Podiatrist for fungal toe nail?

Time_to_get_up_and_go_2-2

I'm just wondering if anyone has been to a podiatrist for a nail infection?
I've tried paint on stuff from the docs which didn't help a smidge, tea tree oil, homeopathic tablets the only thing my GP suggested is a prescriptive drug but does have side effects and can cause liver damage so would have to be monitored quarterly - this scares me so won't go down this route.

I'm just wondering what they would do, treat, take nail off etc?

Also does anyone have any ideas of costs?
Based in Cheshire

Thanks

angelil

Hi there

I've had treatment from a podiatrist for a fungal nail infection recently.

What you need to bear in mind is that the treatment will take longer than you expect - I think I attended for almost a year, once a month, before being told by the podiatrist that I could stop attending. For me it was about €30 a time, so probably about €300 for a course of treatment. You should be able to pay in instalments though.

I also asked the podiatrist about the drugs you mentioned, but she said the same thing: you have to have regular blood tests and they really need to keep an eye on you, so they'd rather exhaust all other routes first, which I think it right.

What she did each time was to look at the feet, file the nails down (as in shorten them and take off a little of the top layer - virtually painless), and make sure the infection hadn't spread to any other nails. She'd then clean around all of the nails with a high-pressure hydraulic system, but again, this didn't hurt at all. After this, she'd use a file to take dead skin off the feet, before applying foot cream for you. So the nice part is that your whole foot gets taken care of, rather than just the infection being treated. She then prescribed me a special polish to use on the infected nail weekly (like the shop ones, but stronger) and a special foot cream which worked really well.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask if you have extra questions

pjran

Time_to_get_up_and_go wrote: »

I'm just wondering if anyone has been to a podiatrist for a nail infection?
I've tried paint on stuff from the docs which didn't help a smidge, tea tree oil, homeopathic tablets the only thing my GP suggested is a prescriptive drug but does have side effects and can cause liver damage so would have to be monitored quarterly - this scares me so won't go down this route.

I'm just wondering what they would do, treat, take nail off etc?

Also does anyone have any ideas of costs?
Based in Cheshire

Thanks

I happened to mention to my GP about my toe nails, she actually told me that there's a drug available but recommended NOT taking it as I took immune suppressants. Suggested using varnish to hide it during the summer when wearing sandals.

Have you tried dabbing vinegar on your nails? I used to do this before bedtime and shower in the morning. I'm pretty sure it helped.

Hezzawithkids

I went to a podiatrist last year and in one half hour visit (cost about £36) he had almost completely removed a toenail that has been bothering me for years. He also clipped the remaining nails on both feet and scraped and buffed much as @angelil describes. The clippings were sent away for testing and I got a call back to see the GP who told me that I had an infection and prescribed the antibiotics the OP described, but I didn't follow that up because of the side-effects. My new toenail has grown about half back (taken about 4 months so far) and I'm hoping that it will be big enough to paint over come the summer.

I recommend seeing a podiatrist, he accomplished more in half hor than all the OTC stuff had done in years.

heartbreak_star

Well homeopathic tablets won't do anything for anything because they're a load of rubbish - don't waste your money!

Regarding the fungal infection - definitely have a sesh with a podiatrist, they really helped my mum when she had issues with her toenails due to arthritis.

Good luck - hope you get it sorted!

HBS x