To determine that you have toenail fungus and quickly deal with the disease, you need to know the signs of their appearance.It has been found that about 20% of the world's population is infected with onychomycosis.People who play sports and go to the pool fall into the risk category.
Reasons for the development of onychomycosis
Faced with this problem, the question arises as to why fingernail or toenail fungus appears.Pathogens thrive in the soil or in the air.The best conditions for their reproduction will be excessive humidity and a significant increase in temperature (public showers).
Fungi on the nails of the fingers or toes are an infectious disease, so their development happens very quickly.The human nail plate is porous, contains water, keratin fibers and fat.Therefore, after creating suitable conditions for the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, the appearance of unpleasant lesions should soon be expected.
The main causes of nail fungus are:
- Using narrow shoes.Badly breathing products made of low-quality materials are particularly dangerous.
- If a person suffers from excessive sweating.
- There are significant disturbances in the functioning of the patient's immune system.Onychomycosis can appear due to changes in hormonal levels or due to dysfunction of metabolic processes.
- Often the disease appears after using non-sterile manicure tools.
- After a long course of treatment with antibacterial drugs.
- As a concomitant disease of diabetes mellitus or varicose veins.
- Due to bad habits as well as work characteristics.
Symptoms of fungal diseases of the feet
To recognize toenail fungus, you need to know its symptoms.The main signs of the disease are excessive dryness, peeling and regular itching of the skin.Unfortunately, this symptom is almost always overlooked.After some time, the changes on the surface of the nail become noticeable.Instead of shine and healthy color, cracks form, and sometimes there can be dents.But even such obvious signs are often overlooked.
As a rule, patients whose fungal infection has progressed to an advanced form are monitored by a doctor.In this case, the nail plate completely changes its color, the nail becomes brittle, and subsequently it can even peel off.
If the disease is not treated promptly, the risk of fungal infection spreading to the skin increases.And due to the harmful habit of biting the nails, the disease manages to penetrate the human body and affect the internal organs (when the patient suffers from nail fungus).
In order to prevent serious complications, it is important to diagnose the disease in time.It is better to start fighting the fungus in the early stages.You can diagnose a yeast infection yourself.To do this, you need to prepare a solution of potassium permanganate at home and then immerse your feet in it.Healthy plates are characterized by a uniform, closer to brown color.And nails affected by onychomycosis will be white.
There are several ways to identify nail fungus yourself:
- There is noticeable deformation of the nail plate.You should not ignore signs where the color of the nail changes or a slight thickening of the nail appears.The presence of infection is also indicated by unusual spots of different colors.
- Changes have occurred in the structure of the nails.It is possible to diagnose onychomycosis not only by unusual spots.Sometimes veins and streaks appear on the nail plate.Without timely treatment, they spread and then affect the skin of the feet.
- If the nail becomes loose.Due to a fungal infection, the plate begins to crumble and sometimes peels off.
- Instead of a healthy color, the nail becomes dull yellow.At the same time, the edges of the rollers become inflamed, become overly sensitive.
- Due to the death of tissues, an unpleasant smell appears.
- If the foot fungus has developed in an advanced stage, the pain appears when walking or with pressure.
Features of some fungal infections
Before therapeutic treatment of onychomycosis is carried out, it is necessary to determine exactly what type of pathogen has affected the nails.This will require careful diagnosis.Although the symptoms of fungal infections are similar, there are some peculiarities in the course of the disease.
When the causative agent is yeast, the patient's nail becomes dull yellow, becomes very dense.It also peels off the bed.
But if the fungus is found to be caused by molds, the symptoms are manifested by a change in color (sometimes green, brown and sometimes black).In addition, the plate begins to flake off a lot and there are numerous inclusions on it.
Sometimes a fungal infection occurs due to the activity of dermatophyte pathogens.The disease manifests itself as longitudinal stripes that are located in the center or along the edges of the nails.
You should not self-medicate.Instead, it is recommended to consult a specialist.Only the attending physician will determine how to recognize the causative agent of onychomycosis and prescribe the optimal method of treatment.
The process of getting rid of the disease is always long.However, with the help of special ointments, unpleasant symptoms disappear from the skin after 3 weeks.In some cases, the treatment of fungal nail infections will take several months.In addition to following the specialist's instructions, you must take care of hygiene.Foot baths with the addition of apple cider vinegar give excellent results.
It is recommended to regularly treat the affected areas with tea tree oil or use a special propolis tincture.
It is possible to prevent re-infection with onychomycosis.You should understand that for this everyone in the family should have their own hygiene items.Also, do not forget to regularly treat the inside of your shoes with special alcohol.