Toenail fungus (or onychomycosis) is an increasingly common condition. Roughly 10% of the American population deal with it every day and are advertised treatment options that claim to be the definite cure (e.g. laser toenail fungus removal).
Unfortunately the reality is a bit more complex, especially when you get older. The older you get, the more susceptible you are to the condition. To that end, around 50% of people aged 70 and above experience bouts of toenail fungus.
Given the prevalence of toenail fungus, new advances in treatment come up every year to meet rising demand. Over the counter medicines, prescription drugs, home remedies, and even lasers are all marketed as viable solutions to manage fungus outbreaks.
Approved in just 2010 by the FDA, laser toenail fungus removal is one of the newest treatments people are trying to manage their toenail fungus. By 2015, laser therapies that leverage different types of lasers at varying strengths were made available for consumers to try.
With the growing popularity of laser treatment and variety available, many people are wondering if laser toenail fungus removal actually works. Examining the effectiveness of laser fungus treatment and communicating to you what you can expect from it is the purpose of this blog post.
Does Laser Toenail Fungus Removal Really Work?
The short answer is that the effectiveness of laser toenail fungus removal is not proven yet.
This could be a result of the treatment’s infancy. Still, when looking at other treatment options available to you to treat fungus, laser treatment is not advisable. Especially for people looking for conclusive results.
Studies that have looked at the effectiveness of laser toenail fungus removal have been mixed. Some say the treatment is functional. Other more reputable studies declare that patients will see no noticeable improvement.
How Does Laser Fungus Treatment Operate?
Laser toenail fungus removal operates by creating heat in areas of fungus. This happens through the concentration of light. The heat then works to destroy fungal infections.
There are different types of lasers used for fungus removal. They usually vary by strength. No matter the type of laser treatment you opt into though, all of them utilize the same basic functionality. Leverage heat, kill fungal infections.
What Are the Costs Involved in Laser Fungus Treatment?
Given how new laser fungus treatments are, health insurance providers do not cover it. This can cause jumps in costs when compared to established medications.
Procedures on average can cost as much as $1000 depending on the severity of your particular case. That $1000.00 is not the full investment required for laser treatment though.
Laser treatments typically require 3-5 sessions. Each follow-up session can run roughly $500.00.
When adding up costs for follow up sessions and the more expensive initial treatment, the total may average $3000.00.
Side Effects of Laser Fungus Treatment
Many laser providers contend that there are no side effects to the treatment. While that may be true in their experience, their views may not hold up over time.
Given how new laser fungus treatment is, trials that have examined its use and patient’s long-term reactions to this type of treatment have not been conducted thoroughly. This makes it hard to determine the long-term health effects of laser treatment.
The unknown nature of laser fungal treatments should be taken into consideration before deciding to pursue it.
How Does Laser Treatment Compare to Other Treatment Options?
As mentioned previously, there are a number of toenail fungus treatments that extend well beyond laser. Some of the most popular include oral medications, topical ointments, and home remedies.
Below are brief descriptions of what you can expect with each:
Home Remedies
Most health issues have home remedies that claim to treat them. Home remedies are usually not founded in science. By using them, you run the risk of exacerbating your condition.
Home remedies for toenail fungus include everything from soaking your feet in bleach to beer.
Again, there is no scientific data that proves these method’s effectiveness. Also, part-taking in non-medically supervised exposure to harmful irritants like bleach can adversely effect your health.
Oral Medications
With oral treatment, you’ll likely treat your fungus. Still, oral medications such as Lamisil can come with side effects including diarrhea and other stomach issues.
Furthermore, for people with preexisting heart or liver issues, oral treatments can make these conditions worse.
In comparison to laser treatment, oral medications have more documented side effects. As far as cost goes, oral medications can be significantly cheaper than laser treatments.
Topical Treatments
Topical treatments like EmoniNail, Funginix, and ZetaClear are safer alternatives to oral treatments. They are proven to work and many of them offer money-back guarantees if your fungus doesn’t improve.
Given that treatments are topical, adverse health effects are rare and generally don’t occur in patients that opt for this treatment type. Topical medications are also relatively cheap so it’s financially a preferable option over laser treatment.
Learn more about EmoniNail.
To Wrap It Up
People all over the world deal with toenail fungus. Given how common it is, there is a heightened demand for treatment.
In response to this demand, home remedies, topical, oral, and laser treatments are being leveraged to help alleviate fungus.
Laser treatment is largely unproven in its ability to fight fungus. Potential side-effects haven’t been fully assessed and therefore, there is risk involved in with this type of treatment.
Finally, the cost of laser treatments and the fact that most insurance providers do not cover it can represent a hardship to patients.
Our team Nail Fungus Consumer Review recommends topical treatment EmoniNail for safe, cost-effective treatment of fungus. It’s guaranteed to work or your money back.
EmoniNail is easy to apply. It also has zero side effects and thousands of happy customers. All that makes this product the first thing you should consider trying in your battle against to toenail fungus.
For more information on toenail fungus products and remedies, head over to the list of treatments we’ve tested.