My toe nails are deformed. What Can I Do?

My toe nails are deformed.  Is there anything I can do about it?  Nail polish just doesn’t cover it.

There are several different options for the treatment of Onychomycosis or nail fungus.  The appearance is thickened yellow nails most frequently affecting the big toe.  All treatments take some patience because the nail itself must regrow before it looks normal again.  The over the counter treatments usually do not work because it is hard to penetrate the nail and consistently use the product.  Oral prescriptions meds work better but require liver function testing and abstaining from alcohol for at least 12 weeks.  Even with strict compliance the efficacy is around 70%, meaning in3 out of 10 people it does not work.

Last year the FDA approved laser treatment for nail fungus.  It works by heating and thereby killing the fungus.  Usually one treatment is enough.  The nail is reevaluated after 3 months.  At that time, if the nail is growing out normal no further treatment is advised.  If not a 2^nd treatment can be done.   The cost for over the counter treatments are around 30 dollars Oral medications and labs around 1000 dollars cash.  This is sometimes covered by insurance.  The charge for laser is 500 dollars for the 1^st treatment and if further treatments are required the charge is 100 dollars.