6 Myths About Fungal Nails (and the 1 Shortcut to Healthy Looking Nails)

One of the big reasons many people are embarrassed about their fungal nails is because they think it reflects poorly on their cleanliness. However, your hygiene may have absolutely nothing to do with your condition.

Other possible factors include:

• Accidental trauma to the nails
• Cutting the nails too short
• Excessively sweaty feet
• Walking barefoot in a public space

This is almost always false.

When the fungi get under the nail, they have everything they could ever need. To survive and grow, the nail unit provides a physical barrier that protects the fungi and allow it to flourish.

This condition is not going to get better on its own, and in fact, it very rarely even responds to home treatment options. Professional care from your podiatrist is the only truly effective solution.

Please, please don’t do this. Covering up the problem will NOT make it better. In fact, it actually gets worse!

That’s because nail polishes and artificial nails make it harder for the nail to “breathe,” which traps more moisture underneath the nail. This actually accelerates the growth of the fungi, and the visible damage to your nail. Which also means that once you do seek treatment, it’ll take longer and be more difficult in the end.

(That said, there is one way to safely “cover” your fungal nails so that they don’t look so unsightly anymore … which we’ll discuss under “Fungal Nails Take Forever to Clear Up.”)

This is also false.

Although otherwise healthy individuals may live with fungal toenails for years without any other obvious medical consequences, you still shouldn’t regard your fungal toenails lightly—especially if you have poor circulation or immune system health, as is common with diabetes.

Even if the toenail fungus itself doesn’t cause any problems directly, the damaged toenails can make it much easier for much more dangerous germs and infections to enter your body.

This is a “myth” that used to be reality. But it isn’t anymore, thanks to a new aesthetic treatment option called KeryFlex!

Thanks to KeryFlex, you can walk into our office with unsightly fungal toenails and walk out, the same day, with natural looking nails that bend, move, look and feel totally natural! You can even file and paint them!

In just 30 minutes, we’ll file down the thick and damaged parts of your nail, shape a new nail from a medical-grade resin, bond it, cure it, then shape it again and seal it. The finished product looks and feels completely real.

To learn more about the KeryFlex procedure, check out this blog.

Not quite.

Although KeryFlex produces great aesthetic results, it is only a cosmetic treatment. You will still need to follow up with regular fungal toenail medical treatments (usually 6-12 weeks of oral antifungal medications) to kill the infection.

It’s also wise to continue to take sensible precautions afterward, such as wearing breathable fabrics, switching out damp shoes and socks, using antifungal powders or sprays in your shoes, and always wearing sandals or shower shoes in public spaces. This reduces the risk of the fungal infection returning.

By combining KeryFlex, medical treatments, and preventative care, you get the best of all worlds—instant relief from your unsightly toenails, and long-term relief from continued infection.

So if you ready to get free from your fungal nails, please give Dr. Lisa Brandy and the team at Trinity Foot Center a call today at (972) 293-9650. You can also take advantage of our request form online to have one of our staff members reach out to you.