07 Mar Laser for fungal nail infections: Results you can expect to see
With the popularity of cold laser for fungal nail infections rapidly growing here at Masterton Foot Clinic, we thought we’d show you some in-clinic results that our patients are seeing (with their permission of course) after completing their cold laser treatment sessions!
What you’re looking for with cold laser
The photos below show nail growth after the indicated months following their treatment. This is because cold laser kills the living fungus on and around the nails at the time of treatment, but it doesn’t reverse the damage caused by the fungus to your nail. While infected, the fungus feeds on the keratin that your nail is made from, creating the discolouration, flaking and brittleness that you see. These changes are unfortunately irreversible.
Think of it like an antibiotic – if you have a nasty, infected cut, the antibiotic will destroy the bacteria but it doesn’t undo the cut – you have to wait for the body to clear that one up. It’s the same here, except we have to wait for the healthy, clear nail to grow out and the affected nail to be trimmed down when long enough until it’s completely gone.
First Visit Three Months
Five Months Eight Months
On the first visit, we can see that the effects of the fungus are present through the entire length of the nail on the right-hand side. At three months, we can see that in the same area at the base of the nail, where new growth occurs, we have at least 3mm of healthy, clear and fungus-free nail growth. At five months, we continue to see more healthy nail growth from the base of the nail, as it keeps getting trimmed back where possible. At eight months, we can see only a small portion of the original affected nail still remaining at the top of the nail. While we don’t have the final twelve-month shots for this patient just yet, we expect for the whole nail to appear clear and healthy as the last few millimetres of nail grow out.
It is important to emphasise that while you can’t hurry up the body to grow out the nail, you can maximise the success of the treatment by adhering to our hygiene and prevention control guidelines very carefully. Through the process, it is possible for reinfection from the environment or others in your household with the infection to occur, which is why it is imperative for you to comply with these guidelines so you can see results just like these.
At your cold laser treatment, we provide you with a take-home pack that contains a couple of products for you to use regularly as instructed, alongside all of the guidelines and hygiene protocols you need to ensure the success of your treatment. This take-home pack, and the care we put into ensuring that as many variable factors are controlled as possible, is one of the reasons we achieve the fantastic results we do with cold laser, and we wouldn’t want anything else for you. Failing to comply with these results puts you at a significantly higher risk of re-infection.
Here are some more of our recent results during the process (not at 12 months yet) for you to get a feel for what you may achieve using cold laser. For more information on cold laser for fungal nail infections, give our expert team a call on 06 370 4057 or book online!
First Visit Three Months
First Visit Six Months
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