Nail fungus is one of the most common dermatological diseases. A fungal infection affects the nail plate, nail bed, and surrounding skin. Although the hands can also be infected, mycosis is more commonly 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 with high humidity.
Although nail fungus is statistically more common in older men who are in poor health, it can affect anyone. Children often bring the disease with them from camps or sports clubs. Sometimes you can get infected at home with relatives. In order to prevent serious complications, it is important to identify the infection in time and start treatment.
Types of nail fungus
There are thousands of fungi that can parasitize a person or live peacefully with him. Few of them cause onychomycosis or otherwise damage the nail plate.
If you are not sure what is causing the change in nail structure, make an appointment with a doctor. Based on external signs, skin condition and the results of laboratory tests, a specialist can determine the pathogen.
The destruction of the plate begins with infection 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 system is healthy, the infection is limited to a short-term, barely noticeable peeling. They can pick up spores in a moist environment that contributes to the rapid reproduction of the fungus Trichophyton menagrophytes. This dermatophyte occurs mainly on the thumbs. Already at the initial stage, the skin around the fingers suffers. You can also become infected with other dermatophytes in a damp sauna or bathroom in your own home. At first, Trichophyton rubrum makes itself felt only at the end of the plate, but gradually captures the entire surface up to the root. Infection is accompanied by stratification.
- yeast fungi. Infect the skin of the hands or feet and quickly develop protection against drug treatment. Fungi like Candida can remain on your skin or mucous membranes for years after infection. Signs of the disease only appear when your immune system is weakened — for example, in the fall 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 rarely progresses to the acute stage. With the strengthening of immunity, the lesion can temporarily disappear.
- Mold. Molds, of which scientists count more than 40 species, are often responsible for severe systemic lesions. Mold is so actively spread that laboratory tests are not always conclusive as to the nature of the disease. As a result, the fungus is not diagnosed in a timely manner or treated with various drugs using the brute force method for a long time. If you do not find a medicine for six months, you risk developing serious complications.
sign
In the first stages of infection, it is impossible to detect the fungus on your own. The state of the nail plate does not change until the living cells of the fungus reach a critical mass. Nails and skin colonize faster when your natural defenses are weakened:
- deteriorated health - weakened immunity 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.
If all of these factors are absent, the disease will start anyway, but it will progress unnoticed by you and others.
When the fungus has managed to break through the body's defense systems and gain a foothold on the skin or nail plate, onychomycosis gradually begins to develop. The affected areas darken, air pockets appear between the layers. If left untreated, the board will begin to delaminate.
Gradually, the entire surface of the nail can crack, become cloudy and turn black. You can remove a black nail with a special patch or other means, but this will not protect you from relapses of the fungus. While the nail plate slowly darkened, the spores penetrated into the deeper layers of the skin. Without medical treatment, new nails already become diseased, deformed, or discolored.
There are several types of infections. They can be recognized by the main characteristics given in the table.
outlook |
symptoms |
|---|---|
subungual form |
Skin irritation almost never occurs in the distal-lateral phase. Changes can only be detected by the appearance of the nail plate. An early symptom of onychomycosis is gray or yellow streaks at the end of the nail plate. If this part of the nail becomes brittle or peels off and the darkening returns even after cutting off the infected part, you need to see a doctor. A non-obvious sign is slow nail growth with good nutrition. |
white surface mold |
A small white spot appears on the nail, which does not cause any discomfort. The skin is usually not scaly, red, or itchy. Cosmetic defects on the nails appear and disappear without treatment. At the site of the lesion, other small defects are formed: tiny dents 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 break or detach. A few months after the well color change, the plate begins to peel off rapidly. |
Total Destruction (an advanced form of any kind of fungal disease). |
The color of the plate changes significantly, the nails turn yellow. The nail looks uncomfortable, collapses along its entire length. Behind the exfoliated tissues, the skin is visible in places where it is normally closed. The skin around infected fingers becomes inflamed and red. Possible scabies and itching. |
How to treat toenail fungus
The earlier it is possible to detect the disease, the easier it will be to cure onychomycosis. This disease does not appear in a day. You can detect unpleasant signs on the skin and nail plate long before the nail is destroyed if you inspect your toes after each shower. Are there signs of infection? Then you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.
- The dermatologist conducts a laboratory study of the material of the nail plate, assesses the stage of the lesion and selects drugs. Depending on the type of infection, the doctor may prescribe a single or systemic treatment. In the latter case, after recovery, you will have to take pills for another six months or smear the skin with creams. This will ensure that there are no relapses.
- The cosmetologist can cover the affected plates with medicated varnish, pick up a cream for inflamed skin, or perform nail removal. Cosmetic treatment does not eliminate the cause of the infection, but it does make conservative treatment more effective. Biomaterial damaged by a fungus is contagious. By removing exfoliated tissue, the beautician removes the main focus of infection.
Many types of onychomycosis present easily - as white plaque, brittleness, or slow nail growth. Local treatment is appropriate for this type of lesion. The doctor prescribes topical preparations - ointments, creams, gels - which do 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 drug acts on the focus of infection, so recovery occurs faster.
Systemic treatment of mycosis is required in the following cases:
- large deformations occur along the entire length;
- cracks or folds 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 layered to the base;
- a fungus is found on the skin;
- quick fixes don't help.
Systemic therapy begins with the diagnosis. It is important to quickly identify the reasons for initiating targeted treatment. Besides taking the medication, you need to take steps 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 drains the already weakened body.
- Drugs with a cumulative effect. Funds of this type do not start working 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 off 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 grab your fingers again. You should only be treated if you are sitting at home due to illness or are temporarily unable to see 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 mycoses and most fungal infections known to science. Suitable for treating the nail plate and skin. One of the first popular means: quickly kills fungal colonies, prevents relapses. It can be used at home without medical supervision: the drug has almost no contraindications.
- Antifungal for external use from the group of allylamines. It treats the consequences of onychomycosis and other forms of mycoses, 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 few months, deformations or white plaques form again, the treatment must be repeated.