The opinion that fungal nail infections are not dangerous to human health is quite widespread among people.Onychomycosis (fungal nail infection) accompanies many people for a significant part of their lives, often remaining unnoticed due to the lack of acute symptoms.But this does not make treatment any less important for such patients.Also, everyone should imagine what the nail plates affected by the fungus look like in order to independently diagnose the pathology.
Infection with fungal microorganisms
Fungal infection can occur in situations that are completely familiar to people.In most cases, everyone does not even notice how they are exposing themselves to the risk of infection.Causes of toenail infections mainly include the following:
- Wearing someone else's shoes, especially on feet without socks or tights.
- Visit to saunas, baths and swimming pools without individual slippers (flip-flops).
- I am looking for the services of a pedicurist in salons that have questionable quality of work.
- Using someone else's files and scissors to process the nail plates.
- Using towels and other people's towels.
In addition to the direct causes of onychomycosis, there are factors that contribute to an easier infection:
- Constantly wearing stale socks, stockings, tights.
- Keeping shoes closed in the hot season, which predisposes the feet to sweating (and this is favorable for the spread of fungal microorganisms).
- Neglect to constantly wash your feet with soap, especially in summer after wearing open shoes.
- Buying shoes made of artificial materials.
- Hanging nails around the toenails, cracks and scratches on the soles.
What do toenail fungus look like?
Nail changes develop slowly, progress steadily without antifungal therapy, 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 different 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 in brown, yellow, white, green and their shades, combinations with each other.
- The appearance of brittle nails, their separation.
- The edge of the nail plate crumbles more.
- The appearance of nails, cracks and peeling in 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).
Treatment of nail fungus
It is recommended to start all therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating onychomycosis on the feet when the first suspicious signs of the disease are identified.
What should be treated, what kind of drugs and how they will be used determines the stage of development of the disease and the degree of damage to the nails.
In general, there are two options for taking antifungal drugs - local (topical) and general (systemic).Local products are gels, ointments, creams, solutions and sprays for application on the skin and nails.Systemic therapy is intravenous infusion of drugs and taking them orally (orally, 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.In addition, there is mechanical removal of infected tissue, but only in cases of advanced fungal damage.
Topical antifungal medications
- Solution 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 soapy water and dry them.After applying the solution, cover the area with an aseptic dressing."
- Antifungal ointments and creams are applied in a thin layer over 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 remove the nail completely.Fortunately, only in the advanced stages of the disease (the fungi have affected most of the tissues) do they resort to this.In other cases, they can use pedicure instruments to remove part of the tissues, namely those affected by microorganisms.
Surgery to remove nail plate under local anesthesia has been around for a long time.In it, the entire nail is immediately removed and first it is separated from the bed with scissors and then "removed" with nipples.But such an operation damages the nail matrix, that is, the basis of its regeneration, which leads to the improper growth of new tissues and their frequent growth in soft tissues.
Now there is an option to cure the fungus using laser removal of the infected nail plate.The laser does not affect healthy tissues and destroys only the fungal cells located in the deep layers of the nail, avoiding the deformation of the plate.
In addition, there is a method of hardware removal, in which the nail is removed layer by layer using devices with cutters of different sizes.The procedure is carried out once a week or every two weeks.Repeat this until the affected layers of the nail are completely removed.
Prevention of onychomycosis
Prevention of infection by pathogenic fungi for humans is not so difficult for every patient.You just need to be more attentive to your lifestyle and remember about a disease such as onychomycosis.Here is a list of basic measures to prevent athlete's foot:
- Don't wear, let alone wear, someone else's shoes.
- Use only your own socks and tights, remembering to wash them regularly.
- Have your own personal pedicure kit.
- Use the services of a pedicurist only at proven and "high-quality" service locations.
- Remember to bring and wear mats or slippers in public bathroom areas.
Everyone should remember that onychomycosis is far from a harmless disease, which can even deprive you of the nail plate or can be complicated by a serious condition called "mycotic sepsis" (blood poisoning).
Today, all effective treatment regimens for toenail fungus have been developed;you just need to consult a dermatologist in time and identify the presence of pathogenic microorganisms.