Manifestations of mycosis on the feet are a frequent occurrence. In most cases, toenail or toenail mycosis does not cause life -threatening consequences, but poses many difficulties.
Onychomycosis occurs in 25% of the world’s population.
Often trichophyton colonies cause fungus on the feet, the fungus on the feet may not be visible at first, but soon the symptoms make themselves felt. Often the feet are exposed to several pathogens, including mold and yeast.
As a result of fungal activity in the body, toxins accumulate, disrupt metabolism, reduce immunity.
In good condition, the fungus not only affects the toenails, the toenails will also not be enough, and spread to the feet, can enter the bloodstream if there are wounds, and affect various organs.
The fungus can start with an infection on abrasions and wounds, cracks on the skin of the feet. Sweaty feet, neglect of hygiene, wearing tight shoes - for example, how toenail fungus starts in most cases. However, if you follow preventative measures and treat nail onychomycosis in a timely manner, you will not be able to remember the unpleasant disease.
Where you can pick up the fungus
The appearance of the fungus is associated not only with reduced immunity. Of course, a lot depends on the body’s defenses, but there are other reasons for the appearance of the fungus that must be taken into account.
First of all, mycosis can affect the nails of a sick person. In about 30% of patients, toenail mycosis is caused by an 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 the surface, discomfort, itching and other signs of a fungal infection will begin to appear.
Determining why toenail fungus occurs, the reason can be determined in baths, saunas and swimming pools. High humidity increases the chances of infection sometimes and almost every visitor of the public institutions listed above can find out what toenail fungus is.
Fungal spores are resistant to extreme temperatures and remain for a long time. For prevention purposes, everyone should know where the fungus comes from, and take steps to avoid getting infected.
Usually, the fungus enters the body through wounds and cracks in the skin. If there are no wounds, then the fungal infection can manifest itself as swelling of the feet and itching. If these and the signs listed below start to bother you, you need to see a doctor who will tell you how to beat the fungus quickly and cheaply.
Fungal symptoms
The first signs of fungus on toenails are a dull plate color, possibly a feeling of dry feet, peeling skin. Later, fungal symptoms on toenails will appear, such as plate thickening, brittleness and discoloration.
The attending physician will set the diagnosis - take the scraped skin and nails, send them to the laboratory. There, experts know how to determine nail fungus and its sensitivity to drugs. Based on the results, the doctor will tell you how to get rid of the discomfort and how to start treatment of toenail onychomycosis.
Those who have been ill already know roughly how to determine the fungus on the toenails, and in case of recurrence, they immediately go to the doctor. If you do not start treatment on time, toenail fungus can change from an acute form to a chronic form, interfering with relapse in the summer, with an increase in chronic diseases, etc.
Often, small picture fungi are accompanied by skin mycosis, then the possibility of the appearance of weeping ulcers, blisters with pus. If quick nail treatment is not successful, the spores are embedded deeper into the nail plate.
It is filled with yellow spots, crumbling nails, the affected area emits an unpleasant odor. Often, you need to pull out the nails to focus on the disease. In this case, the fungus can be removed after removing the plate (laser, chemical or mechanical). An adequate treatment regimen for fungus includes a set of medications, including hygiene and nutritional procedures.
Specialists will assess symptoms and prescribe treatment individually, as not all medications are universal, not all can be taken by everyone. In the early stages, creams are usually prescribed to eliminate the symptoms and the fungus itself from the nails.
If some nails are affected, the disease has spread to the skin, the doctor will start serious drug treatment for nail fungus and control all stages. The addition of a bacterial infection can complicate the situation. In this case, it is necessary to decide not only how to get rid of the fungus under the nails, but also take effective treatment for eczema, psoriasis, etc.
Types of nail fungus
The vesicular type begins with the plantar portion of the foot. With the onset of the disease, swelling appears, scattering of bubbles with fluid. Later, the fungus can grow on the sore toenails, and if the toenail fungus is not recognized in time, the disease will rise 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 toes, at the folds of the skin. Until toenail fungus appears, it greatly affects the skin - scales, cracks, ulcers appear.
Types of moccasins start from a single heel. Symptoms of this type of nail fungus begin to appear after the disease damages the skin. Cracks, peeling of the skin, painful sensations will appear.
In all three variants of the disease, over time, the fungus can appear under the toenails, causing their thickening, brittleness, and often disappearance. Doctors know how to recognize nail fungus early, so don’t make a self -diagnosis. The main thing is to find a good specialist who will tell you how to get rid of nail fungus faster.
How fungi are treated
To get rid of the fungus on the toenails and not "fly into the pipe", you need to use the medication prescribed by the doctor in a certain dose and exactly as long as the doctor prescribes. Otherwise, the newly removed fungus will come back again with a new vigor.
Nowadays, complex treatments are very popular, including methods of pulse therapy. This indicates an active fight against toenail fungus with large doses of antimycotic drugs.
Long pauses are made between courses of therapy. To get rid of fungus under the toenails, treatment should include the use of varnishes, films, ointments. They are based on fungicide preparations, which, unfortunately, do not always work.
To successfully treat nail fungus, you need to determine the type of pathogen, the type of skin, and the severity of the disease. This is the only way to eradicate nail fungus, nail fungus spores should not get a single chance.
The doctor will tell you how to treat onychomycosis on dry skin, how to properly prepare for the procedure. For example, oily creams are ideal for dry skin, ointments are chosen to treat the soles of the feet, suspensions are applied between the fingers, and varnish is applied to the nails. You don’t have to think about how to get rid of the fungus yourself. The doctor will take care of this.
When diagnosed with toenail mycosis, treatment often involves the toenail. This is necessary because the nail prevents the drug from getting into the fungus underneath. The doctor at reception will explain how to properly treat toenails with local remedies and pills.
External drugs can be used only at the beginning of the disease and when the use of systemic drugs is prohibited. How do you know if a systemic medication is inappropriate? The doctor will tell you about this. In particular, the pill is not prescribed for pregnant women, children, people with pathology of the kidneys and liver. For them, special instructions are enacted on how to get rid of toenail fungus. This therapy may be long -term.
External preparations are used twice a day, after 2 weeks the ointment is replaced with another preparation so that the fungus does not develop resistance. In order for new nails to grow back healthily, the treatment period for toenail fungus will last about one year. If the disease only affects the foot or interdigital space, there is enough ointment for a month.
Systemic medications are prescribed for severe nail damage. Treatment of toenail mycosis like this will be very effective, but medical supervision is required due to the toxicity of the drugs.
Systemic drugs act on the stomach, kidneys, and liver. Before starting therapy, removal of toenails with fungus can be prescribed in an appropriate manner. The doctor will tell you how to get rid of the fungus on the toenails with the least amount of injury, and get back to business faster.
Get rid of fungus with folk remedies
Until now how to deal with toenail fungus through folk remedies, you need to consult with your doctor about the safety and suitability of its use in certain cases.
The fact is that the recipe describes in general how to get rid of fungus on the nails, but does not take into account the individual characteristics of the organism, the age of the patient, the corresponding diseases and contraindications.
Only a doctor can tell a patient how to treat toenail fungus with pharmaceutical drugs and improvised tools, medicinal ingredients. Here are popular guidelines for those looking for ways to treat toenail fungus.
Detergent powder, based on reviews, helps because of its alkaline content, which is harmful to fungi. 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 that it is possible to cure a mild stage of the disease in 10 days.
Other recipes recommend treatment with hydrogen peroxide when diagnosing toenail fungus on the toes. First, you need to steam your feet with a soda bath (1 liter of hot water = 1 tablespoon of baking soda). Immediately after the toenails are steamed, you can soak the cotton in peroxide and apply to the affected area.
To prevent the peroxide from evaporating, you can wrap the compress with adhesive on it. The duration of the procedure is about an hour, you need to repeat it 2 times a day. The course of therapy takes place taking into account the depth of the nail plate lesion.
Garlic is a plant rich in phytonutides. It can be dipped in salt and rubbed on the affected area. Also useful is gruel, which is used in the form of compresses. It is important that there are no cuts or cracks on 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 into the solution and applied to the affected area overnight in the form of compresses.
Many times in the reviews mentioned about the fungus on the nails, defeated by using regular soda. Soda creates an unfavorable environment for fungi. The powder is diluted with water to a state of gruel, rubbed on the affected nail for 20 minutes, rinsed and dried. This is not only an effective therapy, but an effective toenail fungus prevention in case of visiting swimming pools and saunas.
Boric acid is used after the feet are steamed in a soda bath. After the water procedure, you need to dry the feet and nails well, sprinkle with boric acid powder, wear socks and leave overnight. The procedure was repeated throughout the week.
Prevention of onychomycosis
The attending physician will explain how to cure toenail fungus quickly, and what to do to avoid contracting this unpleasant disease. First, you need to be careful about walking barefoot in public places (sauna, fitness room, swimming pool) - wherever you need to wear rubber slippers.
However, if the incident occurs and you do not want to learn from your own experience what the dangers of toenail fungus are, you should use prophylactic varnish while going home or taking a shower with antifungal shampoo.
Second, if the skin is damaged on the feet, the risk of infection increases significantly. Before skin restoration, you need to cancel trips to the pool, exercise, etc. If there is contact with an infected surface, and after that the skin feels itchy, you should immediately treat these places with ointment. from fungi.
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 worn by others.
You can’t take shoes from someone, and while trying on shoes at the store, you need to wear your socks or stockings so as not to come into contact with the skin without shoes. After buying shoes, you need to disinfect - put a cotton swab dipped in tea tree oil in it, put in an airtight bag for a day.