Medications

Your doctor may prescribe any of the following medications:

• Creams or ointments to rub on and around the nail, including steroid, topical vitamin A or D derivatives, or, occasionally, antifungal solutions may be needed if a fungus infection is present. However, delivery of medications to the nail area is difficult because of the barrier presented by the nail plate. Topical treatments (applied directly to the nail) may not be effective in all cases.



• Steroids applied to the skin under your nail or injected under the nail



• PUVA (This therapy is a combination of the prescription medicine, psoralen, and exposure to ultraviolet light.)



• Systemic therapy if you have both skin and arthritis symptoms (Systemic therapy is medication that spreads throughout your body. It is often in pill or injectable form, including methotrexate tablets, and injectable etanercept [Enbrel], adalimumab [Humira], as well as infusible infliximab [Remicade]).

See the article Understanding Psoriasis Medications for more information.