Many of our patients spend all summer covering up their thick, yellow toenails, then breathe a sigh of relief when fall arrives. Now, they can finally wear closed-toed shoes without calling attention to their feet. But here’s the problem with ignoring your nails during the colder fall and winter. Due to the extended fungal toenail treatment time, you must begin the process now if you want to show off healthy, infection-free nails by summer. Not sure how to get rid of fungal toenails or exactly how long it will take for your healthy nail to reappear? In this post we discuss treatment options and timelines, to help you make an informed decision.
Signs of a Fungal Toenail Infection ![A foot where toenail fungus has caused deformity to the big toe nail]()
The earlier you seek intervention, the shorter your fungal toenail treatment time may be, since deeply-rooted infections may be harder to resolve. Make sure to check your toes regularly, and if you notice any of the following symptoms, schedule an appointment with Marietta podiatrist Dr. Alvin Cowans.
Toenail fungus can cause:
- Changes to the color: the nail could turn yellow, white, brown or black.
- Changes to the texture: Nails could become brittle and crumbly, or they thicken.
- Separation from the nail bed: As your nail moves away from the bed beneath, you are likely to experience pain. Bleeding may also occur.
- Foul odor.
- Changes in the nail shape (deformity.)
If you suspect that you’ve developed toenail fungus, it’s important to seek immediate treatment. Depending on the state of your nail and overall health, along with your personalized care plan, fungal toenail treatment time could take between 12 weeks and 18 months. Starting sooner can help prevent worsening infection and speed up the process, allowing your healthy nails to reappear at an earlier date.
What Clears Up Toenail Fungus the Fastest?
Fungal toenail treatment time varies depending on the state of your infection and your personalized treatment plan.
Many patients benefit from a combination of oral and topical medications to treat fungal toenails. Using this combination, the fungal infection should be resolved within 12 weeks. However, you will still need to wait for your nail to grow out before you completely get rid of that thick, yellow toenail. So, depending on the speed at which your nail grows, you may not see a completely healthy toenail for a year or more from the time you began treatment.
Now, some patients may not be candidates for oral medications, as they may interact with other prescriptions or cause side effects that you may not be able to tolerate. In cases where you can only use topical medications, it could take as long as 48 weeks to resolve your infection, with the time to see healthy nail regrowth extending beyond that period.
Medications can take time to treat toenail fungus. So that’s why many patients choose to speed up the fungal toenail treatment time by undergoing laser therapy. This treatment option usually resolves a fungal infection after three sessions, each lasting about 15 minutes and spaced apart by about four weeks. (Some patients may require additional sessions to resolve their infections.) Again, it will still take months after the completion of treatment for your healthy nail to regrow. However, the treatment time itself will be much shorter, making laser therapy one of the fastest ways to get rid of toenail fungus. Just keep in mind that you may not be a candidate for this treatment option if the fungal infection has penetrated your nail at its root, or if your toenail has become very think over the course of your infection.
Optimizing Your Fungal Toenail Treatment Time
The sooner we see you in the office, the sooner we can diagnose and treat your fungal toenails…and that means you’ll be able to see healthy nails that much sooner. Have you already noticed changes to the appearance of your toenail? Now is the time to take action! The longer you wait to begin treating your fungal toenail, the more chance there will be for the infection to reach deeper into your nail bed and root, or even to spread to additional nails. So don’t waste another minute hiding your thick yellow toenail inside a closed-toed shoe. Instead, call our team at 770-727-0614 or follow this link to request an appointment. When you come into the office, we’ll assess your infection, and craft a personalized plan that includes your fungal toenail treatment time.
