PACT® Fungal Nail Treatment
Are you frustrated with the lack of effective treatment options your fungal toenails?
Looking for a treatment that works and has no side effects?
Why not try PACT®?
At our Sydney foot clinic, we offer a new painless fungal toenail treatment called PACT® (Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy).
PACT® is a new innovative nail fungus treatment that is painless, quick, and safe with no side effects.
Up until recently, there have only been a few treatments for fungal toenails; antifungal nail lacquers, prescription medications etc Most topical liquids require a regular application for months or even years with varying results. And prescription medications can interact with other drugs as well as cause adverse side effects, making them unsuitable for some people.
PACT® involves the use of a unique catalyst gel combined with a special high-powered LED light. When matched with the dye of a certain colour, the therapy combats the infection and selectively kills the fungus without generating excessive heat.
Read below to find out more about PACT® therapy for fungal toenails
What is PACT®
PACT ® is an abbreviation and a scientific term for Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy. PACT works by using a special blue dye which makes fungal cells sensitive to light at a certain wavelength. Exposing the fungal toenail to the light activates the blue dye, which then kills fungal cells in a short time.
Fungal cells are less sensitive than other organisms and harder to penetrate when they are in the nail plate. PACT therapy can reach the infection without harming the skin. This makes it a quick, safe, and painless fungal toenail treatment.
how does PACT® work?
PACT® involves the use of photochemical reactions through the interaction of photosensitising agents, light, and oxygen.
PACT Fungal Nail Gel is exposed to a specific wavelength of light delivered by PACT®. The blue gel becomes activated by the UV light. As it releases energy to generate oxygen free radicals. These reactive oxygen species induce fungal cell death without affecting the surrounding tissue of the nail bed.
Always make sure you have the correct diagnosis before nail fungus treatment.
Many nail conditions can cause the toenail to change and look discoloured. Before any PACT treatment starts, our podiatrist will assess your toenail and conduct a dermatophyte test to detect the presence of fungal cells.
PACT® Treatment Plan
To achieve optimum fungal toenail treatment outcomes, PACT® should be matched to the severity of the disease. At our foot clinic in Sydney, we recommend an initial appointment, where one of our podiatrists will assess the affected toenail/s and determine a PACT therapy treatment plan.
Before starting your PACT treatment, the fungal toenail must be filed down to reduce the thickness of the nail plate and allow better penetration of the nail gel and UV light. Following this, you will be dispensed with a 40% urea cream to apply to the toenail daily for two weeks.
Initial pact® treatment
Your podiatrist applies the PACT® Nail Fungus Gel, or the blue dye, covering the affected toenail for at least 10 minutes. Following this, the PACT UV light is positioned over the affected toenails for 10 minutes. Depending on the number of affected toenails, treatment session times can vary from 20 minutes to one hour.
Frequency of PACT® sessions
The frequency of your PACT therapy is determined by the severity and duration of the infection, as well as your medical history. Healthy toenails grow on average 15mm a month. As a result, it takes at least three months for the treatment to be visibly noticeable.
This is the recommended treatment protocol for PACT therapy for fungal toenails.
Treatment Frequency | Moderate Onychomycosis | Severe Onychomycosis |
|---|---|---|
Initial | 3 PACT sessions within one month | 3 PACT sessions within one month |
Follow up | Review after two months and repeat one session | Review after one month and repeat one session |
Ongoing | Review every two months and repeat one session of PACT if required | Review every month and repeat one session of PACT if required |
Before and After PACT®
Start of treatment and 16 weeks after.
©Michaela Steinbach, podiatrist, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Start of treatment and after 2months of PACT
© Peter Kovar, Podiatrist, Stuttgart, Germany
Tips to Prevent Reinfection
To optimise the success of the PACT® nail fungus treatment, it is essential to minimise the risk of reinfection
Some things you can include the following:
- Use topical antifungal solution daily
- Dry and air shoes regularly
- Spray shoes with antifungal sprays before and after treatments
- Use UV light sanitiser to treat the shoes as an alternative
- Wash socks in hot water and apply an antifungal solution to the washing cycle
- Wear slippers in public showers and swimming centres
- Use socks containing silver, which can also minimise reinfection
- If you wear steel cap boots for work, make sure they are well ventilated
- Disinfect your shower floor
- Minimise micro-trauma to the nails
- Wear correctly fitting shoes
- Do not share nail clippers
COST
Initial pACt® Appointment
$95An initial appointment including assessment and debridement of fungal toenail in preparation of PACT® TherapyPACT® Treatment per session
$90-$150Treatment price varies from one to ten toenails
*Conditions apply: Cost is for the PACT only. If you require assessment for other foot conditions will incur additional fees
What you need to know
appointment
You will be required to make an initial appointment, where the podiatrist will assess and file down your toenail/s. Then you will be given a 40% urea cream to apply to affected toenail/s for two weeks.
A fortnight from the initial appointment, you will have your first PACT session.
How long does it take
Treatments take 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of toenails being treated.
Before your appointment
Remove all nail polish, shellac and artificial nails.
Ideally for:
- Onychomycosis
Precautions
There are no reported contraindications or side effects for PACT®
• The nail can retain a blue discolouration up to one week, but that will vanish soon after treatment.
• It normally takes three months to see improvements in the toenails due to the nail regrowth rate.
• In the event that the infection spreads to the base of the nail, reapplication can be repeated and prolonged if required.
after your appointment
For optimal results, it is important to follow these instructions:
• Implement an antifungal regime at home to avoid reinfection and cross infection.
• If you have current tinea pedis the use of a topical antifungal for skin is recommended.
• Avoid applying nail polish, Shellac or acrylic to the toenail.
• Be patient, toenails are slow-growing.
frequently asked questions
To achieve optimal results we recommend a minimum of seven sessions of PACT to show results.
The duration depends on how many toenails are being treated. One toenail takes 20 minutes, and 10 toenails take about 50 minutes.
The initial three appointments are one week apart, therefore KeryFlex cannot be applied during that time. After that, yes, KeryFlex can be applied during the one- or two-month review period. Please be aware that the KeryFlex nail will need to be removed for a PACT session.
Most cases we see in our clinic are moderate to severe fungal toenail infections, therefore during the initial appointment, the podiatrist will need to file your toenail and dispense topical urea cream before performing PACT.
Yes. You can use PACT in conjunction with oral medication and topical antifungals. Research has shown that combination therapy for fungal toenails is more successful than one treatment alone.
There are no side effects reported with PACT.
Nail polish can be applied, however we don’t recommend the use of nail polish when actively treating a fungal toenail infection.
- Baltazar LM, Ray A, Santos DA, Cisalpino PS, Friedman AJ, Nosanchuk JD. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy: an effective alternative approach to control fungal infections. Front Microbiol. 2015;6:202. Published 2015 Mar 13. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.00202
- Klausen M, Ucuncu M, Bradley M. Design of Photosensitizing Agents for Targeted Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy. Molecules. 2020 Nov 10;25(22):5239. doi: 10.3390/molecules25225239. PMID: 33182751; PMCID: PMC7696090.
- Yang Y, Wang C, Zhuge Y, Zhang J, Xu K, Zhang Q, Zhang H, Chen H, Chu M, Jia C. Photodynamic Antifungal Activity of Hypocrellin A Against Candida albicans. Front Microbiol. 2019 Aug 6;10:1810. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01810. PMID: 31447816; PMCID: PMC6691099.
- Hahn Medical Systems https://www.hahnmedicalsystems.com/
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