Onychomycosis occurs in 10–20% of the population. Among all types of pathology of the nail apparatus, nail mycosis is the most com- mon and accounts for at least 50%. This disease is not only considered an aesthetic defect, but also leads to severe systemic complica- tions, so the study of this problem is extremely important in modern medicine. Unfortunately, the use of classical therapy in the form of local or systemic antifungal agents often does not lead to the desired result, entails a lot of adverse consequences (for example, in the form of toxic damage to the kidneys and liver when using itraconazole), recurrence of the infection. Therefore, it is necessary to look for alternative methods that will eliminate toxic drugs or at least reduce their dosage. This article discusses laser and phototherapy tech- niques for the treatment of onychomycosis, such as CO2 laser, photodynamic therapy, ultraviolet radiation, Nd:YAG laser.

Keywords: nail fungus, neodymium laser, CO2 laser, Nd:YAG laser, ultraviolet radiation, photodynamic therapy, mycosis, onychomycosis