Fungal nail Laser Treatment
Onychomycosis is the medical term for fungal infection of the nail or nail plate. Onychomycosis infection is acquired by invasion of the nail plate from adjacent infected skin or directly through the surface of the nail plate by pathogenic fungal species, specifically acquired from direct contact with an infected source.
The intense pulses of our laser technology are applied to the entire area of each infected nail. The laser energy penetrates through the nail plate to heat up and kill the fungus hiding in the nail bed and root. During our bespoke treatment, the fungus absorbs the colour and the heat from the laser and dies. The laser pulses immediately kill the fungus, and the newly healthy nail is apparent when the old nail grows out, which takes a few months. Our clients typically do not mind waiting to see the results, as they understand that laser treatment is now the best solution for nail fungus.
You may suffer from onychomycosis if you have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Thickening nail
- Crumbly or brittle nail
- Nail distorted in shape or separated
- Nail with no luster or shine
- A white, yellow, orange or brown coloured nail
- Debris build-up under the nail
- Persistent athletes foot or tinea pedis
FAQ
The lasers emit powerful bursts of light that transmit through the nail plate to the nail bed, to be absorbed by the pigmented yeasts responsible for the infection.
The first part of the treatment creates microcavitation and acoustic shock waves. This heats up the area beneath the nail bed, without affecting the surrounding skin tissue, and breaks the hard outer shell of the fungus spore.
The second part causes ‘non-specific heat conduction’. As the target area absorbs the beam of radiation, the thermal energy ‘deactivates’ the unwanted micro-organism.
You will feel the heat generated by the laser, which might cause some slight discomfort but should not be painful.
The sensation of heat is only temporary, and usually subsides within a few minutes.
The Q switch laser is designed to heat up the affected area gradually, and we use an external skin cooling system to prevent over-heating.
But if you start to feel uncomfortable, we can stop the procedure for a moment, until you are ready to continue.
Unlike with other types of laser, this treatment should not cause any significant of long-term side effects.
The heat generated subsides quite quickly, and the cold air device stops your skin from overheating or burning.
For most people, 3 or 4 treatments once every 2 to 3 weeks are enough to fully treat the condition.
We recommend you to have 4 treatments. You may need additional treatments if you have had the fungal infection for more than three years and the surrounding tissue is affected. If the nail bed is healthy the nail plate should grow out in 12 months, with healthy new growth visible within the first 3 months.
We cannot offer this treatment if any of the following situations or conditions applies to you.
· Skin cancer.
· Systemic anti-fungal therapy in the last 6 months.
· Use of nail-colouring dyes that change nail pigmentation.
· Pregnancy.
· Presence of bacterial nail infection that causes nail pigmentation.
· Existence of concomitant nail disorders such as psoriasis of the nail plate, atopic dermatitis.
What happens during the treatment?
Before we start the procedure, we will clean the affected nail and make sure it is clear of any nail polish, creams or powder.
We then make a series of passes over the infected nails with the laser device, pausing for a few seconds between each pass.
The thicker the nail, the more passes we need to make.
Most treatment sessions take only a few minutes.