06/21/2022    Dieter J Fellner, DPM

Fungabeam

Throughout the working year, there is a never-
ending procession of patients, who arrive at the
office with concerns about the appearance of the
fungal nails. Treatment is often long-term,
extending over many months. And a good outcome is
far from guaranteed.

For some time now the industry has provided the
ultraviolet shoe sanitizer, possibly the most
effective means to address the problem of
reinfection from footwear and hosiery. With the
wonder of the World Wide Web, and Google apparently
able to read my mind, a funnel marketing pop up
appears on my screen:

Introducing the Fungabeam. Designed, so the blurb
goes, by an innovative podiatrist. The device is
attached to the toenails for light exposure, and
looks similar in design, to the pulse oximeter.

"This nail care uses laser and blue light therapy
to reduce nail fungus, help fight infection, and
give your nails the aesthetic appearance you've
always wanted. GUARANTEED"

The customer can buy five Fungabeams for $240. With
a daily application for 7 minutes a day, this will
provide results in weeks. If true, that would be
quite the advancement in treatment. Following the
link, the curious are directed to a website to
learn more. Instead, the customer is taken to an
orders page. There is no additional information
about the 'inventor' or any research evidence, to
back up this extraordinary claim. It is, then, not
possible to know more about the veracity of the
Fungabeam.

Have there been any trials using UV light exposure
for fungal nails? A preliminary search reveals at
least one, 2008 article (link below), published by
the British Journal of Dermatology, to suggest this
can be a viable option.

Has there been an advancement in this technology
that has slipped under the radar?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC280870
0/#:':text=Background,effective%20therapy%20for%20i
nfected%20nails.

Dieter J Fellner, DPM, NY, NY

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