Nail fungus is one of the most common dermatological diseases. Fungal infections affect the nail plate, the nail bed and the skin around it. Although the hands can also be affected by the infection, more often mycosis is found on the toes. Invisible pathogens are transmitted to the feet through wet surfaces or through the air in baths, saunas, swimming pools, gyms and other places with high humidity.
Although nail fungus is statistically more common in older men with poor health, anyone can get it. Children often bring diseases from camps or sports clubs. Sometimes you can get infected at home from relatives. To avoid serious complications, it is important to recognize the infection in time and start treatment.
Types of toenail fungus
There are thousands of fungi that can be parasitic on a person or coexist peacefully with them. Only a small number of them cause onychomycosis or otherwise harm the nail plate.
If you are not sure what is causing the change in nail structure, make an appointment with a doctor. According to the external signs, the condition of the skin and the results of laboratory tests, the specialist will be able to determine the pathogen.
Plate destruction begins when infected with one of the following fungi:
- Dermatophytes. A common pest associated with chronic diseases of the skin, hair and nails. The pathological process develops against the background of weak immunity. If your immune defenses are in order, the infection will be limited to short-term peeling that is barely noticeable. You can take spores in a humid environment that contributes to the rapid reproduction of the fungus Trichophyton menagrophytes. This dermatophyte appears mainly on the thumb. Already at an early stage, the skin around the fingers suffers. In a damp sauna or bathroom in your own home, you can also become infected with other dermatophytes. Trichophyton rubrum first appears only at the tip of the plate, but gradually captures the entire surface to the roots. Infection is accompanied by stratification.
- yeast mushroom. Infecting the skin of the hands or feet, quickly develops protection against drug treatment. Fungi such as Candida can remain on your skin or mucous membranes for years after infection. Symptoms of the disease only appear when your immune system is weak - for example, in autumn or early spring. The focus of infection develops on the roots. Nails quickly change color, become dull. Without systemic treatment, the disease does not go away, but it rarely goes into the acute stage. With the strengthening of immunity, the lesions may disappear temporarily.
- mould. For severe systemic lesions, fungal fungi are often responsible, of which scientists number more than 40 species. Mold organisms are actively distributed so that laboratory research does not always give unambiguous results about the nature of the disease. As a result, the fungus is not diagnosed in time, or treated for a long time with various drugs according to the brute-force method. If you fail to find medication for six months, there is a risk of developing serious complications.
signs
In the first stage of infection, it is impossible to recognize the fungus by itself. The condition of the nail plate will change only when the living cells of the fungus gain a critical mass. Nail and skin colonization is faster if you have weakened natural defenses:
- poor health - weak immunity due to insufficient or unbalanced nutrition, viral attacks or cold weather;
- the body does not have the resources to resist disease;
- nutrition in the nail bed is disturbed.
In the absence of all these factors, the disease will still start, but it will continue without you and others noticing.
If the fungus successfully penetrates the body's defense system and takes a foothold on the skin or nail plate, onychomycosis will gradually begin to develop. The affected area will darken, air cavities will appear between the layers. If left untreated, the plate will begin to delaminate.
Gradually, the entire surface of the nail may crack, become covered with a cloudy coating, and turn black. You can remove black nails with a special plaster or other means, but this will not protect you from the recurrence of the fungus. Although there is a slow darkening of the nail plate, the spores penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin. Without medical treatment, new nails will grow sick, deformed or discolored.
There are several types of infection. They can be recognized by the main features shown in the table.
Look |
symptoms |
|---|---|
Subungual form |
In the distal-lateral phase, skin irritation almost never occurs. Changes can only be determined by the appearance of the nail plate. The first symptom of onychomycosis is a gray or yellow band at the tip of the nail plate. If this part of the nail becomes brittle or peels off, and the darkness returns even after cutting off the infected part, you need to see a doctor. An unmistakable sign is slow nail growth with good nutrition. |
white surface mold |
Small white spots appear on the nails, which do not cause discomfort. The skin usually does not peel, red, or itch. Cosmetic defects on nails appear and disappear without treatment. Other small defects are formed at the site of the lesion: a small decrease in the plate, tuberosity. Symptoms of the disease often appear after a long stay in a humid environment. |
Proximal subungual shape |
The first symptom is thickening of the base of the nail fold. Because the affected area is small, the first phase of the disease often goes unnoticed. The color of the hole changes - from white-transparent to cloudy yellow, then white. Affected nails grow very slowly, but do not crack or peel. A few months after the change in color of the well, the plate begins to peel off quickly. |
Total destruction (advanced form of fungal disease in any form). |
The color of the plate changes significantly, the nails turn yellow. Nails look unpleasant, crumbling along the entire length. Behind the exfoliated tissue, skin is visible in places that are normally covered. The skin around the infected finger becomes inflamed and red. Possible scabies and itching. |
How to treat toenail fungus
The sooner it is possible to recognize the disease, the easier it is to cure onychomycosis. This disease does not appear in one day. You will be able to see unpleasant signs on the skin and nail plate long before the destruction of the nails if you check your toes every time after showering. Are there signs of infection? Then you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.
- The dermatologist will conduct a laboratory examination of the material from the nail plate, assess the extent of the lesion and select a medication. Depending on the type of infection, the doctor may prescribe a single or systemic treatment. In the second case, you need to continue to take a course of pills or lubricate the skin with cream for another six months after recovery. This will ensure no relapse.
- Cosmetologists can cover the affected plates with medical varnish, take creams for inflamed skin, or perform nail removal. Cosmetic treatment does not eliminate the cause of infection, but makes conservative treatment more effective. Biomaterials damaged by fungi are infectious. By removing the exfoliated tissue, the beautician removes the largest focus of infection.
Many types of onychomycosis show little - as a white coating, fragility or slow growth of the nail. For this type of lesion, local treatment is appropriate. The doctor will prescribe topical preparations - ointments, creams, gels - that will not transfer the components into the bloodstream. Such treatment does not have unpleasant consequences in the form of allergic reactions on the skin or weakness of the body. Medicines act on the focus of infection, so recovery occurs faster.
Systemic treatment of mycosis is required in the following cases:
- large deformation appears along the whole;
- cracks or folds appear;
- the process has spread to several nails, the skin on the fingers is infected;
- damaged, infected nail roots;
- large black or yellow areas appear;
- stratified plate to base;
- fungus found on the skin;
- quick fixes don't help.
Systemic therapy begins with diagnosis. It is important to quickly recognize the causes in order to start targeted treatment. Along with taking medications, you need to take steps to improve your health. Your doctor may recommend staying at home for the first week to avoid acute infection.
For complex therapy, two types of drugs are selected:
- To relieve symptoms. Onychomycosis and other forms of athlete's foot often cause skin irritation and itching. This takes away the strength of the already weakened body.
- Drugs with cumulative effects. This type of fund does not start acting immediately. The drug must enter the bloodstream through the skin or stomach and accumulate in the nail plate in sufficient quantity. After a few weeks, the fungus will die on its own.
Effective antifungal
You can cure nail and skin fungus without leaving your home. But if you choose the wrong medicine, under the right conditions, the infection will return to your finger. You should treat yourself only if you are sitting at home because of illness or are temporarily unable to visit a dermatologist for other reasons. In this case, it is necessary to try suitable medicines for home use:
- Cream for external use from the imidazole group. It treats onychomycosis, an early form of mycosis and most fungal infections known to science. Suitable for the treatment of nail plates and skin. One of the most popular ways first: quickly kills fungal colonies, prevents relapse. It can be used at home without medical supervision: the drug has almost no contraindications.
- Antifungal agents for external use, belonging to the group of allylamines. It treats the consequences of onychomycosis and other forms of mycosis, safe for the skin, suitable for the treatment of children and pregnant women. This is a fast-acting cream: the complex form of the disease is treated in a few weeks. If after a few months the deformation or white plaque re-forms, the course must be repeated.