Sunday, March 30, 2014

Taking Oral Medication for a Fungal Nail Problem

Treating the fungal nails can be quite a long term proposition and quite expensive as well. In many cases the treatment may not be covered by the health insurance providers as they deem this to be of aesthetic value. Those that are affected by this disease also need to show sincerity in having the medication as having it intermittently can also pose a lot of problems.
In most cases topical applications for this infection don't treat the problem effectively. The topical cream or lotions are unable to reach all the layers of the nails and this makes them wholly incapable of reaching the bottom. For those that are unable to take oral medication, nail lacquers that contain ciclopirox are also available. The FDA has approved of this for usage. It is viable option for those that are unable to take the oral medication. However none of the oral medication can be taken during pregnancy or by those that think they may be pregnant.
There are 2 drugs that have been specifically approved by the FDA for treating the fungal nail problems. The first one is known as Terbinafine and has been approved by the FDA for treating the virus problem. The efficiency of the drug is up to 90% and is usually prescribed for 6 weeks for the fingernail problem. The dosage is usually around 250 mg and the drug does interact with caffeine and cimetidine.
The other drug is known Itraconazole and is also approved by the FDA for treating the problem. This drug is suitable and effective in 20 - 80% of the cases of the fungal nail problem. The drug is meant to be taken with food and also reacts with certain medications. Itraconazole can be taken daily or can be taken in a pulse format. For those who have the fingernail problem, dosage of 200mg is given once a week for about 6 weeks.
Another drug known as Fluconazole hasn't been approved by the FDA but is quite an effective drug. The advantage that it has over the other drugs is that it stays in the body for a long time; therefore the drug needs to be taken only once a week. Clinical studies have shown, that the drug is about 70 - 85% effective by those that have fungal nail problems. The dosage for this drug is about 450 mg once a week and should be taken for at least 4 - 9 months.

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