Nail Fungus

About Nail Fungus

Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nails. It can affect both fingernails and toenails, but more commonly affects the toenails. It typically occurs in 10% of the general population, 20% of people older than 60 years, and 50% of those older than 70 years.

There are three main types of onychomycosis (nail fungus): subungual onychomycosis, white superficial onychomycosis, and candida onychomycosis. These different types of nail fungus are defined by the nature of the fungus.

The three types of fungus that can cause the nail to become infected include yeast, mold and dermatophyte.

Due to the various causes, it’s important to find out what kind of fungus is infecting the nail as different types of fungus will have different treatments.

Some common symptoms of nail fungus are the darkening of nails, nail thickening, distorted nail shape, brittle or crumbling nails, pain in the tips of toes/fingers, and a foul odor.

There are risks when leaving nail fungus untreated including pain when walking or wearing shoes, the fungus spreading resulting in a worse infection, widespread infection resulting in cellulitis, and possibly loss of nails.


Here at MedRock Pharmacy, we compound a few different solutions that can be used to treat nail fungus.

Nail fungus is a hard-to-treat condition. The Nail grows at an average rate of 0.1 mm per day. Finger nails require 3 to 6 months to re-grow completely, while toenails require 12 to 18 months. This is why most nail fungus treatments require a long treatment time. 

 

MedRock Nail solutions can help treat your nail fungus, using a combination of different antifungals (each having a different mechanisms of action), and penetrating agents.

 

To identify which ingredients are in your compound, you can look on your medication label. The ingredients included will be abbreviated below the compound name.

 

We will go through the ingredients in an alphabetical order:

 

The first ingredient we will discuss is ciclopirox. It can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation CICLO. Ciclopirox is an antifungal commonly used to treat nail fungus. It causes cell membrane instability, by accumulating inside fungal cells and interfering with amino acid transport across the fungal cell membrane, essentially killing the fungus that is affecting the nail. 

 

Ciprofloxacin is the next ingredient we will talk about and can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation CIPRO. Ciprofloxacin is in a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. It’s considered an anti-microbial and works by killing the bacteria that cause infection. Ciprofloxacin is mainly used for pseudomonas nail infections.

 

Dimethyl Sulfoxide, also known as DMSO, is a liquid included in our Nail solutions. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation DMSO. DMSO is not an active ingredient; we use DMSO to enhance the penetration of the other active ingredients, through the nails. 

 

The next ingredient we will go over is Fluconazole. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation FLUC. Fluconazole is an antifungal agent commonly used as a first-line of therapy for candidal infections, but it’s also effective against dermatophytes. Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth and often cause infections in those with weaker immune systems. 

 

Terbinafine, which can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation TERB, is a common antifungal and fungicidal and is often preferred if the nail fungus is caused by dermatophytes. Dermatophytes, again, are fungi that require keratin for growth.

 

Thymol is a natural phenol derivative found in oil of thyme. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation THY. Thymol has antifungal and antibacterial properties. Just like terbinafine, thymol was among the most effective at inhibiting the growth of dermatophytes that cause nail fungus. 

 

The last ingredient we will go over is urea and can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation URE. Urea works as a keratolytic. Urea softens the nail. Application of urea over time loosens the nail keratin and improves nail hydration.

 

Feel free to contact us with any questions you have. Your doctor might formulate a compound with different ingredients. If you see an abbreviation that we did not mention in the video feel free to call us at 1-833- Med- Rock.

 

Thank you so much from the team at MedRock Pharmacy.

Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nails. It can affect both fingernails and toenails, but more commonly affects the toenails. It typically occurs in 10% of the general population, 20% of people older than 60 years, and 50% of those older than 70 years.

There are three main types of onychomycosis (nail fungus): subungual onychomycosis, white superficial onychomycosis, and candida onychomycosis. These different types of nail fungus are defined by the nature of the fungus.

The three types of fungus that can cause the nail to become infected include yeast, mold and dermatophyte.

Due to the various causes, it’s important to find out what kind of fungus is infecting the nail as different types of fungus will have different treatments.

Some common symptoms of nail fungus are the darkening of nails, nail thickening, distorted nail shape, brittle or crumbling nails, pain in the tips of toes/fingers, and a foul odor.

There are risks when leaving nail fungus untreated including pain when walking or wearing shoes, the fungus spreading resulting in a worse infection, widespread infection resulting in cellulitis, and possibly loss of nails.

Here at MedRock Pharmacy, we compound a few different solutions that can be used to treat nail fungus.

 

Nail fungus is a hard-to-treat condition. The Nail grows at an average rate of 0.1 mm per day. Finger nails require 3 to 6 months to re-grow completely, while toenails require 12 to 18 months. This is why most nail fungus treatments require a long treatment time. 

 

MedRock Nail solutions can help treat your nail fungus, using a combination of different antifungals (each having a different mechanisms of action), and penetrating agents.

 

To identify which ingredients are in your compound, you can look on your medication label. The ingredients included will be abbreviated below the compound name.

 

We will go through the ingredients in an alphabetical order:

 

The first ingredient we will discuss is ciclopirox. It can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation CICLO. Ciclopirox is an antifungal commonly used to treat nail fungus. It causes cell membrane instability, by accumulating inside fungal cells and interfering with amino acid transport across the fungal cell membrane, essentially killing the fungus that is affecting the nail. 

 

Ciprofloxacin is the next ingredient we will talk about and can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation CIPRO. Ciprofloxacin is in a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. It’s considered an anti-microbial and works by killing the bacteria that cause infection. Ciprofloxacin is mainly used for pseudomonas nail infections.

 

Dimethyl Sulfoxide, also known as DMSO, is a liquid included in our Nail solutions. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation DMSO. DMSO is not an active ingredient; we use DMSO to enhance the penetration of the other active ingredients, through the nails. 

 

The next ingredient we will go over is Fluconazole. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation FLUC. Fluconazole is an antifungal agent commonly used as a first-line of therapy for candidal infections, but it’s also effective against dermatophytes. Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth and often cause infections in those with weaker immune systems. 

 

Terbinafine, which can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation TERB, is a common antifungal and fungicidal and is often preferred if the nail fungus is caused by dermatophytes. Dermatophytes, again, are fungi that require keratin for growth.

 

Thymol is a natural phenol derivative found in oil of thyme. It can be found on your medication label with the abbreviation THY. Thymol has antifungal and antibacterial properties. Just like terbinafine, thymol was among the most effective at inhibiting the growth of dermatophytes that cause nail fungus. 

 

The last ingredient we will go over is urea and can be identified on your medication label with the abbreviation URE. Urea works as a keratolytic. Urea softens the nail. Application of urea over time loosens the nail keratin and improves nail hydration.

 

Feel free to contact us with any questions you have. Your doctor might formulate a compound with different ingredients. If you see an abbreviation that we did not mention in the video feel free to call us at 1-833- Med- Rock.

 

Thank you so much from the team at MedRock Pharmacy.