How is onychomycosis treated?
Disease description:
Recently, my nails have been looking a bit grayish. After visiting the hospital for a checkup, I was diagnosed with onychomycosis. I would like to know how onychomycosis is treated?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Liu Wenmin
Onychomycosis, commonly known as "gray nail," can be treated primarily through the following methods:
1. Oral antifungal medications: Such as griseofulvin, ketoconazole, terbinafine, and itraconazole. These medications provide systemic treatment but may cause side effects with long-term use, so they should be used with caution.
2. Topical medications: Such as acetic acid solution, iodine tincture, amorolfine lacquer, salicylic acid and benzoic acid compound tincture, and bifonazole cream. These drugs can be applied directly to the affected area, but the application period may be lengthy, usually requiring about one year of continuous treatment.
3. Local treatment: This involves using creams containing urea to soften and remove the infected portions of the nail, followed by application of antifungal drugs, which can improve treatment effectiveness.
4. Physical therapies: Such as laser treatment, which uses laser light of specific wavelengths to destroy fungi and promote the growth of new nails. However, further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness and safety.
5. Surgical treatment: For patients with a single severely affected nail, surgical removal of the infected nail may be considered for a curative effect. However, this method carries disadvantages such as bleeding and a high recurrence rate, so it is generally not the first choice.
During treatment, patients should also maintain personal hygiene, such as avoiding sharing personal items with others and keeping hands and feet dry and well-ventilated, to reduce the recurrence rate.
