Is Betadine effective in treating gray nails?
Jan 24, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Liu Wenmin
Introduction
In general, povidone-iodine has some effect in treating onychomycosis (gray nail), but it cannot completely cure the condition. If used, it should be done under a doctor's guidance. Due to its broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, povidone-iodine can kill various microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Therefore, for onychomycosis caused by fungal infection, povidone-iodine can, to some extent, inhibit fungal growth and reproduction, helping to alleviate symptoms of gray nail.
Generally, povidone-iodine has some effect in treating onychomycosis (fungal nail infection), but it cannot completely cure the condition. If used, it should be done under a doctor's guidance. Detailed explanations are as follows:
Due to its broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, povidone-iodine can kill various microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. Therefore, for onychomycosis caused by fungal infection, povidone-iodine can to some extent inhibit fungal growth and reproduction, helping alleviate symptoms such as itching and reduce exudation, potentially slowing disease progression in some patients.
However, povidone-iodine cannot completely cure onychomycosis. The fungi causing onychomycosis usually penetrate deep into the nail structure, including the nail plate and nail bed. Although povidone-iodine can reach fungi on the nail surface, it has difficulty penetrating deeper layers to completely eliminate the infection. Additionally, because nails grow slowly, newly infected nail tissue continuously develops, making it difficult for povidone-iodine alone to fully resolve the infection.
In daily life, it is important to keep the nails and surrounding skin clean and dry, avoid prolonged immersion of hands or feet in water, and dry them promptly after washing.
