Onychomycosis Quadruple Laser Treatment
Clean toenails without athlete's foot!
Athlete's foot, we're with you on the road to recovery!
The most common question we get asked by patients suffering from toenail fungus is "Can my toenail be cured?" is the question.
In this post, we'll cover the How to Diagnose Toenail Athlete's Foot, Effective remediesand Post-treatment carein the next section.
What is athlete's foot?
Toenail athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is an infection of the fingernails or toenails with a fungus (fungus) that causes the nail to thicken, discolor, and in severe cases, pain and nail detachment. If the infection progresses, it can spread to neighboring nails and, if left untreated, can lead to more serious problems.
Symptoms of Toenail Athlete's Foot
- Thickening and cracking of the toenails.
- Claws are discolored, turning white, yellow, or brown.
- The surface of the toenail becomes rough and loses its shine.
- In severe cases, the toenail lifts or falls off (onycholysis).
- Pain and discomfort with walking.
How to Diagnose Toenail Athlete's Foot
1) Traditional diagnostic methods
Toenail athlete's foot has traditionally been diagnosed in the following ways
Visual diagnosis by a dermatologist
- Toenail athlete's foot can be diagnosed based on clinical presentation alone.
- Recognize the four clinical types of onychomycosis (distal tinea pedis, superficial tinea pedis, proximal tinea pedis, and onychomycosis) and make a precise diagnosis.
KOH Smear
- Dissolve the nail bed with a potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution and look at it under a microscope to identify the fungus.
- This is the most commonly used method and is more accurate when performed by an experienced dermatologist.
Fungal cultures
- Place an ingrown nail in a medium and culture it to directly identify the fungus.
- The downside is that it takes about three weeks to get results, but it's a great way to find out exactly what kind of fungus you have.
2) New Diagnostic Test: Onychomycosis Rapid Antigen Test
2021 New Medical Technology Assessment Onychomycosis Rapid Antigen Testis a new method that addresses the limitations of traditional diagnostics.
How it works:
- Qualitative measurement of fungal-derived antigens in nail samples by immunochromatography.
Pros:
- Shorter test times, higher sensitivity and specificity, and fewer false negatives.
- It is particularly useful as a secondary diagnostic when KOH is negative but onychomycosis is clinically suspected.
Read the results:
- Pink + purple → positive.
- Pink only → Voice.
The importance of accurate diagnostics
The most important first step in treating toenail athlete's foot is an accurate diagnosis.
If no athlete's foot fungus is found (a false negative), treatment may be missed, so a thorough diagnosis and appropriate testing by a specialist is necessary.
Treatment of Athlete's Foot
Athlete's foot treatment is largely Medicationand Laser treatmentsin the following table.
Choose treatments based on the patient's condition, preferences, and health status.
1) Medication
Oral medications:
- Representative drugs: itraconazole, terbinafine.
- The most powerful treatment to eliminate mold fungus once and for all.
- However, if liver toxicity is a concern, the use of the drug may be restricted.
Topicals:
- Topical athlete's foot medication (e.g., Zublia), applied directly to the toenail surface.
- It is used as an adjunctive treatment as it has little effect on its own.
2) Laser treatment
If you have difficulty taking medication, or if you need additional treatment, laser therapy can be effective.
Treatment of Athlete's Foot
Athlete's foot treatment is largely Medicationand Laser treatmentsin the following table.
Choose treatments based on the patient's condition, preferences, and health status.
1) Medication
Oral medications:
- Representative drugs: itraconazole, terbinafine.
- The most powerful treatment to eliminate mold fungus once and for all.
- However, if liver toxicity is a concern, the use of the drug may be restricted.
Topicals:
- Topical athlete's foot medication (e.g., Zublia), applied directly to the toenail surface.
- It is used as an adjunctive treatment as it has little effect on its own.
2) Laser treatment
If you have difficulty taking medication, or if you need additional treatment, laser therapy can be effective.
4 Toenail Athlete's Foot Lasers at Baraboo Dermatology
Barabom Dermatology is one of the few dermatologists in Korea that specializes in 4 Toenail Athlete's Foot Lasersin your database.
Depending on the patient's condition, the right combination of lasers is used to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.
1) Healer Laser
- Temperature sensors monitor claw surface temperature in real time to provide safe, even heat energy.
2) Pinpoint Trader
- Endyag laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm, which is powerful for severe athlete's foot.
3) OnycoLaser
- You can treat both feet at the same time, which is very time-efficient.
4) ExcelTow Laser
- It effectively treats large areas and is suitable for thick toenails.
Athlete's Foot Treatment Room at Barabom Dermatology
Treatment Process at Barabom Dermatology
1) Initial diagnosis
- A KOH smear or rapid antigen test can be used to accurately determine if you have athlete's foot.
2) Treatment phase
- Thin out thick toenails with a nail grinder and curette.
- We treat with a combination of Pinpoint, Healer, Onico, and Exceltoe lasers, depending on the patient's condition.
- A CO2 laser creates pinholes in the toenail to help the topical medication (Zublia) penetrate.
3) Treatment Cycle
- Initial 2 months: One visit per week.
- After: One visit per month.
- Total treatment duration: Approximately 5-8 months (depending on how fast your toenails grow)
Difficult to treat athlete's foot
1. patient characteristics
1) Older patients
- Features: The older you get, the slower your circulation, the slower your nails grow, and the longer it takes to heal.
- Workaround: Starting treatment as young as possible can lead to faster results. It's important not to delay treatment.
2) Past history of nail trauma
- Features: If you have a history of nail trauma, the athlete's foot fungus is more likely to penetrate the nail. Athletes, hikers, and others who frequently climb often have a poor prognosis due to the frequency of nail trauma.
- Workaround
- If trauma occurs, seek immediate medical attention to begin treatment.
- It's important to keep nails clean and dry after trauma.
3) Past history of onychomycosis
- Features: If you've had athlete's foot in the past and it's come back, your nails are most likely a susceptible environment for the athlete's foot fungus.
- Workaround:
- Keep your feet away from hot and humid environments.
- Always keep your feet clean and dry, and wear breathable shoes and socks.
2. impact of comorbidities
1) Immunocompromised state
- Features: If you have a weakened immune system due to cancer, organ transplant, or steroid treatment, you may be more susceptible to athlete's foot infections.
- Workaround:
- Proper nutrition and managing underlying health conditions are necessary to boost immunity.
- Laser therapy is particularly useful and is a good alternative for patients who have difficulty taking medication.
2) Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Features: If you have peripheral vascular disease, you may not get enough blood to your nails, making treatment less effective.
- Workaround:
- Combine treatment for toenail fungus with treatment to improve vascular health.
3) Uncontrolled diabetes
- Features: Poorly controlled blood sugar can make you more susceptible to infections and increase the length of your treatment.
- Workaround:
- Keep your blood sugar under control and see your healthcare provider regularly.
- For diabetics who have difficulty taking medication, laser therapy is a good option.
3. the condition of the nail
1) Nail thickness (2mm or more)
- Features: Thicker nails may make it harder for the laser to penetrate deeply, limiting the effectiveness of the treatment.
- Workaround:
- Thinning your nails with a nail grinder or nippers, followed by laser treatment, will increase the effectiveness.
2) Infected with 501 TP3T or more of the nail area
- Features: The wider the infection, the longer it takes to treat and the lower the success rate may be.
- Workaround:
- Thick nails are trimmed, and powerful lasers like the Pinpoint are used for intensive treatment.
3) Onycholysis (detached nails)
- Features: When the nail is separated from the skin, it becomes an easy environment for the athlete's foot fungus to enter, making it difficult to treat.
- Workaround:
- Treatments for onycholysis are used to encourage the nail and skin to grow back together.
Athlete's Foot Treatment Principles
1. does not prescribe oral athlete's foot medications.
- Why not use medication?
- Oral athlete's foot medications (itraconazole, terbinafine, etc.) are metabolized by the liver. Liver toxicity Risks exist.
- Some people are reluctant to take the medication, especially if they are heavy drinkers or have compromised liver health.
- It is also not uncommon to see elevated liver function tests during athlete's foot treatment.
- Select Laser treatment as an alternative.
- The laser treatment works locally to kill the athlete's foot fungus, so it doesn't put a strain on your liver.
- There are plenty of effective treatments that don't involve pills.
2. quadruple laser combination treatment
- Reasons for combination therapy
- Pinpoint, Healer and Onico and Excelsior lasers have different modes of action and complement each other.
- Pinpoint, Healer Laserdirectly destroys the athlete's foot fungus with powerful heat energy.
- Onico, ExcelTow Laserkills athlete's foot fungus through photochemical action and provides a painless treatment.
- Benefits of combination therapy
- Using all four lasers together significantly improves treatment success rates.
- By maximizing the benefits of each laser, you can customize your treatment to the patient's toenail condition.
3. combining other procedures and equipment besides athlete's foot laser
- Additional procedures to increase the effectiveness of laser treatments
- Nail grinders and nippers: Thin out thickened toenails to increase the penetration of the laser.
- Curettes and CO2 lasers: Creates microscopic pinholes in the toenail to help the medication you apply penetrate better.
- Zublya (topical athlete's foot medication): The pinholes created by the CO2 laser allow the drug to be delivered directly to the affected area.
- The heart of the procedure is qualitative
- It's not just about using the equipment, it's about caring for the individual patient.
- Treatment can be more effective when it's done with love.
Before and after photos
Before treatment
- Thickened and discolored toenails.
- Large infected areas and weakened claws.
Post-treatment (6 months)
- New healthy claws grow and gradually replace the infected area.
- Clean, healthy toenails upon completion of treatment.
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Procedure Products
Pinpoint + Healer Laser
Every 4 weeks
Thumb nail 50,000 wonInner thumb nail 30,000 won per nail
Onico/Exceltou Laser
Two months (8 sessions) at one-week intervals. Then one month apart over time
One foot 100,000 wonㅣBoth feet 200,000 won
Discounted to 5,000 won per foot when combined with pinpoint + healer laser
Discounted to 5,000 won per foot when combined with pinpoint + healer laser
Introduce the medications/devices used in the procedure
Post-procedure precautions
- We recommend avoiding heavy alcohol consumption, sauna/steam rooms, hot baths, and strenuous exercise after the procedure.
- You may experience heat, tingling, swelling, redness, burning, dryness, or itching, but it will soon go away.
- Residual dead skin cells may occur after the procedure but will fall off naturally. Please avoid picking or using scrubbing products.
- Because of the dryness that comes with it, we recommend using moisturizer frequently and remember to wear sunscreen when you go outside.
- Please refrain from using functional cosmetics such as anti-wrinkle (retinol-based) / whitening.
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