When it comes to your feet, skin and nail care is more than just looking presentable.
Yes, aesthetics are a worthy reason to manage any skin or toenail problems that come up, but taking the right steps toward care and treatment also helps protect your feet. Your skin and nails are the first lines of defense your feet have against micro-organisms and other dangers from the outside, so keeping them healthy can have even greater benefits than being able to look good in open-toed shoes.
We treat a wide variety of skin and toenail conditions at Third Coast Foot and Ankle. Never hesitate to contact us if you notice anything abnormal. The sooner problems are properly identified and treated, the less likely they are to become lasting ordeals!
Common Skin and Nail Conditions We Treat
Our approaches to treating patients’ skin and nails can include a mix of effective traditional methods and advanced techniques. Our recommendations for each case depend highly on a thorough examination of the problem and the individual needs of each patient.
Fungal Toenails
When fungal invaders infect a toenail, they find a place to thrive and grow. The result is usually nails that become discolored, thickened, brittle, crumbly, and otherwise “funky.”
We provide laser therapy as an option for fungal toenail treatment. Laser therapy is painless, effective in a majority of cases, and can prevent the need for oral anti-fungal medications that may cause detrimental side effects in some patients.
However, it should be noted that all forms of fungal nail treatment take time. Even after the fungus is eradicated, new clear nails still need to grow out to replace what has been damaged. The sooner you begin fungal toenail treatment, the better!
Ingrown Toenails
When the edge or corner of a toenail grows into the skin, it can cause pain, swelling, and irritation. An ingrown toenail is often a mild problem and can sometimes be treated effectively at home. There are occasions, though, when an ingrown toenail should be tended to professionally:
- It is too painful to address on your own.
- It is showing signs of infection.
- It keeps frequently returning.
- It does not improve after a couple of days of treatment.
- You have diabetes or poor circulation.
If any of the situations above apply to you, please give us a call! We can handle your ingrown toenail safely, as well as help prevent recurring ingrown nails from returning.
Plantar Warts
A wart is a viral infection that takes up residence within the top layers of the skin. On the feet, they can develop into bumpy, grainy lesions that may hurt when in a high-pressure area.
Plantar warts can eventually go away on their own, but the process can take years. This is because our immune systems often do not detect the virus because they don’t “patrol” the upper layers of skin where it resides. We provide treatment for plantar warts that can eliminate the virus much sooner.
Dry, Cracked Skin
Dryness may seem little more than a nuisance. When that skin becomes cracked, however, it can become painful and increase your risk of infection. Dry, cracked skin should be treated, but a proactive approach to preventing dryness and cracking is even better! Our practice helps patients in both ways.
Athlete’s Foot
Did you know the same type of fungus that causes fungal nails can also cause athlete’s foot on the skin? In fact, the fungus can transfer between the two areas if you’re not careful, potentially causing both problems!
Itchy, scaly, burning rashes caused by athlete’s foot tend to appear around and between the toes, or around the edges of the foot. If your case is severely painful or not responding to over-the-counter treatments, come see us. We can help with more advanced and professional treatments.
Corns and Calluses
Corns (small, raised rough patches) and calluses (flatter, wider rough patches) both have the same cause: a source of friction against the foot or toes that the skin is trying to protect itself against.
Successful treatment for corns and calluses involves not only directly treating the problem areas but also determining and addressing the source of friction itself. That could mean a simple change of footwear, or it might be a more intricate condition such as an abnormal foot structure. We can help in any case.
Laser Treatments
So many people are embarrassed of their toenails. Ugly toenails leave people embarrassed to wear sandals because they are afraid they will be judged by their nail appearance. We completely understand. Women and men consult us every day on this issue.
Laser treatment for nail fungus is a great option, and we prescribe it to many of our patients. We are proud to be one of the very few offices that offer laser treatments for toenail fungus in the Milwaukee area.
The Erchonia LunulaLaser® for the Treatment of Onychomycosis is FDA approved, non-thermal, non-invasive, pain-free procedure with new clear nail growth in six months.
Erchonia’s LunulaLaser® is an ideal treatment for fungal nails because it offers effective treatment without side effects or dangerous smoke plumes as other hot lasers used to treat onychomycosis. LunulaLaser® consists of four weekly 12-minute treatments. In clinical trials, the LunulaLaser® proved to be effective in 89% of patients.
Take Good Care of Your Skin and Toenails!
The more watchful you are of skin and nail conditions, and the earlier you begin treating them, the better you can secure your feet against future problems—and they’ll look great, too!
