Having discoloured, brittle toenails showing through in your sandals is not on anyone’s wishlist this summer. Because of the relatively easy way that they spread from one person to another, fungal nail infections have become a relatively common problem we see here at Perform Podiatry. But what may surprise you is that approximately 50% of all people who think they have a fungal nail infection are wrong. What this really means is that if you don’t have a fungal nail infection (and you don’t realise), you could be wasting money, time, and the effort of actually applying the antifungal every day to produce no favourable results. Even worse, you continue to risk spreading the infection to your family and anyone that you share a shower and common surfaces with.

So, how can you know DEFINITIVELY if you have a fungal nail infection or not?

The solution is a simple test that we perform in the clinic using a small sample of your nail. Simple! The test detects the presence of fungus in the sample, and if it’s positive, two lines appear on the strip – very much like a pregnancy test! It’s 99.9% accurate and once we know what the problem is (or isn’t), we map out the best treatment for you So if you’ve been struggling with a fungal nail infection for years and tried everything under the sun without success, please come in and get it checked before you try anything further!! We’d love to help you feel and perform at your best and be proud to show your toes off in the summer! For your interest, here are a few facts on fungal nail infections for you to bear in mind:

• If one toenail is infected and left untreated, it has a 100% probability of spreading to the other toes throughout your lifetime
• Fungus lives and thrives in warm, moist environments – like shoes, socks, showers, gyms and saunas. This is also where it is most likely to spread
• Fungus damages your nails because it feeds on the keratin that your nails are made of. That’s why they become discoloured and flaky.
• Fungus travels through spores. So if you have a fungal nail infection, there will be plenty of spores where your feet are most often – including in your bed sheets, making anyone your partner vulnerable to infection!
• Once a fungal nail infection starts, some find it very difficult to treat. This is NOT because of the effectiveness of the various treatment options (though sometimes this does apply), but because of the risk of RE-infection throughout the treatment. That means the risk of an infection taking hold again once the fungus that was already living on the nail has been destroyed.