Cure for

Fungus infects nails and more commonly toe nails (less frequently finger nails). Fungal infection of nails may be very difficult to treat properly for complete cure. Fungal infection of nails (both toe nails and finger nails) begins as a white or yellow spot under the tip of fingernail or toenail. The infected nail/nails may become discolored, thick and have crumbling edges, as the fungal infection spreads to the deeper into nail. The condition may become painful, which prompt most patients to seek medical attention. The infection may also recur after successful treatment, especially if you continue to get exposed to conditions favorable for fungus growth and infection such as warm, moist conditions.

There are several different forms of treatment of fungal infection of nails; including over-the-counter medications antifungal nail creams and ointments, although they are not very effective. Ideally the over-the-counter antifungal medications should be avoided, as they can not be relied upon, for a complete cure.

The antifungal antibiotics are very effective in curing and eliminating the fungal infection of nails, although they can do little to prevent re-infection. The most effective antifungal antibiotics for treatment of fungal infection of nails are terbinafine (available as Lamisil) and itraconazole (available as Sporanox). These antifungal antibiotics are taken orally and highly effective for complete cure.

The oral antifungal antibiotics are used when patient has certain medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, history of cellulites, or if the infection is severe and unlikely to be cured by topical agents.

Other treatment options in fungal infection of nails include topical medications (if the fungal infection is mild to moderate severity), surgery (for extremely severe and painful conditions) etc.

Infection of toe nails with fungus is a common health problem across the globe. Treatment of fungal infection of nail (including toenail) is not easy and need use of systemic anti-fungal antibiotics, which are potentially toxic with some serious side effects. The systemic anti-fungal antibiotics has to be used for long duration (may require treatment for 4-8 weeks) for complete cure of toe nail fungal infection. The administration of systemic anti-fungal antibiotics for long duration increases the risk of serious side effects.

Many individuals do not want to accept the risk of serious side effects of systemic anti-fungal antibiotics (although the risk is not high) and search for alternative solution to treat and cure infection of toe nails with fungus. For these types of individuals, the tea tree oil can be very helpful in treating adequately the infection of toe nails with fungus without the risk of serious side effects, which are associated with use of systemic anti-fungal antibiotics for cure of toenail fungal infection.

These days many doctors trained in Western Medicine (medical graduates) are also prescribing the use of tea tree oil for treatment and cure of toenail fungal infection to patients who do not want to take systemic anti-fungal antibiotics due to risk of side effects (or simply they do not want it) and some doctors are prescribing the tea tree oil for treatment of toenail fungal infection even before giving anti-fungal antibiotics. The number of doctors prescribing tea tree oil for treatment that can cure toenail fungal infection is only growing.

If you have fungal infection of your toe nails, do not worry if you are doubtful about the use of anti-fungal antibiotics, because there is a highly effective alternative cure for toenail fungal infection.

Typhoid fever or enteric fever is a systemic disease characterized by fever and abdominal pain and caused by Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi. The disease is called typhoid because of its similarity to typhus. But it is a separate entity (proved in 1800 AD) and later (in 1869 AD) it was proposed to be named as enteric fever as the site of infection is intestine. But both the names are still used interchangeably.

If typhoid is treated promptly with appropriate antibiotic typhoid can be cured successfully and severe complications can be prevented. The mortality due to typhoid is less than 1% if treated appropriately and in time. The choice of antibiotic depends on susceptibility of the organism and region. For drug susceptible typhoid fever the treatment of choice is fluoroquinolone like ciprofloxacin or ofloxacin, with a cure rate of more than 98% and relapse rate of less than 2%. The most extensively used and data available is the ciprofloxacin (given at the dose of 500 mg twice a day for 5 to 7 days). Short course with ofloxacin is also equally successful in ifection due to nalidixic acid susceptible strains. But the increased incidence of nalidixic acid resistant (NAR) S. Typhi in Asia, may be due to widespread availability of fluoroquinolones over the counter has made it difficult to use these drugs as first line drug.

Patients infected with NAR  S. Typhi strains can be treated with ceftriaxone, azithromycin, or high dose ciprofloxacin. But use of high dose fluoroquinolone for NAR enteric fever is associated with delayed resolution of fever and high rates of fecal carriage during convalescence.

In case of multi drug resistant (MDR) typhoid fever including nalidixic acid resistant (NAR) and fluoroquinolone-resistant strains (as seen in Asia), third-generation cephalosporins like ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and (oral) cefixime are effective. These drugs can clear fever in about 1 week, with failure rates of approximately 5% to 10%, fecal carriage rates of less than 3%, and relapse rates of 3% to 6%. Azothromycin (1gm/day orally for 5 days) is another drug which can be used in MDR typhoid fever. First and second generation cephalosporins as well as aminoglycosides are ineffective in treating clinical infections despite their effectiveness in killing Salmonella in vitro.

Patients with persistent vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distension and abdominal pain should be hospitalized and given supportive care along with specific antibiotic. Treatment should be continued for 10 days or at least 5 days after fever subsides.

Approximately 1% to 5 % of patients become carriers of typhoid (Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi). These carriers of typhoid can be treated with appropriate antibiotic for 4-6 weeks. Treatment with oral amoxicillin, trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), ciprofloxacin, or norfloxacin is approximately 80% effective in eradicating chronic carrier state in case of susceptible organisms. But if there is an anatomical or other abnormality like bile stone or kidney stone, to eradicate carrier state surgical correction is required.