You may ask yourself if laser for toenail fungus is effective. This is really a good question. Toenail fungus is one of the most common issues that most people have to deal with. It may be hard for some people to find the right solution towards toenail fungus because a lot of treatments are available in the market today, making it more confusing for people to decide which one works best for them. But the fact remains that there are a lot of treatments available out there for people who are suffering from this infection.”
In today’s post we will go over some of the biggest factors you should consider when purchasing a laser for toenail fungus . In this article, you will see that 3 factors will ultimately help you decide what to purchase. These 3 factors are: treatment type, wavelength and power settings. Let’s get started!
Read on to learn more about Is Laser For Toenail Fungus Effective How Much Does Laser Therapy For Toenail Fungus Cost and Pros And Cons Of Laser Treatment For Toenail Fungus
Is Laser For Toenail Fungus Effective
Toenail fungus is a fungal infection called onychomycosis. Tinea unguium is another name for it.
It’s an overgrowth of fungi that are often found on your body together with other bacteria. You can get the fungi from someone else too, like at a nail salon if the tools aren’t properly sterilized. It’s the same fungi that cause ringworm, jock itch, or athlete’s foot.
The problematic infection happens when the fungi get in through the cracks in your toenails and start to overpopulate in, on, or under the nail. It just loves warm, moist environments and often finds that in your toenail, especially when you wear shoes. And it’s even happier if you’re active and sweat in your sports shoes.
Onychomycosis can infect your fingernails too but that’s less common since your hands aren’t confined to a warm, moist environment like your feet are.
What Are the Effects of Toenail Fungus?
A fungal infection has an effect on your toenail but usually takes a while to develop and spread so you might not notice it at first.
Here are some of the symptoms to look out for:
Your nail becomes discolored — often it turns yellow, brown, or white
Your nail becomes thinker than usual
Your nail shape becomes warped or twisted
A white dot appears on your nail and becomes larger
Your nail becomes brittle and breaks easily or crumbles
Your nail gets flaky on the top or underneath
Your nail loosens or separates from the nail bed
You feel pain in your toe or foot
Your nail has a weird smell
The fungus can also spread to your other toenails and the skin around the nail.
If it gets really bad, you can develop a bacterial infection too and ulcerations. This is quite dangerous if you’re a diabetic. For some, it has even led to loss of their lower extremities.
It also doesn’t look particularly visually pleasing and can make you self-conscious.
How and Why Do You Get This Fungal Infection in the First Place?
We’re all exposed to plenty of fungi and often nothing happens. That’s thanks to our immune systems. But if something weakens our immune systems or gives them an extra run for their money, the fungi may win.
So, a compromised or weakened immune system of any kind is often the culprit and increases your risk of getting a fungal toenail infection. A diabetic or someone whose blood flow to the feet is compromised, for example, weakens your body’s ability to do its thing in your toenails. An injury to the toenail can also make it tougher for your body to fight off fungi.
Men tend to get toenail fungus more than women. It’s also seen more in older people if their immune system weakens. If you smoke, you’re at a higher risk.
If someone in your family has it or someone you come into contact with a lot does, you’re usually at a higher risk too.
How Do You Know if You Have Toenail Fungus?
Your best bet is to get your toenails looked at by your trusty podiatrist. If you see any of the signs we’ve mentioned, just make an appointment for an evaluation. Since the infection will usually spread, you’re better safe than sorry.
Detecting it early also improves the chances for the treatment to do its thing and keep it from moving onto other nails or your skin. What Toenail Fungus Treatment Is Available?
So you’re wondering how to treat toenail fungus. Until relatively recently, toenail fungus treatment has been limited to topical anti-fungal creams/nail lacquer and oral medication. They’ve had some success but come with many downsides.
The antifungal cream/lacquer has the lowest success rate. Unless you have mild toenail fungus, it will likely not be able to reach the infection in or under the nail. Prescribed oral medications work better but have medical risks and react with other prescription drugs.
Side effects may include elevated liver enzymes that can lead to liver failure, headaches, stomach discomfort, loss of taste, and lupus-like symptoms.
Both topicals and oral meds require long-term applications and topicals can get quite expensive. Topical antifungals can take up to a year to show results. With oral medication, you may need to take up to a four-month course.
Another treatment option is to have your entire nail surgically removed. This, however, hasn’t proven to be successful.
Since these treatments are lacking, people began looking for toenail fungus alternative treatments. Enter laser therapy. Studies show its success in clearing fungal infection and so it was FDA cleared and began to be a top-pick in treating toenail fungus.
How Does Laser Therapy Work?
In simplified terms, the laser therapy device shines a laser light into the toenail, penetrating down on, in, and through the nail to reach the fungus. It “vaporizes the fungus.” It also leaves the skin and tissue around the fungus alone.
Essentially, the laser device is set at a certain wavelength that only the fungus will absorb. When it penetrates the fungus, it destroys it.
If we want to get a little more technical, there are a few ways it can destroy fungus depending on the laser. Most lasers use photothermolysis that causes photomechanical or photothermal damage. We like the non-thermal laser therapy as it is pain-free since it doesn’t use heat. It is still absorbed by the fungus only and damages the structure of the fungus.
But what you need to know is that laser therapy has been proven effective in clinical trials and because of this, the FDA began clearing laser devices.
As with all the treatments, you won’t see the results right away. You have to wait until your nice fungus-free nail grows in. This will take months. But you’ll start to see the difference as the new nail comes in.
Why Is Laser Therapy Better Than Other Therapies?
Among other reasons, laser therapy is better than other therapies because it is safe. It doesn’t have any of the side effects that come with the antifungals. It also doesn’t have the drug interactions that the oral antifungals can have.
It’s a great option for people that are taking the drugs that interact with the orals or that can’t tolerate the side effects.
The treatment is pain-free and easy. Expect to spend 12 minutes on treating each of your feet once you arrive in our office.
And the best perk of all is that the laser can get in through your nail to where that fungus is hiding and get rid of it quickly.
How Much Does Laser Therapy For Toenail Fungus Cost
Generally, people tend to imagine any therapy involving the use of lasers is expensive. Sure, there are laser skin care therapies with prices ranging in hundreds to thousands of dollars.
However, the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus pretty much hovers around hundreds of dollars. Averagely, you can expect to spend around $800 on effective laser treatments for toenail fungus.
You may also spend less or more depending on a variety of factors. Like we mentioned at the beginning of this article, these factors greatly influence the cost of services like laser therapy.
Some of these factors are variable costs that add up to become the overall cost of the treatment. Conversely, some are just ordinary market factors that determine the prices of skin care services.
Seeing an expert is the best option for you if your toenail fungus keeps getting worse. You’ll know this when it becomes painful and is giving off a bad odour. At this stage, the best treatment is laser therapy or in severe cases, surgery.
For laser therapy, best prepare to spend at least $1000. The cost may end up being lower than that amount or even higher. You can also check with different facilities to compare prices and see what suits your budget best.
While medical professionals recognize the infection as a medical condition, most insurance companies do not. As such, your health insurance may not cover the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus. You’ll need to discuss this with your health insurance provider.
Factors that Determine the Cost of Laser Therapy for Toenail Fungus
We’ll try to explain them in detail. This way, you’ll be able to use them to determine the average price for your laser treatment sessions.
Number of nails that require treatment
The cost to treat toenail fungus with laser therapy will go up if you have to treat multiple toenails.
The higher the number of toenails with the fungus infection, the more the amount of resources that go into the treatment.
For instance, the laser equipment used for the treatment will require more power. There’s a type of laser that works with CO2. If you are getting treatment on multiple nails, the medical spa will have to arrange for more CO2. Typically, this will reflect in the cost of treatment.
Furthermore, the more toes that need treatment, the more time it will take for the medical aesthetician to complete the treatment. Hourly cost is one of the variable costs that constitute the overall cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus in Canada.
How severe the infections are
The severity of the fungus infection on the toenail affects the cost of laser therapy as much as any other factor. The severity of the infection implies how bad the fungus infection is.
In some cases, it is very mild while in other cases, it can be terrible and may require special treatment. Toenail fungus infection is no joke and it can quickly get worse.
To put things in perspective, fungus infection is capable of destroying your toenails if you don’t act on it quickly. Recently, Rachael Manion, the executive director of CSPA (Canadian Skin Patient Alliance) stated the severity of toenail fungus infection.
In the statement, she estimated that one in every five Canadians lives with toenail fungus infection. However, the most important point to remember is that toenail fungus can easily get out of hand.
For a severe infection, more time, resources, care and skill will be needed to treat it. Another major talking point is that the severity of the infection can differ from toe to toe.
You can have a toe filled with a fungus infection and another one with only a slight discolouration. As you may have guessed, treatment for the completely covered toe will cost you more than the other toe with a mild infection.
The type of facility providing the treatment
Majorly, the average price of laser therapy for toenail fungus is a function of your care provider. To explain it simply, if you go to an expensive therapist or clinic, you’ll pay a lot of money.
On the other hand, if you visit a low-cost medical spa or clinic, you’ll pay the average market price. However, you can often count on more expensive clinics to deliver high-quality service.
More expensive clinics are often so because they use high-quality tools, and products. They also employ skilled medical aestheticians and therapists who can provide quality and timely services. Not to forget their state-of-the-art facilities that include everything you need to receive quality laser therapy treatments.
On the other hand, low-cost facilities do not provide some of the luxuries you’ll get to enjoy with expensive facilities. For example, they may make use of cheap products and tools.
They may employ only a few skilled practitioners. So, there may not be enough workers to attend to clients. And lastly, the building and available facilities may not be state of art or well equipped.
Pros And Cons Of Laser Treatment For Toenail Fungus
Benefits of Using Laser Treatment for Toenail Fungus
Early Studies Show High Efficacy Rates
Though laser toenail removal is a fairly new removal method, having been introduced into the medical community in the mid-2000s and approved by the FDA in 2010, the initial studies showed that it had a clinical response rate of 87%.
It Is Quick, Painless and Requires No Drugs or Anesthesia
Unlike toenail removal surgeries, laser nail fungus removal is a relatively fast procedure that requires no drugs or anesthesia. It’s also said to be painless.
Only One or Few Treatments Are Required
One of the problems with traditional removal methods is that they take a very long time to successfully administer. Topical creams usually must be applied for months, sometimes even years. Laser treatment, on the other hand, usually takes just one session.
Cosmetically, Laser Treatment Looks Better
Facing debridement or complete removal of the nail is a horrifying thought for those who suffer from toenail fungus. Laser methods keep the nail intact, meaning the nail will look better after this treatment than some other treatments.
It’s a Last Option for Recurrent Infections
When topical creams and antifungal pills don’t work in clearing up an infection (which happens often, as onychomycosis has a recurrence rate of 10% to 50%), laser removal may be a last option, short of surgically removing the nail.
Cons of Using Laser Treatment for Nail Fungus
It’s Still Considered Experimental Treatment
Because few studies have been done on the efficacy of laser toenail fungus treatment and none have been done on the long-term effects of the method, it is still viewed as experimental treatment with questionable success results.
Some Argue the Treatment is Ineffective
In a recent study done with the Noveon laser, only 1/3 of patients saw results — meaning treatment could be hit or miss, depending on each individual case.
Possibility for Tissue Damage in Some Cases
As with any medical treatment, there is a slight risk involved. Though it is rare, some doctors argue that there is a possibility for skin and tissue damage when the laser beam is directed to the deepest levels of the nail.
It’s Expensive
Toenail fungus removal lasers — two being the PinPointe FootLaser and the Cutera GenesisPlus — are quite expensive for medical facilities to purchase, so the fees for patients to use them are quite high. One laser toenail fungus removal session could cost anywhere from $600 to $1500 — and it’s a process generally not covered by health insurance.
Before deciding whether or not to try laser toenail fungus removal, be sure to consult with a podiatrist or a dermatologist about your condition. Toenail fungus comes in many forms and can look like other foot diseases and ailments, so it’s important to get a positive diagnosis and professional advice before spending money on expensive treatment options.