Fungal Nail Laser Treatment

Fungal Nail Laser Treatment

Fitter Feet for life have a leading team committed to eliminating fungus from your nails. Our staff have undergone advanced training to use the Fotona medical laser safely and effectively.

The Fotona advanced medical laser has exceptional success rates curing fungal nail infections.

How does the laser treatment work?

With over 50 years of experience in laser technology, Fotona’s lasers systems is leading the industry with new levels of innovation and performance. Fotona is recognized as a world leader in aesthetic applications and technologies, working closely with top universities and medical research centers around the globe.

The Fotona medical laser produces a deep light pulse that heats both the nail and nail bed causing the death of parasitic fungus within the nail.
The effects of the laser light spreads evenly throughout the tissue, eliminating the fungal infection.

The natural growth and immune processes of the body are then able to restore the nail to its pristine state.

Traditional methods of treatment such as nail paints are subject to the limits of chemical diffusion. This is not the case with laser therapy which has been shown to penetrate the entire nail and nail bed, delivering a treatment to the entire infected area. The laser is safe to use and does not have the toxic side effects to the liver that some oral medications cause.

What happens during the treatment?

The Fungal nail Fotona Medical laser treatment is performed in three simple steps:

How common are fungal nail infections?

Fungal infection of the toenails is called onychomycosis. It is extremely common and affects up to 10% of people in the UK. In fact almost half of all nail problems are related to fungus.

It is more common as you get older and affects men more than women. It is more common in toenails but can also infect fingernails.

Fungal infections of the nails are unsightly and embarrassing. The nail becomes thickened slowly becoming yellow, brown, orange or white. The nail becomes crumbly, smelly and difficult to cut. As the fungal infection becomes thicker the nails are painful in shoes and may bleed causing black areas inside the nail.

Nails with fungal infection can become brittle and crack, and may lift away from the end of the toe. This allows debris to collects underneath the nail causing an unpleasant smell and allowing the fungus to continually re-infect the skin and other nails.

Many of our patients suffer embarrassment and self-consciousness from the appearance of their fungal nails.

What causes nail fungus?

Fungus often infects nails after the nails are slightly damaged in some way. The hot sweaty environment inside shoes then offer a perfect environment for the infection to thrive and slowly destroy the nail. It is thought that 30% of people with nails fungus also have a fungal skin infection.

There are four distinct types of onychomycosis (nail fungus).

• Distal subungual onychomycosis is most common. It is caused by a fungus dermatophytes; the most frequent type is called Trichophyton rubrum. It invades the underside of the nail bed and the nail plate.
• White superficial onychomycosis is caused by fungus infecting the upper layers of the nail to form white areas of discoloration. It has a chalky white texture.
• Tinea Unguium is a fungus that can penetrate a newly formed nail through the nail fold and is more commonly seen in patients who are immunosuppressed.
• The Candida species more frequently invades fingernails and occurs in people who immerse their hands in water frequently. The nail is often initially damaged, allowing entry of candida inside the nail where it then grows causing nail destruction and discoloration.