HELP! I have a Nail Fungus and I need to get rid of it QUICKLY!

Written by: Beauty Bar

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Sourced from:  www.mayoclinic.org

What types of medications are available and that are safe to treat a Nail Fungus?

Medications

Your health care provider may prescribe antifungal drugs that you take by mouth (orally) or apply to the nail.

• Oral antifungal drugs. These drugs are often the first choice. One option is itraconazole (Sporanox). These drugs help a new nail grow free of infection, slowly replacing the infected part.
  You typically take this type of drug daily for 6 to 12 weeks. But you won’t see the end result of treatment until the nail grows back completely. It may take four months or longer to eliminate an infection. Treatment success rates with these drugs appear to be lower in adults over age 65.
  Oral antifungal drugs may cause side effects such as rash and liver damage. Or they may interfere with other prescription drugs. You may need occasional blood tests to check on how you’re doing with these types of drugs. Health care providers may not recommend oral antifungal drugs for people with liver disease or congestive heart failure or those taking certain medications.
• Medicated nail polish. Your healthcare provider may prescribe an antifungal nail polish called ciclopirox (Penlac). You paint it on your infected nails and surrounding skin once a day. After seven days, you wipe the piled-on layers clean with alcohol and begin fresh applications. You may need to use this type of nail polish daily for almost a year.
• Medicated nail cream. Your health care provider may prescribe an antifungal cream, such as efinaconazole (Jublia) and tavaborole (Kerydin). You rub this product into your infected nails after soaking. These creams may work better if you first thin the nails. This helps the medication get through the hard nail surface to the underlying fungus.
  To thin nails, you apply a nonprescription lotion containing urea. Or your health care provider may thin the surface of the nail (debride) with a file or other tool.
  Antifungal nail creams may cause side effects such as rash.

Surgery

Your healthcare provider might suggest temporary removal of the nail so that the antifungal drug can be applied directly to the infection under the nail.

The most effective but least used option is surgery to permanently remove the nail and its root.