Hi, Thank you for your question. It is a broad one, and perhaps we could discuss a tailored treatment plan for you based on your history and doing a physical examination, or a picture of your nails. Your doctor may do some tests such as examination of a specimen of your nail under microscopy to confirm the diagnosis as some conditions may be confused with or mimic onychomycosis. A patient can also have onychomycosis in addition to other nail disorders.
If you truly have a nail fungal infection, or onychomycosis, as it is termed medically, it is important to treat it, as prolonged onychomycosis without treatment leads to discoloration and deformation of the nails. Particular problems include thickening, which may cause pain and make basic nail cutting difficult. Deformed nails can also lead to surrounding tissue damage and promote secondary bacterial infection.
Both topical and oral agents are available for the treatment of fungal nail infection. However, creams and other topical medications are usually not effective against nail fungus. This is because nails are too hard for external applications to penetrate. There are, however, some new formulations and medicated nail lacquer which have been approved to treat finger or toenail fungus that does not involve the white portion of the nail (lunula) in persons with normal immune systems. Oral medications usually have to be taken at least 8 weeks for fingernails and 12 weeks for toenails. Your doctor should be able to treat you appropriately after a proper clinical consult.
Regards,
Dr. Joanna Chan
