Are you sick of your discolored thick toenails? Do you want to avoid strong medications that can cause damage to your liver? Are you tired of liquids and creams that are time consuming to apply with poor results?

Finally you can get rid of your discolored, cracked fungal toenails or onychomycosis with the latest laser techniques. While lasers may seem scary to some, they are used everyday for cosmetic procedures with safe light energy.

While there are several laser inventions available, Dr. Marc Katz, a Tampa podiatrist, has done his homework. Before jumping into various technologies, he needed to research each possibility and find the best, most effective solution for his patients, not the most popular and best marketed treatment.

He said no to the Pinpointe laser early for several reasons. The Pinpointe is basically a laser designed for dental procedures with modifications to capture a new market, toenails. So the design and treatment is less than optimal. The Pinpointe has a small spot size that can produce a problem known as stacking. Stacking comes from overlapping of the laser beam in the same area possibly leading to burns and damage. Small spot size can also lead to missed areas of treatment. Dr. Katz also did not like the fact that the procedure is performed with no control of the beam distance or desired temperature for fungal death and this leads to inconsistent treatments with poorly controlled outcomes.

Additionally, the beam was not accompanied by cooling to avoid surrounding tissue damage. The current single treatment with Pinpointe has also become controversial. There is increasing evidence that to be effective, two or even three treatments are required and best for the patient. The single treatment protocol resulted from the fact that the doctor was charged each time the laser was turned on, hardly in the best interest of the patient.

Initially, a comparison was made between the Noveon and Pinpointe lasers. With increasing research,different promising options became apparent that combined superior treatment and safety features. While the Noveon was promising, it failed its initial FDA approval for onychomycosis and ran into financial problems. Additionally, some of the lower wavelengths had questionable results and the safety features with the Noveon added higher costs to the procedure. As of this writing, the Noveon is not available but may be in the future. It should also be noted that the laser also was initially developed for dental procedures. All of the lasers mentioned here have been FDA cleared for podiatry, dermatology and general surgery use. So they are appropriate for toenail treatments if deemed necessary by your doctor.

As research proceeded, Dr. Katz liked the Cooltouch CT3 Plus Zoom laser, one of the most sophisticated lasers on the market today with a track record. The Cooltouch provides various types of skin treatments for many problems. Dr. Katz points out that toenails are simply modified skin, so the Cooltouch laser is a perfect fit. He also liked the higher wavelength of the beam and feels that the hard thick nail can be more safely penetrated and treated with this different wavelength. In addition there are added features that improve the appearance of the nail by resurfacing, similar to skin resurfacing and rejuvenation. This is only a Cooltouch feature.

The CoolTouch CT3Plus CoolBreeze produces 1320nm laser energy that is specifically absorbed by water and water associated with collagen in the tissues of the nail matrix. The laser is so sophisticated that it can detect and reach the proper target temperature set by the doctor leading to death of the fungus. The treatment then stops automatically and then the nail is cooled with a spray. This allows for fungal death without damaging the skin or the nail growth plate. Cooltouch’s impeccable safety comes from its incorporating pulsed cooling and real-time temperature feedback into its treatments. In addition, the CoolBreeze Handpiece uses an adjustable spot size from 3 mm to 10 mm allowing for adjustments based on nail size for the best outcome. Other lasers currently being used do not incorporate these important features for patients leading to less desirable outcomes and minimal safety features. The Cooltouch laser can be completely controlled. The treatment temperature to kill the fungus can occur automatically while incorporating safety. Each patient can receive a customized treatment leading to the best possible outcome. This is truly unique.

Dr. Katz notes that other lasers take 30 minutes for treatment compared to the more effective Cooltouch which only takes about 15 minutes. Dr. Katz recommends two treatments and feels that this is extremely important. There are different growth phases of the nail and fungus and the best results occur when the patient receives at least 2 treatments. The cost of 2 treatments with the Cooltouch is usually the same or less compared to only one treatment with the Pinpointe laser. This definitely benefits the patient.

Dr. Katz feels that the laser is superior to all other treatments for fungal toenails. However, patients need to follow a comprehensive maintenance program to prevent recurrence of the toenail infection. He also notes that while success rates are high, no treatment can guarantee success all of the time. Dr. Katz recommends that you talk to your doctor about results and ways to prevent recurrence.

So the jury is still out says Katz, but in his opinion the Cooltouch is clearly light years ahead of the Pinpointe and Noveon lasers.

Stretch marks should not be misunderstood as merely marks on your skin. They are in fact appeared from deep below the skin. These are usually as a result of over stretching of the skin. The collagens that keep in the skin cells in fact lose its elasticity and supple is simply disrupted in its production. So, when this collagen is left in an insufficient quantity the skin is simply stretched making red and purple lines to appear on the skin surface.

These lines may fade out to light color over times but these can be very different from the original skin. These are what most of the doctors call stretch marks. These marks are commonly associated with over exercise like body building, pregnancy and gaining weight. All of these are prime causes for these stretch marks. Most of us feel very much embarrassed when other people see our stretch marks and start looking for ways or treatments to get rid of them.

A number of local treatments like Aloe Vera and Cocoa Butter are available around us for years that have been tried by most of us in helping to retain the body collagen level and thus reduce these stretch marks. But with the development of technology, faster and more effective treatments have developed. Laser treatment has become more popular then cream like Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera for a variety of uses that are simply related to beauty. Hair removal, age control, acne reduction may just be some of them. In fact, lasers can be used to enhance then the look of our skin.

The laser treatment works by simply allowing the scarred skin to slough and remove off its top layer. You will feel slightly pain will doing the treatment as the heat cause the superficial layer of the skin to burn and thus this layer is later on healed by new and much more energetic young skin cells that are more elastic. Even if these treatments are painless they may be having certain side effects. But these side effects may only leave a little red spot around the infected area that may vanish later on.

I think it is certainly not a bad deal to get rid of these ugly looking stretch marks. You might get some red spots for five to seven days after doing the treatment but you can lighten the scars for years. Some people may also develop swelling and soreness near the infected area, but that can always be taken care easily. A number of dermatologists are adding certain amount of laser treatments to their practices so it means that these treatments are simply becoming more popular day by day.

Lasers can also be used to treat a number of other cosmetic ailments. So, if removal of stretch marks is indeed possible by these laser treatments than one should always go for it. More over there are certain chances that most of the stretch marks may never show up again. But, not every skin is suitable to do laser treatment. Consulting a doctor is necessary before doing this treatment.