounds like nail fungus or medically described as onychomycosis.

Anyone can develop nail fungus. It is a common organism found in the environment that once finds a warm, dark, moist place to grow (under your toenails!) it florishes. Those 5 year old tennis shoes don't help either. You can easily transfer the fungus living in those shoes to your toenails. Do you enjoy frequent pedicures? Do you allow your nails to catch a breather? Continual polish on nails increases the suspectibility of getting a fungal infection.

The diagnosis is made with a clinical exam where clippings of the toenail are sent to a labratory where the fungal elements can be seen under a microscope. Once this has been detected, there are 3 options for treatment. There are a couple of topical medications that can resolve a mild fungal nail infection is used properly meaning every day for at least 6-9 months. Some cases may be so severe that an oral medication may be used in combination with the topicals to work from inside out to cure the infection. When one nail is involved and topicals have not worked, then removing the nail and allowing it to regrow without fungus is also another option.

No matter what treatment option you and your doctor decided, it will take at least 6-9 months to notice improvement or resolution. Nail fungus does not have an overnight cure! Oh, and don't forget to change those tennis shoes every 8-10 months!!