Oral medication for nail fungus is a most effective treatment than home remedies, over the counter medications including anti fungal nail polish and creams.
The bad thing about oral treatments is that they have harsh side effects ranging from headaches to liver damage.
Oral medication is either a tablet(pill), soft gel or liquid medicine taken orally and transported to the infected nail through bloodstream.
This medicine is accessed only through a prescription given by the doctor.
Your doctor will prescribe oral medicine for toe fungus when you have a severe nail infection as a last resort.
It is important to tell your doctor before treatment your past medical history.
The doctor needs to know if you had or have kidney, liver disease including HIV, AIDS, the autoimmune disorders such as lupus or psoriasis.
Is There An Oral Medication For Nail Fungus?
We have a hand full of oral medications in the market and here a common once.
Griseofulvin is more effective to treat fingernail infections than toenail fungus and is seldom used to cure toenail fungal infection.
It is a treatment that is effective to treat only infections caused by dermatophytes.
Fluconazole is a treatment for both candida and dermatophytes.
It is an ideal cure for people who are taking other medicines because it does not interact with other medicines compared to other oral treatments.
Itraconazole can also be used to treat infections caused by molds, yeast and dermatophytes.
Terbinafine is an effective treatment for almost all infection caused by non dermatophytes, dermatophytes and yeast including white superficial onychomycosis and distal sublingual onychomycosis.
ketoconazole is one of the less used oral treatments due to certain things more especially because it is less effective to kill nail infection.
Over The Counter Oral Medication For Nail Fungus
No over the counter oral medication for nail fungus is available in the market and you need a doctor’s prescription to access this medication.
What Is Oral medication For Toenail Fungus lamisil?
Lamisil is the brand name of the oral drug called terbinafine.
According to studies this is the most effective oral treatment for nail fungus compared to fluconazole,itraconazole, ketoconazole and griseofulvin.
It treats both fingernails and toenails effectively including jock itch, ringworm, athlete’s foot and other skin and nail infections.
What Is Prescription Oral Medicine For Nail Fungus?
Fluconazole
A dose of 150 mg is taken once a week for a period of 6 to 12 months consistently for medication to work properly within a short period of time.
It is not used as first defense due to few factors explained below.
Itraconazole
It is taken in two ways the first is a continuous treatment of taking a dosage of 200 mg per day for a maximum of 3 months…
…and secondly is a treatment with breaks whereby you take 200 mg in the morning and 200 mg in the evening for a week…
…and pause for a week without taking anything then start all over again for 3 months or until you got rid of your nail infection.
Terbinafine
In continuous treatment a dosage of 250 mg is normally taken once a day for a period of 3 months…
…and in treatment with breaks a dosage of 250 mg taken in the morning and 250 mg in the evening for a week…
…and break for 3 weeks then start all over again…
…or a dosage of 250 mg a day for 4 weeks and break for full 4 weeks then start again taking treatment for another 4 weeks.
If you are treating the fingernail the treatment will take half the time it will take to heal toenail fungus.
ketoconazole[Nizoral]
Ketoconazole is a less effective oral treatment that should be avoided at all cost due to it’s harsh side effects to the body and it has cases of fatal hepatotoxicity reported.
Griseofulvin[grifulvin v]
Because of it’s less effectiveness it takes longer to get rid of fungal nail infections and I do not recommend it to be used to kill nail infection.
What Are Oral Medication For Nail Fungus Side Effects?
Itraconazole has side effects like dizziness, stomach aches, headaches, rash, bowel complications and may react when taken with a number of medications…
…like sleeping pills, diabetes medication, cholesterol reducing medication and can not be taken by people with heart problem.
It is not taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding period.
Terbinafine can cause rash, temporary taste and smell loss, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and dizziness.
It should not be taken with other medications like anti-depressants and heart medications.
Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding period.
Griseofulvin is used less often because it has many side effects than other treatments.
What Is The Best Oral Medication For Nail Fungus?
There were studies conducted to compare terbinafine and itraconazole with each other.
In all of those studies they confirm that terbinafine is more effective than itraconazole.
Other oral medication like griseofulvin, ketoconazole and fluconazole are used less often because they are not as effective as the other two previously mentioned…
…and we do not have enough evidence from studies to prove their effectiveness.
Conclusion
Not everyone who needs oral treatment will get it because your health condition plays an important role when your doctor treats your infection.
When you are under this treatment you need to notify your doctor as soon as possible when you observe side effect developing on your body.
Few years ago when I treated my toenail fungus I could not stand for side effects caused by oral medicine so I opted for over the counter cure that got rid of my nail infection in less than 4 weeks.
I was so impressed I even wrote an article a review of zetaclear.
There are a number of few effective over the counter treatments out there but I recommend fine vine super balm for many reasons…
…like it is effective in treating ailments like ringworm, athlete’s foot, jock itch and fungal infections of both skin…
…and nail and It can be used simultaneously with oral medications.
Buy fine vine super balm at amazon
Click this link if you want to know more about what to do for nail fungus.
Homeopathic remedy for toenail fungus is an alternative natural treatment.
