The opinion that fungal nail infections are not dangerous for human health is quite widespread among the people.Onychomycosis (fungal nail infection) accompanies many people for a significant part of their lives and often goes unnoticed due to the absence of acute symptoms.But this does not make treatment any less important for these patients.Also, everyone should imagine what the nail plates affected by fungus look like in order to independently diagnose the pathology.
Infection by fungal microorganisms.
Fungal infection can occur in situations that are completely familiar to humans.In most cases, no one even realizes how they are exposing themselves to the risk of infection.The causes of toenail infections mainly include the following:
- Wearing other people's shoes, especially on feet without socks or tights.
- Visiting saunas, baths and swimming pools without individual slippers (slates).
- Seek the services of a pedicurist in salons that have questionable quality of work.
- Using someone else's files and scissors to process nail plates.
- Using other people's cloths and towels.
In addition to the direct causes of onychomycosis, there are factors that contribute to making infection easier:
- Constantly wearing stale socks, tights and tights.
- Wear closed shoes in the hot season, which predisposes your feet to sweating (and this favors the proliferation of fungal microorganisms).
- Forgetting to wash your feet constantly with soap, especially in summer after wearing open shoes.
- Purchase of shoes made from artificial materials.
- Hangnails around the toenails, cracks and calluses on the soles of the feet.
What fungal toenails look like
Nail changes develop slowly, progress continuously without antifungal treatment, and can lead to complete detachment of the nail plate, which is known to be irreversible.At different stages of the progression of onychomycosis, all its clinical manifestations have varying degrees of severity.Changes in the nails are also individual, but in general a number of common signs can be identified:
- Changing the color of the nails to brown, yellow, white, greenish and their shades, combinations with each other.
- The appearance of brittle nails, their separation.
- The edge of the nail plate crumbles further.
- The appearance of hangnails, cracks and peeling on the skin near the nail, in the spaces between the fingers.
- An increase or decrease in the thickness of the nail (however, in some cases the thickness remains unchanged).
Nail fungus treatment.
It is recommended to start all therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating onychomycosis on the leg when the first suspicious signs of the disease are identified.
What to treat, what type of medications and how they will be used determines the stage of development of the disease and the extent of damage to the nails.
There are generally two options for taking antifungal medications: local (topical) and general (systemic).Local products are gels, ointments, creams, solutions and sprays to apply to the skin and nails.Systemic therapy consists of intravenous infusion of drugs and their administration orally (by mouth, that is, "by mouth") in the form of tablets or capsules.
These options can be used not only in isolation, but also in combination with each other.Additionally, mechanical removal of infected tissue occurs, but only in cases of advanced fungal damage.
Topical antifungal medications
- Solutions for external use.They should be applied twice a day to the affected areas with a brush.Before application, it is recommended to wash the areas with soap and water and dry.After you have applied the solution, cover the area with an aseptic dressing."
- Antifungal ointments and creams are applied in a thin layer to the affected area once or twice a day.
Mechanical removal
Most patients believe that when it comes to this type of treatment, they will definitely have their nail removed completely.Fortunately, only in advanced stages of the disease (the fungus has affected most of the tissues) is this resorted to.In other cases, they may use pedicure instruments to remove part of the tissue, specifically that affected by microorganisms.
Surgery to remove the nail plate under local anesthesia has existed for a long time.In it, the entire nail is extracted at once, and first it is separated from its bed with scissors, and then “removed” with tweezers.But such an operation damages the nail matrix, that is, the basis of its regeneration, which leads to inadequate growth of new tissues and their frequent growth into soft tissues.
There is now an option to cure the fungus by laser removal of the infected nail plate.The laser does not touch healthy tissue and destroys only fungal cells located even in the deep layers of the nail, preventing deformation of the plate.
Additionally, there is a hardware removal method, in which the nail is removed layer by layer using devices with cutters of various sizes.The procedure is performed once a week or every two weeks.Repeat this until the affected layers of the nail are completely removed.
Prevention of onychomycosis
Preventing infection by fungal pathogens for humans is not that difficult for any patient.You just have to be more attentive to your lifestyle and remember a disease like onychomycosis.Here is a list of basic measures to prevent foot fungus:
- Don't wear, much less wear, someone else's shoes.
- Only wear your own socks and tights and remember to wash them regularly.
- Have your own personal pedicure kit.
- Use the services of a pedicurist only in proven and "high-quality" service places.
- Remember to bring and wear flip-flops or slippers in public bathing areas.
Everyone should remember that onychomycosis is far from a harmless disease, which can even deprive you of the nail plate or be complicated by a serious condition called "fungal septicemia" (blood poisoning).
Nowadays, all effective treatment regimens for toenail fungus have been developed;it is only necessary to consult a dermatologist in time and identify the presence of pathogenic microorganisms.