The first symptoms and signs of toenail fungus

The fungus is an infectious disease and most often affects the nails or skin of the feet.You can get infected very easily; danger lurks almost everywhere.Since the fungus is essentially an infection, it lives mainly in public places.To eliminate the possibility of infection, it is important to know how the pathology is transmitted to humans.

How does infection occur?

The disease always begins due to a humid environment.The main reason will be constant sweating of the feet.Statistics show that a large concentration of parasites is observed in public places, such as saunas, baths, swimming pools, etc.It is impossible to destroy the pathogen by drying shoes or feet.

When wondering how contagious the fungus is, it can be argued that the pathology passes quite easily from person to person.It is almost impossible to insure against such diseases.Many pathogens are found in public places where people walk barefoot.This means that if a healthy person steps bare foot on the surface where an infected person had previously stood, in the presence of provoking factors, the disease will immediately begin to progress.

The fungus is highly resistant to various destructive factors, so it remains on surfaces for a long time.On beaches, the fungus is much less common, since salt water destroys the pathogen, however, the risk of infection still remains.Remember to always wear only your own indoor slippers, socks and shoes.

The first signs of nail fungus and its symptoms

Mycosis of the feet is always in a developing stage, so the first signs of toenail fungus can be noticed even in the early stages if you pay close attention to the condition of your body.The different stages of the fungus differ in their characteristics.If the first stages of the disease can still be missed due to inattention to oneself, then the latter will clearly make themselves felt.Let's look at the symptoms that appear in the early stages:

1. small dots appear on a healthy nail, which differ in their shade from the rest of the plate;
2. over time, such dots begin to grow and turn into white spots and stripes;
3. later the spots become large and the nail plate loses its shine;
4. the plate acquires a yellow tint, sometimes it changes to blue or green.

How to determine pathology at home

If the nail changes color and becomes loose, this does not necessarily mean that it has been affected by a fungus.How does toenail fungus start?To determine a fungal infection at home, iodine and potassium permanganate are used.

1. Potassium permanganate.This procedure is quite simple and does not require a lot of free time.Pour warm water into a bowl and add potassium permanganate to make the solution weak.Place your feet in the basin and wait 10 minutes. During this time, healthy nail plates will turn brown, while those affected by the fungus will remain unchanged.
2. Iodine.Unfortunately, this remedy does not detect that there is a fungal pathogen on the feet.But iodine will indicate the exclusion of other types of fungi, including pityriasis versicolor.If redness, peeling, etc. are visible around the nail, treat this area with iodine.Healthy tissue will not darken much, but the affected tissue will acquire a fairly dark shade.

Treatment

Treatment for foot fungus begins with its diagnosis.First, the dermatologist conducts a visual examination, and then prescribes laboratory tests.Do not forget that in no case should you stop treatment after the first improvements, because the fungi are very resistant, so the disease develops again.

Local therapy

Creams, ointments, lotions, sprays, and medicinal varnishes are used as local preparations.Such drugs relieve symptoms well and destroy superficial lesions.The products are actively used in childhood and pregnancy, as they are absolutely safe.Local therapy is especially effective in the early stages of pathology.

Medicines

Taking medications adds effectiveness to local fungal treatment.The tablets penetrate the blood and kill the fungus from within the body.But this method has a number of significant disadvantages.Firstly, medications have a number of contraindications, and secondly, they have side effects.It is not possible to take such medications in all cases.However, remedies are the only solution that will help in advanced cases.To increase the effectiveness of treatment, local remedies, medications and traditional medicine are used simultaneously.

Laser treatment

The laser therapy procedure is increasingly gaining popularity.The technique was implemented recently, and its effectiveness has already been proven.Laser therapy has advantages:

• The treatment is safe; the beam only treats the affected tissue.After the event, only healthy tissue remains.
• The procedure is painless and patients tolerate it well.
• The improvement is noticeable after the first session.
• To achieve a positive result, about 4 procedures are enough.

The use of a laser frees the patient from taking harmful drugs and a long course of treatment.

Surgery

In some cases, complete removal of the affected nail is required.Surgery is performed to completely stop the further spread of the infection.This procedure can increase the effectiveness of the use of local remedies.Nail removal can be done using special compounds.It is important for a specialist to be careful.So that such a substance does not get on the skin, otherwise it will cause a chemical burn.

Keratolytic plasters can help remove the nail plate.This product will soften the nail well for easy removal.Plasters are used with greater popularity because they have a dense texture.This way the doctor reduces the likelihood of substances getting on the skin.The patch softens the nail in 2 days, other products last 4 days.

Therapy for advanced forms

If the toenail fungus is at an advanced stage, do not despair; just follow the following rules:

1. Find out and remove the cause of the infection.
2. Constantly disinfect shoes or completely change all pairs.Buy sprays for shoes with an antifungal effect.
3. Update your socks.
4. Pass all the necessary tests and follow the prescribed treatment regimen by a dermatologist.
5. Follow all dietary restrictions.

Therapy at this stage should be carried out in a comprehensive manner.In addition to local remedies, they include effective medications that act on the fungus from the inside, and also use traditional medicine.With the latter you need to be careful and take into account any allergic reactions to one or another component.

Varieties of forms of mycosis

Foot fungus is divided into several types, which depend on the pathogen.Among these types it is worth noting:

• Rubromycosis.Symptoms of this type are flaking skin, dry skin, excessive sweating, nails cracking and breaking.
• Athlete's foot.The fungus destroys the nail, destroying the keratin in it.This type of fungus is very difficult to cure; it is resistant to low temperatures, antiseptics, drying and other manipulations.The fungus can reproduce for a long time.Signs of this form are redness of the skin, severe itching, peeling, and the base of the nail becomes flaky.
• Candidiasis.The disease is caused by several types of fungus.The nail plates on the 3rd and 4th fingers are affected.The initial stage is characterized by mild inflammation.After this, swelling occurs, a change in shape and thickness leads to the fact that the cuticle begins to be rejected.After such processes, the fungus enters the bed itself and spreads over the entire area of the nail.In this case, the development of onycholysis begins.

Disease prevention

Doctors and scientists say that there are about one and a half million species of mushrooms in the world.Only half of them have been studied, and the selection of treatment for them is quite complicated.The ideal solution is only laser therapy, which will have a beneficial effect on any type of fungus.

To prevent infection with this unpleasant disease, it is important to follow the rules of prevention.Measures to prevent pathology are quite difficult, but do not require financial costs.There are 2 main ways to protect yourself from foot fungus:

1. maintaining personal hygiene and caution in public places;
2. prevention with the help of special medications.

If you like to visit common places such as a bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool, be sure to wash your feet thoroughly upon arrival home.Additionally, dry your feet, as the fungus is very tenacious, and it especially loves a humid environment.Buy socks only made from cotton fabric.This material absorbs moisture well, which is released when the feet begin to sweat.When your feet sweat a lot in closed shoes, air them out periodically if possible.

If you go to the store to buy shoes, take your own footwear or sock from home; you should not try on shoes on your bare feet or use public footwear.Perform regular foot care such as pedicures and other treatments.Do not use shared hygiene items.You must have your own foot towel.Well, if someone in your house has become infected with foot fungus, avoid contact with him in every possible way and provide the patient with separate household items.