Manifestation of foot mycosis is a common occurrence. In most cases, mycosis of the toenails or toenails does not bring any life-threatening consequences, but causes many concerns.
Onychomycosis occurs in 25% of the world's population.
Often trichophyton colonies cause foot fungus, foot fungus may not be noticeable at first, but soon the symptoms make themselves felt. The foot is often affected by several pathogens, including fungi and yeast.
As a result of the activity of fungi in the body, toxins accumulate, impairing metabolism, reducing immunity.
Under favorable conditions, the fungus affects not only the toenails, toenails will not be enough for it and will spread to the feet, can enter the bloodstream in the presence of wounds and affect various organs.
The fungus can start with an infection in the scratches and cuts, cracks in the skin of the feet. Sweating of the feet, neglect of hygiene, wearing tight shoes - for example, how toenail fungus starts in most cases. However, if you follow the preventive measures and timely cure onychomycosis of the nails, you can not remember the unpleasant disease.
Where can I get mushrooms
The appearance of fungi is associated not only with reduced immunity. Of course, much depends on the protection of the body, but there are other reasons for the appearance of fungi that need to be considered.
First of all, mycosis can get on the nails from a sick person. In about 30% of patients, toenail fungus is due to infection from a relative. In everyday life, the scales of a sick person's skin fall on carpets, towels, slippers and other household items.
If a person's bare skin comes in contact with surfaces, discomfort, itching and other signs of a fungal infection will begin to appear.
By determining why toenail fungus occurs, the reasons can be determined in the spa, sauna and pool. High humidity increases the chance of occasional infection and almost every visitor to the public institutions listed above can discover what toenail fungus is.
Fungal spores are resistant to temperature extremes and remain stable for a long time. For the purpose of prevention, every person should know where the fungus is from, and take measures not to get infected.
Usually, the fungus enters the body through wounds and cracks in the skin. If there are no sores, then the fungal infection can appear as scaling of the feet and itching. If these and the signs listed below start to bother you, you should see a doctor who will show you how to defeat the fungus quickly and cheaply.
Symptoms of fungus
The first signs of fungus on the toenails are the dull color of the plaque, perhaps a dry feeling of the feet, itchy skin. Later, fungal symptoms will appear on the toenails, such as plaque thickening, brittleness, and discoloration.
The attending physician will prescribe a diagnosis - take an itch of skin and nails, send it to the lab. There, experts know how to determine nail fungus and their sensitivity to medication. Based on the results, your doctor will tell you how to get rid of the discomfort and how to start treating toenail onychomycosis.
Those who have been ill once already know approximately how to fix the fungus on toenails, and in case of recurrence, they immediately go to the doctor. If you do not start treatment on time, toenail fungus can progress from an acute to a chronic form, cause relapses in the warm season, worsen chronic diseases, and so on.
Often, thumbnail fungi are associated with skin mycosis, then the appearance of weeping ulcers, pus blisters is possible. If prompt nail treatment is unsuccessful, the spores are embedded deeper in the nail plate.
It is filled with yellow spots, say crumbs, the affected areas give off an unpleasant odor. Often, you have to remove the nail to reach the focus of the disease. In this case, the fungus can be removed after removing the plate (laser, chemical or mechanical). An adequate mushroom treatment regimen includes a range of remedies, including hygiene procedures and nutrition.
The specialist will evaluate the symptoms and prescribe treatment on an individual basis, as not all medications are universal, not everything can be taken by everyone. In the initial stages, creams are usually prescribed that remove the symptoms and the fungus from the nail itself.
If several nails are affected, the disease has spread to the skin, the doctor will start a serious medication treatment for nail fungus and control all stages. The addition of a bacterial infection can complicate the situation. In this case, it will be necessary to decide not only how to remove the fungus under the nails, but to get an effective treatment for eczema, psoriasis, etc.
Types of nail fungus
The vesicular type begins with the plantar part of the foot. With the course of the disease, swelling appears, a dispersion of fluid bubbles. Later, a fungus can develop on the nail of an injured toe, and if toenail fungus is not recognized in time, the disease will go higher, spreading to other parts of the body. The vesicular type is characterized by the addition of a bacterial infection.
The membrane type starts between the 4th and 5th fingers, in the skin folds. Until toenail fungus appears, it strongly affects the skin - scales, cracks, ulcers appear.
The moccasin-like type starts from the heel, the heel. The symptoms of this type of nail fungus start to appear as the disease damages the skin. Cracks, peeling skin, painful sensations will appear.
In all three variants of the disease, over time, a fungus can appear under the nail, which causes its thickening, brittleness and often loss. The doctor knows to recognize nail fungus early, so do not diagnose yourself. The main thing is to find a good specialist who will show you how to get rid of toenail fungus faster.
How the fungus is treated
In order to get rid of the fungus on the toenails and not "fly in the tube", you should use the medication prescribed by the doctor in a specific dose and exactly for as long as the doctor prescribes. Otherwise, the recently removed mushrooms will come back again with a new force.
Nowadays, complex treatment is popular, including the pulse therapy method. This means an active fight against toenail fungus with volumetric doses of antifungal drugs.
There are long breaks between therapy courses. To remove the fungus under the toenails, treatment should include the use of varnishes, films, oils. They are based on fungicidal preparations, which, unfortunately, do not always work.
To successfully treat toenail fungus, you need to determine the type of pathogen, skin type, and severity of the disease. This is the only way to get rid of nail fungus, nail fungus spores should not have a single chance.
The doctor will tell you how to treat onychomycosis on dry skin, how to properly prepare for the procedures. For example, an oily cream is perfect for dry skin, ointments are chosen to treat the heel, suspensions are placed between the toes and varnish is applied to the nails. You do not need to think about how to remove the fungus yourself. The doctor will take care of that.
When diagnosed with toenail mycosis, treatment often involves nail removal. This is necessary because the nail prevents the medication from affecting the fungus down. The waiting doctor will explain how to treat a toenail with local medicines and pills.
Only external drugs can be used only at the onset of the disease and when it is forbidden to use systemic drugs. How do you know if systemic medications are not appropriate? The doctor will tell you about this. In particular, the pills are not prescribed for pregnant women, children, people with kidney and liver pathology. For them, special instructions are drafted on how to get rid of toenail fungus. Therapy is likely to be long-term.
External preparations are used twice a day, after 2 weeks the oil is changed with another preparation so that the fungus does not create resistance. In order for a new nail to grow back healthy, the treatment period for toenail fungus will last about a year. If the disease has only affected the foot or interdigital spaces, there are enough oils for a month.
Systemic drugs are prescribed for major nail damage. Such a treatment of toenail mycosis will be very effective, but medical supervision is necessary due to the toxicity of the medication.
Systemic drugs act on the stomach, kidneys and liver. Before starting therapy, removal of toenail fungus can be described in an appropriate manner. The doctor will show you how to remove the fungus on toenails with the least damage and get back to business faster.
Get rid of the fungus with folk remedies
Up to the moment how to deal with nail fungus through folk remedies, you should consult with your doctor about their safety and suitability of use in a particular case.
The fact is that the recipes generally describe how to get rid of fungus on the nails, but do not take into account the individual characteristics of the organism, the age of the patient, concomitant diseases and contraindications.
Only a doctor can tell the patient how to treat toenail fungus with pharmacy medicines and improvised tools, medicinal herbs. Below are popular guidelines for those looking for how to treat toenail fungus.
Washing powder, judging by the reviews, helps because of the alkali content, which is harmful to the fungus. To treat toenail fungus this way, you need to take 100 g of powder, dissolve it in a bowl of hot water and steam your nails for 15 minutes. Reviews say it is possible to cure the mild phase of the disease in 10 days.
Another recipe recommends treatment with hydrogen peroxide when diagnosing a toenail fungus. First, you need to steam your feet in a soda bath (1 liter of hot water = 1 tablespoon of baking soda). Once the toenails have evaporated, you can soak a cotton swab in the peroxide and apply to the affected areas.
To prevent the peroxide from evaporating, you can wrap the compress with cling film over it. The duration of the procedure is about an hour, you need to repeat it 2 times a day. The course of therapy lasts taking into account the depth of the nail plate wound.
Garlic is a plant rich in phytoncides. It can be dipped in salt and rubbed into the affected area. Also useful is gravel, which is applied in the form of a compress. It is important that there are no sores or cracks in the skin, otherwise the garlic will cause pain and the wound will not heal.
Ammonia is used as a compress, but not pure, but diluted with water. As soon as the symptoms of the fungus begin to appear, 1 tbsp. ammonia is stirred in a glass of water. Next, a clean bandage is dipped in a solution and applied to the affected areas overnight in the form of a compress.
Many times in the reviews it is mentioned about the fungus on the nails, possible using ordinary soda. Soda creates an environment that is unfavorable to the fungus. The powder is diluted with water in a severe condition, applied to the affected nails for 20 minutes, rinsed and dried. This is not only an effective therapy, but an effective prevention of toenail fungus in case of visit to swimming pools and saunas.
Boric acid is used after the feet have been steamed in a soda bath. After water procedures, you should dry your feet and nails well, sprinkle with boric acid powder, wear socks and leave overnight. The procedure is repeated throughout the week.
Prevention of onychomycosis
The attending physician will explain how to quickly cure toenail fungus and what to do so as not to become infected with this unpleasant disease. First, you need to beware of walking barefoot in public places (sauna, fitness room, swimming pool) - wherever you should wear rubber slippers.
If, however, an incident has occurred and you do not want to learn from your own experience what the dangers of toenail fungus are, you should use a prophylactic spray when returning home or take a shower with an antifungal shampoo.
Second, if the skin on the foot is damaged, the risk of infection increases significantly. Before skin restoration, you should cancel the trip to the pool, to the gym, etc. If there has been contact with a surface that can become infected, and after that the skin itches, you should immediately treat these areas with oil from the fungus.
Third, in order not to worry about the question of whether nail fungus can be cured, it is important to choose shoes for the season, dry them and keep them clean. Your shoes should not be allowed to be worn by other people.
You should not get shoes from anyone, and when trying on shoes at a store, you should wear socks or stockings so as not to come in contact with bare skin with the shoes. Once you have bought a shoe, you need to disinfect it - put a cotton swab dipped in tea tree oil inside, put it in an airtight bag for a day.