Oral treatment for nail fungus is commonly prescribed to patients when other treatments have failed because it causes more side effects than other treatments like home remedies, laser therapy and topical treatments.
Oral treatments are effective against severe toenail fungus and also take less time to kill the infection.
This article answers many questions including, if it is safe to use these drugs, what is the best oral medication for toenail fungus, reviews about the best medication,
if it is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the side effects and as a bonus I have added alternative safe treatments.
Is Oral Medication For Toenail Fungus Safe?
If you have a strong immune system it is safe to use treatments like terbinafine or itraconazole because they have less adverse effects compared to drugs like griseofulvin which causes more adverse effects hence it is used less.
Terbinafine has proven over and over again in clinical studies to be most safe medication for toenail fungus with less adverse effects.
What Is The Best Oral Treatment For Toenail Fungus?
Most common oral antifungals that are prescribed by doctors are terbinafine, griseofulvin, itraconazole and ketoconazole. Many studies were conducted to compare terbinafine (Lamisil) and itraconazole (sporanox) and it was found that lamisil has a cure rate of 55% and sporanox has only 26% cure rate after 16 weeks of treatment.
It was concluded that terbinafine is more effective for infected nail than itraconazole and other oral medications. Terbinafine is effective against fungal infection caused by dermatophytes including distal subungual onychomycosis and white superficial onychomycosis which are the common causes of fungus, some molds and candida yeast.
When compared directly to oral treatments like ozoles it has more cure rate and less reinfection or recurrence rate on patients. Many people prefer lamisil (including doctors) over other oral treatments because it is easy to stay with it’s medicine schedule and it is cheaper to buy.
It was also found in a clinical study that was conducted on elderly people who are more than 65 years of age and people with diabetes treated with 250 mg of turbinafine daily that cure rate was 42% after 14 weeks and 57% after 48 weeks. During the study no changes occurred in liver enzymes and creatinine levels and no medicinal interactions occurred.
How To Take Terbinafine
This drug is usually taken daily for 6 weeks to treat fingernail fungus and 12 weeks or longer for toenail fungus. These tablets can also be taken according to a pulse dosing schedule…
…meaning taking medicine every day for a week for either 2, 3 or 4 months and some people find it easy to follow this dosing schedule. It should be noted that daily dosing is more effective than pulse dosing.
What Are Side Effects Of Terbinafine?
The most common adverse effects of this medication are headache, rash, elevated liver enzymes, loss of taste, stomach pain and gastrointestinal disturbance like dyspepsia and diarrhea.
Rare adverse effects include irregular heart beat, chest pain, vomiting and extreme fatigue.
Best Oral Treatment For Toenail Fungus Reviews
Two months ago I went to the doctor because I had a thick and hard to trim toenail which was hurting a little bit. He told me It was a fungal infection after doing some tests and the prescription he gave me was lamisil and told me it will take about six months to clear the nail completely and today I am seeing improvements on my toenail fungus and I believe it wont even take 3 months to get rid of the infection. The pain is already gone and my toenail is becoming smooth again and is easy to trim and file again. New nail is already growing without fungus. Thomas
I still remember how my father used to suffer from severe fungal infections in his both toenails. He preferred open shoes than closed ones because they caused pain for him while walking. I used to think that toenail fungus affects only older people disease until I had one on my thirties and I am not sure if it is generic or not. Because I saw what pain my father went through due to severe fungal infection I told the doctor I was ready for oral therapy in spite of adverse effects associated with it. This is my second month using terbinafine and my toenail condition is improving every day and it also helps with the conditions around toenail fungus. It is important to share that my health is still intact and my family is content with the results. Kenneth
Is It Safe For Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women
Terbinafine is classified as FDA pregnancy category B drug, meaning there is no evidence showing harmful effects on foetus caused by this drug however you are advised to wait until you are pregnant before treating toenail fungus.
If you are pregnant or you plan to be, please tell the dermatologist about it so that he takes it in consideration before prescribing you this drug. If you are breastfeeding you are advised not to use this drug because it can pass into the milk and may cause harm to the baby.
What Are Oral Toenail Fungus Treatment Side Effects?
Oral antifungal tablets have potential to cause adverse effects ranging from headache to kidney damage. Doctor may not recommend these drugs to liver, kidney or heart patient to avoid worsening these conditions.
If you have weak immune system, diabetic or taking liver, kidney or heart medication you need medical advice from a professional health practitioner including dermatology experts.
When you are under this treatment a doctor does tests on your liver, kidney and heart every 4 to 6 weeks to check for damages caused by taking pills.
These medications may also interact with other medicines like beta-blockers and antidepressants. It is also found that common prescription medications may increase or decrease terbinafine or azole levels in the body which is risky.
Oral antifungals can also cause other medicines to build up in the blood when they are taken in conjunction with them resulting in harsh effects on your body so it is important to let the doctor know about other medicines you are taking.
Using this treatment while you are pregnant can cause detrimental effects on your unborn baby so let the doctor also know about your conditions before giving you medication.
Over The Counter Oral Treatment For Toenail Fungus
There are no oral pills that are available over the counter, you may need prescription from the doctor to buy them at drug stores. Alternatively there are effective topical products that are available over the counter without prescription from the doctor and have been proven in a medical research to get rid of toenail fungus including finger nails fungus and skin infections.
They are made of natural ingredients like essential oil and are able to take care of foot and skin fungus at a low cost without causing adverse effects. You just apply it directly on the toenail and skin around the nail to kill all fungal related ailments. (funginix, ciclopirox, zetaclear, etc)
I once had a toenail infection and I used to hide it with a nail polish because I was embarrassed by unsightly toenail fungus until I came across a topical medication that I used and started to see improvements from day one without doing blood tests and I share my story at zetaclear review.
To get rid of nail infection I first had to try non effective treatments and I even considered nail removal. If you are in search of fungal nail infections treatment that will help you to clear your feet without adverse effects click the link above because I show you how in few days you can notice improvement on your toenail. Alternatively try apple cider vinegar foot soak for nail fungus or go here to learn other effective ways to use apple cider vinegar for toenail fungus.
Information I share here will work for you only when you implement it because all featured items often work for other people and it will work for you as well.
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