Nail fungus (medical name ‘onychomycosis’) is a fungal infection of the fingernails or – more often – the toenails.
It’s a relatively common condition and not usually serious, but it can be difficult to treat. Traditional treatments such as medications or topical creams are only likely to have limited success.
The infection may clear up, after a while, by maintaining good hand and foot hygiene. But it can be unpleasant to have – and you can pass it on if it’s left untreated.
At Dr MediSpa, we believe we have found the most effective treatment for nail fungus that will quickly and safely deal with the root cause of the condition.
We use the innovative Alma laser, which combines two clinically-proven light-based technologies:
Q-switched Nd:YAG
Long-pulsed Nd:YAG.
The lasers target the source of the infection under the nail plate, clearing the nail fungus in a few, short treatment sessions.
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.
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 Alma 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.
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 Alma 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 cannot offer this treatment if any of the following situations or conditions applies to you.
After the treatment, you should: