An Insight Into Nail Laser Techniques
Onychomycosis is a common infection of the nail, and it may affect approximately 6.5% to 8.7% of the North American population. Visual description includes: yellowed, discolored, thickened and flakey nail / nail debris. The fungus causes a breakdown of the keratin within your nail plate. The byproduct is termed subungal debris which harbors both keratin and fungal elements. The same fungus that is responsible for toenail fungus is also responsible for athletes feet aka tinea pedis. An infected nail can act as a breeding ground for recurrent athlete’s feet and mold.Why the cool touch laser Vs others? The cool touch uses a 1320 nm beam, a much safer and cooler beam than the 1064 nm of the competition. For additional safety and comfort, a cryogen spray is used when the nail is heated to the optimal treating temperature. A large 10mm beam diameter, controlled depth provides a reproducible safe procedure while treat genf20 plus ing the offending pathogen. The laser is not new to the medical profession, but the use in treating fungal nails has picked up steam recently as additional research is being done. Lasers have been used for vein removal, wart destruction, removal of fine lines / wrinkles, hair, acne and tattoo removal. Initially, a comparison was made between the Noveon and Pinpointe lasers. With more research, different promising options became clear that combined superior treatment and safety features. While the Noveon was promising, it failed its initial FDA approval for onychomycosis and ran into financial problems. Additionally, some of the lower wavelengths had questionable results and the safety features with the Noveon added additional costs to the procedure. As of this writing, the Noveon is not available but may be in the future. It should also be noted that the laser also was initially developed for dental procedures.