Lacuna Method for Fungal Nails
What is the Lacuna Method®?
The Lacuna Method™ is a treatment for fungal nails that involves drilling micro-holes painlessly into the damaged nails.
This allows an anti-fungal agent to directly reach the infected skin under the nail directly.
The patient can then continued to apply the anti-fungal medication once a day, allowing the nail to grow out healthily
Nicola O'Brian of Love Your Feet Podiatry is the inventor of this method and has implemented it all over the world!
How do I know I have fungal nails?
You may have noticed changes in the texture, quality, and color of your nails. Sometimes it is noticed after nail varnish or gels have been removed. Typical first signs are a yellowing or brown discoloration, nails may become thick, crumbly, or brittle. Nails can become distorted, misshapen, and may lift from the nail bed losing their healthy shine.
How can Lacuna Method help me?
Fungal Nail Infection (Onychomycosis) Is the most difficult of the superficial fungal infections to treat, as most topical agents are ineffective at penetrating the nail plate to reach the active infection on the nail bed (the skin under the nail). By making micro holes in the nail plate with innovative and specially designed micro burrs, your foot specialist can enable you to apply an anti-fungal agent, such as Lamisil Spray directly to the infected nail bed. Which will spread under the nail as you walk. With daily application of the antifungal agent, the fungus is stopped from spreading and the damaged nail grows out. As the nail is dead you cannot feel the holes being made.
How does the Lacuna Method work?
It is now understood that the active part of the fungal nail infection is actually on the nail bed (the skin beneath the nail) and not the nail itself. The nail plate acts as a barrier between the application of antifungal solutions purchased over the counter accessing this active portion of the infection.
By drilling the micro holes in the nail plate this allows an antifungal solution, normally Lamisil® AT 1%(Terbinafine)** spray to be transported to the area of infection (the nail bed) directly. The pressure from footwear on the nail helps redistribute the treatment under the surface of the nail. This stops the fungus spreading and encourages the healthy nail to grow out, along with the holes. As with any antifungal treatment, this takes time, as the infection will clear only as fast as your toenails grow, which can take up to 18 months. Review appointments are recommended on average every 6 weeks and this will include the redrilling of the holes as required. However, this may vary, and your podiatrist will advise you.
Who created this revolutionary method for treating fungal nails?
Nicola O'Brian is a Podiatrist who gained her BSc Hons Podiatry from Brighton University in 2001. For the last 18yrs has specialised in Cosmetic Podiatry and has a special interest in Dermatology & Rheumatology.
Her interest in Cosmetics meant that she was treating a large proportion of patients with fungal nail pathologies.
Therefore she wanted to develop a way of treating the Fungal Nails and not just disguise them.
A method that didn't require expensive machinery that most small private practices cannot afford.
So Lacuna Method® was born.
It took over 4yrs of development to bring a simple and safe methodology to the public domain.
