Are your toenails discoloured, brittle, thickened or flaky? You may have Onychomycosis, commonly referred to as fungal nail infection or toenail fungus. The chances are you have suffered for years with no treatment to eliminate this (often) embarrassing problem.
Fungal nail infection begins from the tip of the nail and advances down the nail over time, so it’s very important to seek treatment at the first sign of a problem.
Without treatment, toenail fungus can make toenails thick and raised, causing pain when walking or wearing closed shoes. It can also spread to the surrounding skin causing athletes foot or tinea, which results in flaky or cracked skin and potentially more widespread infections, especially for diabetics.
Fungal nail is also easily spread to others by sharing bathrooms, showers, towels or shoes.
Anthony’s Foot Clinic has the solution you’ve been waiting for: PACT Fungal Nail Therapy.
In 2014, Anthony became the first Sydney podiatrist to introduce this revolutionary, non-invasive fungal nail treatment with a very high success rate.
What is PACT Therapy for toenail fungus?
PACT stands for Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy and uses a combination of photosensitive gel which reacts with a light and oxygen to kill the bacteria, viruses and fungi on skin surfaces and nails. While the treatment kills off the fungal cells, the surrounding tissue is unaffected. Treatments last approximately 10 – 40 minutes depending on the number of toes affected.
What does fungal nail infection treatment involve?
PACT treatment is simple and depending on the severity of the infection, may only involve a few visits.
The treatment procedure is as follows:
- The nail is gently burred or scraped, allowing the gel and light to penetrate;
- Specially developed gel is applied for several minutes to the infected finger or toe nails. Several nails can be treated at the same time;
- PACT treatment is carried out using a high power LED lamp, penetrating deeply within the nail to attack and destroy the fungus;
- During treatment the patient will feel a slightly warm sensation;
- We recommend three treatments within the initial seven day period, followed by another treatment a month later;
- Severe infections may require further treatments;
- The nail grows out clear of infection.
With PACT you can finally be rid of this stubborn and potentially dangerous condition. Continued self-care is required to help prevent re-infection.
Tips to help prevent re-infection include:
- Thoroughly dry feet after bathing;
- Apply a topical anti-fungal solution daily;
- Rotate shoes regularly to allow them to air and dry;
- Apply an anti-fungal powder or spray inside shoes to rid shoes of fungus;
- Wash hosiery in hot water and apply an anti-fungal solution to the washing cycle;
- Wear thongs in public showers and at swimming centres;
- Wear socks that contain silver;
- Disinfect shower floor;
- Minimise micro trauma to the nails (which makes you more susceptible to infection) by ensuring correct shoe fit;
- Don’t share nail clippers.
So, to rid yourself of this uncomfortable and embarrassing problem, call us now on (02) 9584 1550 or use the contact form to the right.
