Nail fungus is one of the most common dermatological diseases. A fungal infection affects the nail plate, the nail bed and the surrounding skin. Although the hands can also be affected by infection, more often mycosis is found on the toes. An invisible pathogen is transmitted to the feet through wet surfaces or through the air in baths, saunas, swimming pools, gyms and other places of high humidity.
Although nail fungus is statistically more common in older men with poor health, anyone can get it. Children often bring the disease from camps or sports clubs. Sometimes you can get infected at home from relatives. To prevent 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 parasitize a person or exist peacefully with him. Only a few of them cause onychomycosis or otherwise harm the nail plate.
If you are not sure what the change in the structure of the nail is due to, make an appointment with a doctor. According to external signs, skin condition and the results of laboratory tests, a specialist will be able to determine the pathogen.
The destruction of the plate begins when infected with one of the following fungi:
- Dermatophytes. Common pests 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, almost imperceptible peeling. You can pick up spores in a humid environment that contributes to the rapid reproduction of the fungus Trichophyton menagrophytes. This dermatophyte appears primarily on the thumbs. Already in the early stages, the skin around the fingers suffers. In a humid sauna or bathroom in your own home, you can also become infected with other dermatophytes. Trichophyton rubrum is first noticeable only at the end of the plate, but gradually captures the entire surface to the root. Infection is accompanied by stratification.
- yeast mushrooms. Infect the skin of the hands or feet, quickly develop protection against drug treatment. Mushrooms like Candida can stay on your skin or mucous membranes for years after infection. Signs of the disease appear only when your immune system weakens - for example, in autumn or early spring. The focus of infection develops at the root. The nail quickly changes color, becomes dull. Without systemic treatment, the disease does not go away, but it rarely passes into the acute stage. With the strengthening of immunity, the lesion may temporarily disappear.
- Mold. For severe systemic lesions, moldy fungi are often responsible, of which scientists number more than 40 species. Mold organisms are so actively distributed that laboratory research does not always give unambiguous results about the nature of the disease. As a result, the fungus is not diagnosed on time, or it is treated for a long time with various drugs according to the brute-force method. If you fail to find a medicine for six months, there is a risk of developing serious complications.
signs
At the first stages of infection, it is impossible to recognize the fungus on its own. The state of the nail plate will change only when the living cells of the fungus gain a critical mass. Colonization of nails and skin is faster if you have weakened natural defenses:
- health deteriorated - immunity weakened due to insufficient or unbalanced nutrition, viral attacks or cold weather;
- the body does not have the resources to resist the disease;
- nutrition in the nail bed is disturbed.
In the absence of all these factors, the disease will still begin, but it will proceed unnoticed by you and others.
If the fungus managed to break through the body's defense systems and gain a foothold on the skin or nail plate, onychomycosis will gradually begin to develop. The affected areas will darken, air cavities will appear between the layers. If left untreated, the plate will begin to delaminate.
Gradually, the entire nail surface may crack, become covered with a cloudy coating, and turn black. You can remove a black nail with a special plaster or other means, but this will not protect you from relapses of the fungus. While there was a slow darkening of the nail plate, the spores penetrated into the deeper layers of the skin. Without medical treatment, new nails will grow already sick, deformed or discolored.
There are several types of infection. They can be recognized by the main features indicated in the table.
View |
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. An early symptom of onychomycosis is gray or yellow stripes at the end of the nail plate. If this part of the nail becomes brittle or flakes off, and the darkening returns even after cutting off the infected part, you need to see a doctor. An unobvious sign is slow nail growth with good nutrition. |
white surface mold |
A small white spot appears on the nail, which does not cause discomfort. The skin is usually not flaky, red, or itchy. Cosmetic defects on the nails appear and disappear without treatment. Other small defects form at the site of the lesion: tiny dips on the plate, tuberosity. Symptoms of the disease often appear after a long stay in a humid environment. |
Proximal subungual form |
The first symptom is a thickening of the base of the nail fold. Since the affected areas are 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 off. A few months after the change in the color of the well, the plate begins to peel off quickly. |
Total destruction (an advanced form of a fungal disease of any kind). |
The color of the plate changes significantly, the nails turn yellow. The nail looks unpleasant, collapses along its entire length. Behind the exfoliated tissues, the skin is visible in places where it is usually closed. The skin around infected fingers 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 will be to cure onychomycosis. This disease does not appear in one day. You will be able to notice unpleasant signs on the skin and nail plate long before the destruction of the nail if you inspect your toes every time after a shower. 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 stage of the lesion and select drugs. Depending on the type of infection, the doctor may prescribe a single or systemic treatment. In the latter case, you will have to continue taking courses of pills or smearing skin with creams for another six months after recovery. This will ensure that there are no relapses.
- The cosmetologist can cover the affected plates with medical varnish, pick up a cream for inflamed skin, or perform a nail removal. Cosmetic treatment does not eliminate the cause of the infection, but makes conservative treatment more effective. Biomaterial damaged by a fungus is contagious. By removing exfoliated tissues, the beautician removes the largest focus of infection.
Many types of onychomycosis appear slightly - as a white coating, brittleness or slow nail growth. For these types of lesions, local treatment is suitable. 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 an allergic reaction on the skin or weakening of the body. The medicine acts on the focus of infection, so recovery occurs faster.
Systemic treatment of mycosis is required in the following cases:
- large deformations appear along the entire length;
- cracks or creases appear;
- the process has spread to several nails, the skin on the fingers is contagious;
- damaged, infectious nail root;
- large black or yellow areas appear;
- the plate is stratified to the base;
- a fungus is found on the skin;
- quick fixes don't help.
Systemic therapy begins with diagnosis. It is important to quickly recognize the reasons for initiating targeted treatment. Along with taking the drugs, you will have to take measures to improve your health. Your doctor may recommend staying at home for the first week to prevent an 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 deprives the already weakened body of strength.
- Drugs with a cumulative effect. Funds of this type do not begin to act immediately. The drug must enter the bloodstream through the skin or stomach and accumulate in the nail plate in sufficient quantities. After a few weeks, the fungus will die on its own.
Effective antifungals
You can cure nail and skin fungus without leaving your home. But if you choose the wrong remedy, under the right conditions, the infection will again capture your fingers. You should treat yourself only if you are sitting at home due to illness or are temporarily unable to visit a dermatologist for other reasons. In this case, it is worth trying drugs that are suitable for home use:
- Cream for external use from the group of imidazoles. It treats onychomycosis, early forms of mycosis and most fungal infections known to science. Suitable for the treatment of the nail plate and skin. One of the first most popular means: quickly kills fungal colonies, prevents relapses. It can be used at home without medical supervision: the drug has almost no contraindications.
- Antifungal agent for external use, belonging to the group of allylamines. It treats the consequences of onychomycosis and other forms of mycosis, is safe for the skin, suitable for the treatment of children and pregnant women. This is a fast-acting cream: complex forms of the disease are treated in a couple of weeks. If after a couple of months deformations or white plaque form again, the course must be repeated.