Fungal Skin and Nail Infections: Treatment in Dubai
Fungal infections thrive in heat, sweat and closed shoes, which makes them a Dubai staple: ringworm on the body, athlete's foot, jock itch, and thickened discoloured nails. Most skin infections clear with the right antifungal; nail infections need months of treatment and a confirmed diagnosis first. At Smart Care Polyclinic in Deira, a specialist dermatologist confirms what it is before treating it.
For: itchy ring-shaped rashes, peeling feet, thick or yellow nails
Takes: a 20-30 minute consultation; a scraping or clipping where needed
Price: consultation AED 125
What it is
Fungal skin infections are caught from people, animals, floors and shared towels, and they spread in warmth and moisture. Ringworm is a slowly expanding ring with a scaly edge and a clearer centre; athlete's foot peels and cracks between the toes; the groin version is an itchy red rash with a sharp edge. They are often misdiagnosed as eczema and treated with steroid creams, which spread the fungus and blur the ring, so a scraping is sometimes taken to confirm it.
Skin infections usually clear with a topical antifungal used for long enough — typically two to four weeks and a week beyond the rash clearing — with tablets for widespread infection or scalp ringworm.
Fungal nail infection is different: creams rarely reach it, and tablets work. A Cochrane review of 48 trials and 10,200 people found high-quality evidence that oral terbinafine was six times as likely as placebo to produce clinical cure (risk ratio 6.00), with azole tablets also effective, and no significant increase in side effects with terbinafine over placebo.1 A course runs around three months for toenails, the nail then takes up to a year to grow out clear, and the diagnosis is confirmed by a clipping first because psoriasis and injury can mimic it.
Stopping it coming back
Dry between the toes, change socks daily, air the shoes, and do not share towels or nail tools. Treat athlete's foot promptly because it seeds the nails. Salon pedicures with unsterilised tools are a common source of nail infection; take your own tools or choose a salon that sterilises.
Yeast infections of the skin
Candida grows in skin folds — under the breasts, in the groin, between the buttocks — as a moist red rash with small satellite spots, especially in people with diabetes or on antibiotics. It responds to keeping the fold dry and an antifungal cream, and a persistent case is a reason to check blood sugar.
The consultation, and what follows from it
Dermatology consultation
Assessment, examination and a plan with every cost stated before anything further is done.
AED 125
Book
Questions patients ask
Usually, with oral antifungal tablets for about three months, after which the healthy nail grows out over up to a year. The Cochrane evidence for terbinafine is high quality. Blood tests are checked before tablets, and the diagnosis is confirmed with a clipping first.
Steroid creams suppress the inflammation but feed the fungus, so the rash spreads and loses its typical ring shape. This is common enough to have a name, tinea incognito, and a dermatologist can usually recognise it.
No. It is a fungus; the name comes from the ring-shaped rash. It is caught from other people, pets and contaminated surfaces.
This guide is general information about a condition, not a diagnosis. Skin conditions overlap, and what looks like one thing is often another; the dermatologist's examination is what decides your treatment.
References
- Kreijkamp-Kaspers S, Hawke K, Guo L, et al.. Oral antifungal medication for toenail onychomycosis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;2017(7):CD010031. PMID 28707751. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010031.pub248 studies, 10,200 participants: high-quality evidence that oral terbinafine achieves clinical cure six times as often as placebo (RR 6.00), azoles also effective, with no significant increase in adverse events for terbinafine.
Sources are listed for the specific statements they support. They are published research and guidance, not a substitute for a consultation — what applies to you is decided by a doctor who has assessed you.