Itraconazole for treatment of nail fungus

[danny24300]

Hi,

I was recently prescribed this medicine after I have been diagnosed
for having nail fungus (on my toes).
My doctor prescribed me Itranol (by Liconsa, contains 100mg
Itraconazole) and when I specifically asked him about Lamisil he said
that he believes that for my specific type of nail fungus this would
be more effective.
Since I always prefer to be mainstream, I wanted to ask if I should
insist on taking Lamisil (I've read there is less risk associated and
it's more effective?).


Please advise!


Thanks in advance,


Dan

[danny24300]

The fungus was diagnosed as: Scopulariopsis sp
Does this indeed confirm that  Itraconazole  is more suited?

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Treatment of onychomycosis(which means fungal infection of the nail) is challenging because the infection is embedded within the nail and is difficult to reach. As a result full removal of symptoms is very slow and may take a year or more.

Most treatments are either systemic antifungal medications such as terbinafine and itraconazole, or topical such as nail paints containing ciclopirox or amorolfine. There is also evidence for combining systemic and topical treatments for effective results.

A 2002 study compared the efficacy and safety of terbinafine in comparison with placebo, itraconazole and griseofulvin in treating fungal infections of the nails. The main findings were that for reduced fungus,  terbinafine was found to be significantly better than itraconazole and griseofulvin, and terbinafine was better tolerated than itraconazole.
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onychomycosis

What you have read is correct. You could discuss this finding with your doctor and get him to prescribe it for you. Since the treatment is long-term it is better to go with onr which is tolerated better by the body.