Fungal nail infection is a very common problem in many UK adults especially the elderly.

 

Fungal nail is highly contagious. 

 

The signs of fungal nail is usually the nail will appear discoloured, thick, crumbly, brittle and flaky. 

It is important to treat fungal nail at the first signs of infection and be consistent with the treatment to eradicate the fungus. 

The main treatments are antifungal tablets and antifungal lacquers to paint on the nails. 

Antifungal tablets with the ingredient Terbinafine are very effective to treat fungal nail infections as they go through your bloodstream to fight the infection. However, these must be given under direction of your GP as Terbinafine can interfere with other medication and have known side-effects, notably liver and kidney damage. 

Nail lacquers that are painted onto the nail are not as effective as the tablets as they have to work their way through the nail plate to the infection.

Trimming out the infected nail and reducing the nail plate can help the lacquers to penetrate and be absorbed into the nail plate.  As mentioned previously, any treatment has to be consistent.  It can take anything from six months to two years for a new nail to grow. .