Fungal infection of toenails

The opinion that fungal nail infections are not dangerous to human health is quite widespread among people.Onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nails) accompanies many people for a significant part of their lives, often remaining unnoticed due to the absence of acute symptoms.But this does not make treatment any less important for such patients.Also, everyone should imagine what nail plates affected by fungus look like in order to independently diagnose the pathology.

Infection with fungal microorganisms

Infection with fungi can occur in situations that are completely familiar to humans.In most cases, everyone does not even notice how they are exposing themselves to the risk of infection.The causes of toenail infections primarily include the following:

1. Wearing someone else's shoes, especially on feet without socks or tights.
2. Visiting saunas, baths and swimming pools without individual slippers (slates).
3. Seeking the services of a pedicurist in salons that have questionable quality of work.
4. Using someone else's files and scissors to process nail plates.
5. Using other people's washcloths and towels.

In addition to the direct causes of onychomycosis, there are factors that contribute to easier infection:

• Constantly wearing stale socks, stockings, tights.
• Wearing closed shoes in the hot season, which predisposes the feet to sweating (and this is favorable for the proliferation of fungal microorganisms).
• Neglecting to constantly wash your feet with soap, especially in the summer after wearing open shoes.
• Buying shoes made from artificial materials.
• Hangnails around the toenails, cracks and corns on the soles.

What fungal toenails look like

Nail changes develop slowly, progress continuously without antifungal therapy and can lead to complete detachment of the nail plate, which is known to be irreversible.At different stages of onychomycosis progression, 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:

1. Changing the color of nails to brown, yellow, white, greenish and their shades, combinations with each other.
2. The appearance of brittle nails, their separation.
3. The edge of the nail plate crumbles more.
4. The appearance of hangnails, cracks and peeling on the skin near the nail, in the spaces between the fingers.
5. 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 begin all therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating onychomycosis on the leg when the first suspicious signs of the disease are identified.

What to treat, what kind of drugs and how they will be used determines the stage of development of the disease and the extent 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 to the skin and nails.Systemic therapy is intravenous infusion of drugs and taking them orally (orally, that is, “through the 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 drugs

• 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 soapy 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 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 have the nail removed completely.Fortunately, only in advanced stages of the disease (the fungus has affected most of the tissues) do they resort to this.In other cases, they can use pedicure instruments to remove part of the tissue, namely those affected by microorganisms.

Surgery to remove the nail plate under local anesthesia has long existed.In it, the entire nail is removed at once, and first they separate it from its bed with scissors, and then “take it out” with nippers.But such an operation damages the nail matrix, that is, the basis of its regeneration, which leads to improper growth of new tissues and their frequent ingrowth into soft tissues.

Now there is an option to cure the fungus using 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, avoiding deformation of the plate.

In addition, 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 carried out 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 fungi pathogenic to humans is not so difficult for any patient.You just have to be more attentive to your lifestyle and remember about such a disease as onychomycosis.Here is a list of basic measures to prevent foot fungus:

1. Don’t wear, let alone wear, someone else’s shoes.
2. Use only your own socks and tights, remembering to wash them regularly.
3. Have your own personal pedicure kit.
4. Use the services of a pedicurist only in proven and “high-quality” service places.
5. 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 sepsis” (blood poisoning).

Today, all effective treatment regimens for fungus on toenails have been developed; you just need to consult a dermatologist in time and identify the presence of pathogenic microorganisms.