If the nail plates are affected by fungus, it will obviously not decorate the toenails.But every fifth person faces this disease at least once in their life.The nail changes color, thickens and crumbles.The symptoms of a fungal infection can be erased and the treatment is not prescribed on time.
When the immune system is weakened, nail fungus can spread to the skin of the feet.And in some cases, the fungus can spread through the bloodstream and cause damage to internal organs.Fungal infection is a common cause of allergy and exacerbation of many diseases, for example, bronchial asthma.A sick person is dangerous to others, especially children.
Treating a fungal nail infection is not an easy task.The patient will need persistence and accuracy.Despite the apparent insignificance of the disease, it is important to recognize foot fungus in time and treat it.
Causes of fungal nail infections
The fungi that cause nail disease are normal inhabitants of the environment.But under certain conditions, the fungal mycelium can begin to develop in human skin or nails.Onychomycosis, a nail fungus, occurs several times more often on the feet than on the hands.This is due to the fact that the feet are injured more often and come into contact more often with dirty surfaces.Nail fungus appears in the same way on toes and hands.
You can catch a fungus in common areas where people walk barefoot.These are beaches, pools, baths, saunas, gyms, showers.Skin scales containing fungal spores peel off from the feet of a sick person.Spores are very persistent and can remain viable for years.Fungi especially like damp environments and wooden surfaces.
When it comes into contact with the skin of a healthy person, the spores are activated and begin to multiply.The feet are usually affected first.Later, the infection may spread to the toenails and fingernails.The sick person, in turn, becomes a source of infection for household members, especially children.
In a family, the disease is more likely to develop in one parent and the child than in both spouses.The reasons for this lie in genetic predisposition.
Signs and types of diseases
Toenail disease is not difficult to recognize;its symptoms are obvious.Depending on how the affected nail looks, three forms of the disease are distinguished: normotrophic, hypertrophic and atrophic.
| Form of lesion | Signs of illness |
|---|---|
| Normotrophic. | The nail retains its color and strength.Symptoms of the disease are limited to the appearance of spots on the surface of the nail. |
| Hypertrophic. | The nail thickens, becomes opaque and limp.Over time, it changes its shape and resembles a "bird's claw".This phenomenon is called gryphosis. |
| Atrophic. | Destruction of toenails.The nail becomes dull, crumbles and the nail bed is exposed.Over time, the nail plate can completely collapse. |
Distal-lateral, proximal, total and superficial onychomycosis are distinguished at the point of penetration of the infection into the nail.Distal-lateral onychomycosis is the most common.This is a variant when the infection enters the nail from its free edge and affects the free edge of the nail and the nail folds to the right and left of the nail bed.In the proximal variant, the growing part of the nail against the free edge is affected.In the superficial variant, the fungus affects the entire surface of the nail plate from the outside.It looks like a fine white powder spread over the surface of the nail.The total variant results from any form when the fungus has spread and the entire nail is completely affected.
The first signs of the disease appear on the foot, because that is where the infection occurs.The skin on the feet peels, the spaces between the toes turn red, itching may appear.The first signs of nail damage: the appearance of spots on the nail plate.The spots can be white, yellowish or blue-black, which is characteristic of mold.Subsequently, the fungus penetrates deeper, the affected nail appears dull, thickens or crumbles.Adjacent nail plates are affected.
Microscopy of nail scrapings is performed to accurately determine the causes of the disease.Some laboratories are able to inoculate this material on culture media for the purpose of growing and studying the culture of the fungus.
How is the treatment carried out?
Treatment of a fungal infection should begin as soon as the first signs of the disease are recognized.At the same time, treatment cannot begin until it is confirmed that the cause of the disease is a fungus.You should not conduct an expensive and harmful treatment for the body just like that!
The treatment of a fungal infection includes a number of measures:
- removal of the affected nail;
- taking antifungal drugs;
- treatment of the nail bed with local means;
- additional methods of treatment: laser irradiation, physiotherapy, vascular means.
Nail removal is done when the nail plate is thickened and drugs cannot penetrate the sub-nail layer through it.You can remove the affected nail using a special patch.The patient can perform this removal on his own.A special mass is applied to the nail plate, fixed with a plaster and after two days it is removed.The nail plate can be removed by scraping off layer by layer.
However, treatment has been shown to be more effective when the nail is surgically removed.The surgeon removes the nail under local anesthesia.The nail plate can usually be removed using a clip.Removing the nail allows you to significantly increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
Treatment with antifungal drugs is carried out for 3-6 months.For local treatment of the under-nail area, there are different types of preparations in the form of varnishes, sprays and lotions in pharmacies.It is preferable to choose a drug with the same active ingredient that the patient takes orally.Physiotherapy and vascular drugs complement the treatment.All these measures make it possible to increase the blood supply to the leg and increase the delivery of medicinal substances to the site of fungal infection.
Even if all the symptoms have disappeared, 2 and 4 months after the end of the treatment it is necessary to do control tests to determine whether there is a relapse.
The reasons for ineffective treatment can be different.Perhaps the fungus is insensitive to the drug used for therapy.It happens that a person does not fully comply with medical recommendations.Reinfection is possible.
Onychomycosis of the feet in children
The risk of infection for the child is primarily related to fungal infections among adults in the family.Children often get infected in swimming pools.In children, the immune defense is not formed, so the risk of infection for a child is higher than for an adult.At the same time, regeneration processes in children proceed faster.Therefore, the nails grow back faster than the fungus spreads on them, and the child may not develop the disease.
In children, the symptoms of the disease do not differ from those in adults, and the principles of treatment are the same.The first symptoms of the disease, as in adults, appear on the skin of the feet: itching, peeling, and the spaces between the toes become wet.And only then does the infection spread to the toenails.
Treatment in children is gentle.For a child, only local treatment is possible, without the use of tablets, which are not harmless for small children.
In order not to infect other family members from a sick child, special measures must be taken.Shoes and toys should be treated with antiseptics, and bed linen should be ironed with a hot iron.
Fungi in a breastfeeding woman are dangerous for the baby.But treatment in this case is possible only locally, since antifungal drugs penetrate into milk during breastfeeding.This is harmful to the child.A woman can complete the full course of treatment when she weans her baby.
Preventing fungal infections of the feet
The reasons for re-infection with the fungus often lie in the fact that the prevention of the disease is not carried out.Prevention of onychomycosis includes the following measures.
- Wear comfortable shoes made of natural materials, especially in the hot season.
- Daily change of socks, stockings, tights.They should be washed daily and, if possible, ironed.
- In the pool and sauna, you must wear slippers on your feet and do not walk barefoot.
- Never wear other people's shoes - this is especially important for the child.
- All pedicure tools and foot towels must be individual.
If there is a patient with onychomycosis in the family, targeted prevention of infection of other family members should be carried out.To do this, the patient must use local antifungal agents: varnishes, creams, sprays.They help prevent the spread of spores as a cause of infection.
The patient's shoes and insoles should be treated.Every part of the shoes should be wiped inside and out with disinfectant.This can be 25% formaldehyde or a 40% solution of ordinary acetic acid.There is a special spray for antifungal treatment of shoes.After the shoes are wiped, a pad is placed inside and the shoes are wrapped in a plastic bag for a day.After that, you need to wipe each piece of shoes with ammonia and air.
The patient should choose socks and tights made of natural materials.Every time you wash them, you should boil them with soap and soda for 20 minutes.The soap-soda solution is prepared as follows: dilute 50 grams of the preparation in 10 liters of water and add 200 grams of soda.
Prevention will prevent illness among family members and re-infection of the patient himself.