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Nail-Infection Treatments

Fingernail and toenail infections, also known as paronychia, may be bothersome and hard to get rid of without treatments. The types of treatment used for a fungal nail infection includes removing the nail, using medicines or creams and taking further actions to prevent future damage or infection.

  1. Whether to Treat or Not

    • If your nail is damaged but is not causing you pain, you may decide that treatment is not necessary. The antifungal medicine or pills most commonly used don't guarantee a cure. However, beware that without treatment nail infections usually get worse and may spread to other nails or begin to infect other areas of the skin. Treatment of the nail infection early on will decrease the risk for further infection.

    Drug Treatment

    • Antifungal pills are often the most successful in treating nail infections. The most commonly used drug treatments for nail infections are Griseofulvin, Ketoconazole, Lamisil and Sporoanox. These drugs have been proven successful in treating nail infections. The side effects for these drugs include nausea, dizziness, liver damage and vomiting. Consult your doctor before taking these drugs to decide which is best for your type of nail infection. These pill treatments can be quite expensive.

    Cream and Gel Treatment

    • Antifungal creams, lotions and gels are another form of treatment for nail infections. The gel, lotion or cream is spread to the infected area of skin and nail and is generally used for mild infections. This form of treatment can help keep the infection from spreading to other areas, but isn't usually as effective as pills. These types of treatments can include creams such as terbinafine (Lamisil) and ciclopirox (Penlac).

    Nail Removal

    • For the most severe nail infections, the nail may need to be removed. The most effective treatment is when you combine using pills or cream with nail removal. However, nail removal is only for severe cases and isn't always needed. There are two types of way to remove a nail, nonsurgically and surgically.

    Considerations

    • Remember that when treating a nail infection, treatment isn't always successful. However, treatment tends to work for 80 percent of people who try it. If you fear the infection is getting worse, contact your health-care provider as soon as possible.

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