The treatment of nail fungus lasts at least six months, and this depends on the correctly prescribed therapy. Many people, especially on the eve of summer, are concerned about the question: how quickly will the nails return to their previous healthy appearance? What will they look like right after treatment? And in a month or two?
In addition, whether the treatment is effective or not can also be determined by the appearance of the nails. Let's take a look at what to pay attention to in the appearance of the nail after fungal treatment.
Why is nail fungus difficult to treat?
Onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nail plate) is very difficult to treat in all people. There are three reasons for this:
The microbe enters the nail bed, and not all topical medications can reach it. In addition, most fungi "protect" themselves in the form of thickening of the nail plate.
In most cases, onychomycosis is associated with a fungal infection of the foot. And as soon as a person heals the nail, the fungus again enters the nail bed from the skin of the foot.
Reinfection can also occur through your own socks, shoes, and in the bath/shower.
Classical treatment methods of onychomycosis
Currently, medical science uses three main approaches to the treatment of nail fungus:
Systemic drugs in the form of tablets or capsules. They can help, but for this they have to attend a long course - 4-18 months. All these drugs are toxic to the liver, and taking them can be complicated by diarrhea, skin rashes, and changes in the sense of taste. Therefore, during treatment, you must strictly follow a therapeutic diet, stop drinking alcohol, and regularly perform blood tests - "liver tests".
Local remedies (creams, varnishes). They do not always penetrate the nail plate well. Therefore, it must be prepared in advance: cut off the overgrown mass of the nail with scissors or remove it with a clipper. You can't do this alone: you can damage the cells that give rise to the nail plate.
Combined therapy: simultaneous use of a systemic drug and application of a local antifungal agent to the affected nail. In severe cases, it is used to slightly minimize the severity of the side effects of systemic drugs. The effectiveness of such treatment is also not very high.
In some cases, dermatologists will remove the affected nail plate before prescribing a topical treatment. Today, they try to do this less and less and limit themselves to filing the affected area - in order to avoid infection of the nail bed with bacteria.
It seems that onychomycosis can be left untreated, but in fact it is something more than an aesthetic defect. It can lead to a severe mixed (fungal and bacterial) infection of the foot or hand, which can even lead to gangrene.
How do the nails look after treating the fungus?
In the first 2-3 months from the start of using topical medications, the nail plate does not change noticeably. The fungi that remain in the subungual space continue to multiply, and the nail again thickens or, on the contrary, thins. The growing plate retains its pathological color for some time: yellow, milky white, black or brown. It can still be scaly, ridged or curved. It may have chips or an area where it moves away from your bed.
In the case of tablet treatment, pathological changes in the growing nail plate can be observed for less than two months. Then, after treating the fungus, the area closest to the nail hole looks healthy:
- it will be smooth;
- its color changes to pinkish or reddish, uniform color;
- reaches a normal thickness.
If the nail grows back after the removal of the entire nail plate, it has the right to be a little thinner. This is also an indicator of your health.
If, despite the treatment, the color, thickness or smoothness of the nails has changed after 2-3 months, the therapy should be reviewed.
How quickly my whole nail will be healthy
It depends on the growth rate of the nail plates. Influenced by:
- age: the younger the person, the higher the speed;
- the nature of nutrition: insufficient intake of vitamins and microelements reduces the rate of nail growth;
- Ambient temperature: nails grow faster in warm climates;
- frequency of nail injuries: they slow down the growth of plates;
- hormonal condition: for example, during pregnancy, the growth rate of the disc increases;
- the presence of frequent chronic diseases: they slow down nail growth;
- taking drugs that affect the rate of cell division.
On average, a healthy nail grows after fungal treatment on the hand in 6 months and on the foot in 12-18 months. Nails on thumbs and toes grow more slowly than others. So, if the nail plates on the 2-5 fingers of the lower limbs grow at a rate of 1 mm/month, then on the first finger this rate is up to 0. 7 mm/month.
How to speed up the treatment of onychomycosis?
In order for the nails to grow back faster after fungal treatment, laser therapy can be used. This involves treating the nail plate with a neodymium laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm. Its radiation freely penetrates the nail bed and heats the fungal cells to a high temperature, causing them to die. In addition, the heat of the laser activates blood circulation in the nail bed, which accelerates the growth of a healthy nail plate.
The laser is used together with local therapy. After the laser treatment, the patient should apply the recommended cream or varnish to the nails and carefully treat the shoes with an antiseptic to avoid re-infection.
The effectiveness of neodymium laser treatment of onychomycosis has been tested in several foreign multicenter studies. It is an excellent complement to local treatment, the duration of the procedure is short and there are no side effects.
Thus, the healthy nail plate should grow in the first months from the start of treatment. It might be a little thinner than usual, but it's a consistent pink color and smooth. The treatment process is significantly accelerated if the affected discs are treated with a neodymium laser.