IS THERE something to be said for aiming lasers at people's feet? It's evil when Bond villains do it, but it's different for medics and Newcastle podiatrist Hamish Dow believes there's potential when it comes to fungal infections in the toenail.

The owner of the Dow Clinic in Heaton brought in a PinPointe FootLaser from California in early 2009, and is still one of only five UK clinics to use the technology to break down infections around the nail.

He said: “I like gadgets, and this was something that seemed like the ultimate gadget for podiatry.”

Since graduating from the Durham School of Podiatry in 1981, Dow has seen techniques for treating nail infections change. But treatments generally focused around either topical treatment or oral remedies.

He said: “I’ve seen people who have been coming in with the same infection for years. One man got the infection when he was 14 and still has it at 79 years old. It’s often difficult to resolve things like this. People suggest home remedies like vinegar, but they just don’t work.

“Topical medication just bounces off it as it can’t get through the nail bed enough to do something. Oral medication was always considered a more profound way forward, but it’s hard for people because it effectively needs to be a powerful toxin to combat the fungus. There can be a range of effects. Headaches are common, and that can go right up to liver damage.

“In podiatry, we don’t have the license to prescribe a lot of oral products for medication as this is the GP’s domain, so we try to thin and clean the infection and stay on top of it.”