
Part of the reason that toenails become infected with fungus more than fingernails is that toes are enclosed in a warm, dark, moist environment (the inside of your shoes). This environment contains all of the essential ingredients for fungal growth.
The fungus loves to grow in the dark. It’s not such a fan of the sunlight.
When you paint your toenails with toenail polish, this creates a barrier to sunlight and ultraviolet light. It basically creates some shade in which the fungus is more likely to grow. This is the thinking when podiatrists recommend that you should not paint your toenails if you’re prone to developing toenail fungus.
But it takes much more than just darkness for fungus to grow. You also have to have some sort of trauma or damage to the nail plate that allows the fungal spores to actually get between the nail plate and nail bed to start to grow.
Once you have the laser toenail fungus removal treatment and you have effectively killed all of the fungus that is attacking the nail plate and the nail bed. It is then okay to paint your toenails.
Rather than becoming obsessed about a minor additional risk, such as painting your toenails. It is much more important to treat your shoes and get rid of all of the fungal spores that have been deposited in your shoes as a result of the fungal toenail infection.
The key to healthier toenails is not eliminating toenail polish but eliminating the fungus that causes the infection.
Dr. Christopher Segler is board-certified, American Board of Podiatric Medicine. he performs housecalls for patients with toenail fungus in San Francisco, Emeryville, Orinda and Burlingame. If you have a toenail fungus infection he can bring the laser right to your home or office so you can have the laser toenail fungus removal treatment without wasting time traveling to a doctor’s office. If you have a question about toenail fungus, you can call him directly at 415–308–0833.