Drugs employed in the treatment of toenail fungal infections are grouped as an anti-fungal. Apart from the fact that these drugs are costly, they are known to come with a lot of risky side effects and are taken by mouth. Although a lot of prescribed anti-fungal products are taken by mouth, doctors have few topical fungicide used in the early stage treatment of an infection. Whether you opt for topical or oral, you would go through fungal treatment for toenails within 12 weeks, while treatment for fingernail takes about 6 weeks.
In comparison, treating toenail fungus tend to be more troublesome that treating fungus of fingernails. Firstly, your doctor would have to determine the kind of fungus infection causing the problem. After which he tries to make prescription for medication that would end the trouble. This is where it gets really challenging. These drugs are known to be strong on the human body and do come with a lot of side effects. There is also possibility of drug to drug interactions that are unhealthy for you. So it is important you let the doctor know the kinds of drugs, whether prescribed of over the counter, you are using at the time.
Lamisil or terbinafine happens to be the prescription medication for the treatment of fungal infection that has gained a lot of popularity. Note that it could only be used when the fungal infection is said to be a dermatophytic type. The drug is mostly prescribed at 250 milligrams for each day within 6-12 weeks of treatment period. It is important you check your blood level before and within the treatment period. This is where the toenail fungal infection becomes quite expensive. You not only monitor your blood level, you also make frequent visit to the doctor’s. A word of caution here: never fail to monitor your blood levels so as to avoid the occurrence of liver damage.
Side effects like blood dyscrasias, hepatitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome are all associated with the use of Lamisil. This is because the drug is being processed by the liver. And as such you really need to monitor your blood levels during treatments using Lamisil so as to avoid permanent damage to your liver.
Diflucan (fluconazole) is another drug available for the treatment of fungal infection of the toenail. However, it is mainly employed in the treatment of fungal infections resulted by yeast. You can always find both treatment drugs in their standard form at pharmacies nationwide for just $4. You can do some discount purchases of these drugs when you buy from giant stores like Wal-Mart, Publix and Target.
If for any reason you intend taking the drug for more than the stipulated time for the treatment of toenail fungus, then you need to do your buying in any of those stores so you save heavily.
Other possible medications in the treatment of toenail fungal infections are as follows:
1) Itraconazole (Sporanox)- This is a somewhat a new and works like Lamasil.
2) Ciclopirox (Penlac) – This is a topical polish for the nail.
3) Ketoconazole (Nizoral)- Although an effective product, the high risk of hepatotoxiity associated with the use of it makes it unpopular.
4) Griseofulvin- No longer in prominent use due to inefficiency. The drug is very old, though.
It is always the responsibility of you and your doctor to fetch the right drug that will do the treatment best for you. However, it is never automatic that the drug of your choice would do the job perfectly well. You also have the responsibility to make sure your toenail is kept as clean as possible and dry too. With these, you stand a better chance of being fungus free after 12 weeks.
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