If the nail plate is affected by fungus, this will obviously not decorate the toenail.But every fifth person faces this disease at least once in their life.Nails change color, thicken, and crumble.Symptoms of fungal infection may be erased, and treatment is not prescribed in time.
When the immune system is weak, the fungus from the nails 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 infections are a common cause of allergies and exacerbation of many diseases, for example, bronchial asthma.Sick people are dangerous to others, especially children.
Treating a fungal nail infection is not an easy task.The patient will need perseverance and precision.Although this disease is not serious, it is important to recognize foot fungus in time and be sure to treat it.
Causes of fungal nail infections
The fungus that causes nail disease is a normal inhabitant of the environment.But under certain conditions, fungal mycelium can begin to grow in the skin or nails of a person.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 more often injured and more often come into contact with contaminated surfaces.Nail fungus appears on the toes and on the hands in the same way.
You can contract the fungus in common areas where people walk barefoot.These are beaches, swimming pools, baths, saunas, gyms, showers.Flakes of skin containing fungal spores peel off from the feet of sick people.Spores are very resilient and can remain viable for years.Fungi especially like moist 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 can spread to the toenails and fingernails.Sick people are the source of infection to household members, especially children.
In a family, the disease is more likely to develop in one of the parents and in the child than in both partners.These reasons lie in genetic predisposition.
Signs and types of disease
Toenail disease is not difficult to recognize;the symptoms are clear.Depending on how the affected nails look, three forms of the disease are distinguished: normotrophic, hypertrophic and atrophic.
| The shape of the lesion | Signs of illness |
|---|---|
| Normotropic. | Nails retain their color and strength.Symptoms of the disease are limited to the appearance of spots on the nail surface. |
| Hypertrophic. | The nail thickens, becomes opaque and loose.Over time, it changes shape and looks like a "bird's claw".This phenomenon is called gryphosis. |
| Atrophic. | Destruction of toenails.Nails become dull, crumble, and the nail bed is exposed.Over time, the nail plate can completely collapse. |
At the site of penetration of the infection into the nail, distal-lateral, proximal, total and superficial onychomycosis are distinguished.Distal-lateral onychomycosis is the most common.This is an option when the infection enters the nail from its free end and affects the free edge of the nail and the nail fold to the right and left of the nail bed.In the proximal version, the side of nail growth opposite the free edge is affected.In the superficial version, the fungus affects the entire surface of the nail plate from the outside.It looks like a fine white powder scattered on the nail surface.Total variants are the result of any form, when the fungus has spread and the entire nail is completely affected.
The first signs of the disease appear in the feet, because this is where the infection occurs.The skin on the feet peels, the spaces between the toes become red, and itching may occur.The first signs of nail damage: the appearance of spots on the nail plate.The spots may be white, yellowish or blue-black, which are characteristic of mold.After that, the fungus penetrates deeper, the affected nail looks dull, thickens or collapses.Adjacent nail plates are affected.
To accurately determine the cause of the disease, microscopy of nail scrapings is performed.Some laboratories have the opportunity to inoculate this substance on a nutrient medium to grow and study fungal cultures.
How is the treatment carried out?
Treatment of fungal infections should be started as soon as the early signs of the disease can be identified.At the same time, treatment cannot be started until confirmation is received that the cause of the disease is a fungus.You should not do expensive and dangerous treatments for the body just like that!
Treatment of fungal infections includes several steps:
- removal of affected nails;
- take antifungal medication;
- nail bed treatment with local agents;
- additional treatment methods: laser irradiation, physiotherapy, vascular agents.
Nail removal is done when the nail plate is thickened, and drugs through it cannot penetrate the subungual layer.You can remove the affected nail using a special patch.The patient can perform this removal independently.A special mass is applied to the nail plate, secured with a plaster, and after two days it is removed.The nail plate can be removed by scraping it off layer by layer.
However, it has been proven that treatment is more effective when the nail is surgically removed.The surgeon removes the nail under local anesthesia.The nail plate can usually be removed using clamps.Removing nails allows you to significantly increase the effectiveness of therapy.
Treatment with antifungal drugs is carried out for 3-6 months.For local treatment of the subungual area, pharmacies have a variety of preparations in the form of varnishes, sprays, and lotions.It is better to choose a drug with the same active ingredient that the patient takes orally.Physiotherapy and vascular drugs complete the treatment.All these measures make it possible to increase the blood supply to the feet and increase the delivery of medicinal substances to the site of fungal infection.
Even if all symptoms have disappeared, 2 and 4 months after the end of treatment, it is necessary to take a control test to determine whether there is a relapse.
Reasons for ineffective treatment may vary.Perhaps the fungus is not sensitive to the drugs used for therapy.It happens that a person does not fully comply with medical recommendations.Reinfection is possible.
Foot onychomycosis in children
The risk of infection for children is mainly associated with fungal infections among adults in the family.Children often get infected in swimming pools.In children, immune defenses are not formed, so the risk of infection in children is higher than in adults.At the same time, the regeneration process in children goes faster.Therefore, nails grow back faster than the fungus spreads on them, and children may not have this disease.
In children, the symptoms of this disease are no different from adults, and the same principles of treatment are used.The first symptoms of the disease, as in adults, appear on the skin of the feet: itching, peeling, and the space between the toes becomes wet.And then the infection spreads to the toenails.
Treatment for children is gentle.For children, only local treatment is possible, without using tablets, which are not dangerous for small children.
To prevent other family members from becoming infected from a sick child, special measures must be taken.Shoes and toys should be treated with an antiseptic, and bedding should be ironed with a hot iron.
Fungus in breastfeeding women is dangerous for the baby.But treatment in this case can only be done locally, because the antifungal drug penetrates into the milk during breastfeeding.This harms the child.A woman can complete the full treatment when she weans her baby.
Prevent foot fungus infection
The reasons for re-infection with fungi often lie in the fact that disease prevention is not carried out.Prevention of onychomycosis includes the following measures.
- Wear comfortable shoes made of natural materials, especially in summer.
- Daily change of socks, stockings, tights.They should be washed every day and, if possible, ironed.
- In the swimming pool and sauna, make sure you wear slippers on your feet and do not walk barefoot.
- Never wear other people's shoes - this is especially important for children.
- All pedicure tools and foot towels must be individual.
If there is a patient with onychomycosis in the family, prevention of infection aimed at 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 the cause of infection.
The patient's shoes and insoles need to be treated.Each pair of shoes must be wiped inside and out with a disinfectant solution.This can be 25% formaldehyde or 40% ordinary acetic acid solution.There is a special spray for antifungal treatment of shoes.After the shoes are wiped, a tampon is inserted and the shoes are wrapped in a plastic bag for a day.Then you need to wipe each shoe with ammonia and ventilate.
Patients should choose stockings and tights made of natural materials.Every time you wash it, you need to boil it with soap and soda for 20 minutes.The soap-soda solution is prepared as follows: 50 grams of detergent is diluted in 10 liters of water and 200 grams of soda is added.
Prevention will prevent disease among family members and re-infection of the patient himself.