You never want to look down at your bare feet and see yellowed toenails. It’s embarrassing, and can make you reluctant to wear sandals or open-toed shoes in public. Luckily, you don’t have to live with the thick yellow toenails associated with a fungal infection. In fact, there are simple steps we can take at our Medford, OR podiatrist office to help resolve fungal toenails. But remember, the infection won’t clear up on its own—and will become worse over time—so now’s the time to come visit our team of podiatrists in Southern Oregon.
Addressing the Problem of Fungal Toenails
When it comes to fungal toenails, it’s essential to remember that the sooner you address the condition, the easier it will be to find an effective treatment. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult—but not impossible—to eliminate the infection. And that’s why the odds of restoring your nail’s health are much better if you seek care at the earliest possible stage of infection. This means you should request an evaluation as soon as symptoms (highlighted below) begin to appear.
Evaluation and Diagnosis ![]()
When you come in for a suspected fungal infection, our team will start by carefully examining your affected toenails. This may involve scraping a sample of damaged keratin tissue off the tops of your nails to analyze what’s causing the changes you’ve noticed. This process helps us confirm that your infection is caused by a fungus and not by a different type of microorganism. Once we have determined that you are dealing with fungal toenails, we will begin to discuss your treatment options.
Topical and oral medications are the leading forms of fungal toenail treatment. As with all things in life, each option has its strengths and weaknesses. We will discuss them together to determine which one(s) will work best for you based on your unique needs and preferences. Depending on your situation, the best course of action might be a combination of treatments.
Topical medications include anti-fungal lotions, ointments, powders, and sprays. These are used to eradicate the infection residing on the surface of your toenail and the surrounding skin. Some of these products can also be applied to your footwear to prevent reinfection. But there is a downside to topical medicines, because they can’t reach fungus spores that are festering deep beneath the nail surface. So, on their own, these topicals may not fully resolve your fungal infection.
For that reason, we may prescribe an oral medication such as terbinafine (brand name Lamisil) to treat fungal toenails. An oral treatment can travel through your bloodstream and kill the microorganisms underneath all that hard nail tissue. In other words, oral medications can reach fungi that topical medications cannot. However, oral medications may take months to deliver their full effect, and some patients may experience side effects on these medications. When you come into the office, we will determine whether your best treatment will be a topical or oral medication, or whether you could benefit from combining both treatments.
How Fungal Toenails Develop
Fungal toenails are an unfortunately common infection. Every where you go, microscopic fungi that reside naturally in the environment are sitting around, ready to jump into your bloodstream. As such, it’s easy to pick up an infection, especially if you go barefoot in public places. For that reason, you can reduce your risk for infection by always wearing shoes, especially at public pools or in shared locker rooms—shared, moist environments where fungi thrive.
You see, if you encounter a fungal particle that ends up under your nails—and your feet provide a hospitable environment—the organisms will begin to grow and multiply. This slowly damages the hard keratin tissue that makes up your nails. Over time, the nail becomes thickened, discolored, brittle, ragged, and generally unsightly. Sometimes, the infection can even cause a foul odor.
Reducing Your Risk for Infection
Fungi need warmth and dampness to survive. What they don’t need is sunlight. So a warm, sweaty foot covered by socks and shoes creates a desirable location for these microorganisms. Given that our feet contain hundreds of thousands of sweat glands, it’s easy to see how it can be a common problem.
Since the offensive fungus exists naturally in the environment, walking barefoot in public places increases your chances of exposure. The organisms thrive in warm, damp places, which means pool decks, locker room floors, and showering areas are high-risk locations. Direct contact with infected skin, nails, or footwear of someone else who has the condition can also pass the organism to your own feet.
Fungal toenails are a contagious condition—the microorganisms can pass easily to your surrounding skin and your socks, shoes, towels, sheets, and other surfaces in your home. That means you can pass the infection along to others in your family. You might also end up with a case of tinea pedis (athlete’s foot).
You are more likely to experience complications if the damage to the nail is more severe. Toenails that have become thickened from a fungal infection can be pretty uncomfortable and increase your risk for secondary infections from bacteria. This is especially concerning for anyone with a condition that compromises the immune system, like diabetes.
Let’s Resolve Those Fungal Toenails
We know you want to get rid of thick yellow toenails, both because the infection damages your nail tissue, causing discomfort, and because it leaves your nails looking unsightly. You won’t want to wear sandals or open-toed shoes in nice weather. However, if you address the problem early on, there are measures we can more effectively treat the infection and restore the healthy appearance of your nails.
If you’re ready to show off clear, healthy toenails, we’re here to help! Contact our office by calling 541-776-3338 or by following this link to request an appointment. When you come into the office, we’ll provide a comprehensive evaluation and come up with the best treatment plan to resolve your fungal toenails.