If the nail plates are affected by the fungus, it will obviously not decorate the toenails.But every fifth person encounters this disease at least once in their life.The nail changes color, thickens and crumbles.Symptoms of a fungal infection can be erased, and 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, fungi 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 for others, especially children.
Treating a fungal nail infection is not an easy task.The patient will need persistence and accuracy.Despite the apparent non-seriousness of the disease, it is important to recognize foot fungus in time and treat it.
Causes of fungal nail infections
Fungi that cause nail disease are normal inhabitants of the environment.But under certain conditions, 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 more often injured and come into greater contact with contaminated surfaces.Nail fungus appears on fingers and hands in the same way.
You can catch 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 legs of a sick person.Spores are very hardy 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 the first to be affected.Later, the infection can spread to the toenails and fingernails.A 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 of the parents and in 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 what the affected nail looks like, there are three forms of the disease: normotrophic, hypertrophic and atrophic.
| The shape of the 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 loose.Over time, it changes shape and looks like a "bird's claw".This phenomenon is called gryphosis. |
| Atrophic. | Destruction of toenails.The nail becomes dull, crumbles, and the nail 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.The most common is distal-lateral onychomycosis.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 folds to the right and left of the nail bed.In the proximal version, part of the 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 over the surface of the nail.The total variant is the result of 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 this is where the infection occurs.The skin of the feet peels, the spaces between the toes become red, itching may occur.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 typical of mold.After that, the fungus penetrates deeper, the affected nail looks dull, thickened or crumbles.Adjacent nail plates are affected.
In order to precisely determine the causes of the disease, microscopy of nail scrapings is performed.Some laboratories have the opportunity to inoculate this material on a nutrient medium in order to grow and study the culture of the fungus.
How is the treatment carried out?
Treatment of fungal infection should be started as soon as the initial signs of the disease are recognized.At the same time, treatment cannot begin until it is confirmed that the cause of the disease is fungus.You should not just carry out expensive and harmful treatments for the body!
Treatment of a yeast infection includes a number of measures:
- removal of the affected nail;
- taking antifungal drugs;
- treatment of the nail bed with local means;
- additional treatment methods: laser radiation, physiotherapy, vascular agents.
Nail removal is performed when the nail plate is thickened, and drugs cannot penetrate through it into 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, fixed with plaster and removed after two days.The nail plate can be removed by scraping layer by layer.
However, treatment has been proven 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 clamp.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 subungual area, pharmacies have different types of preparations in the form of varnishes, sprays and lotions.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 blood flow to the foot and increase the delivery of medicinal substances to the site of the fungal infection.
Even if all the symptoms have disappeared, 2 and 4 months after the end of the treatment, control tests should be done to determine whether a relapse has occurred.
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.Re-infection is possible.
Onychomycosis of the foot in children
The risk of infection in a child is primarily related to fungal infections of adults in the family.Children often get infected in swimming pools.In children, the immune defense is not formed, so the risk of infection in a child is higher than in an adult.At the same time, regeneration processes in children take place faster.Therefore, the nails grow faster than the fungus spreads through 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 moist.And only then does the infection spread to the toenails.
The treatment for children is gentle.For a child, only local treatment is possible, without the use of tablets, which are not harmless 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 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, because antifungal drugs penetrate into milk during breastfeeding.This is harmful to the child.A woman can complete the entire course of treatment when she weans her baby.
Prevention of 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.
- Wearing 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.
- Always wear slippers in the pool and sauna and do not walk barefoot.
- Never wear other people's shoes - this is especially important for a child.
- All pedicure tools and foot towels must be individual.
If there is a patient with onychomycosis in the family, it is necessary to carry out targeted prevention of infection of other family members.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.Each piece of footwear must be wiped inside and out with a disinfectant solution.It can be 25% formaldehyde or 40% solution of ordinary acetic acid.There is a special spray for antifungal treatment of footwear.After the shoes are wiped, a tampon is inserted inside and the shoes are wrapped in a plastic bag for a day.Then you need to wipe each piece of footwear with ammonia and ventilate.
The patient should choose socks and tights made of natural materials.Every time you wash them, you need to boil them with soap and soda for 20 minutes.The soap soda solution is prepared as follows: 50 grams of detergent are diluted in 10 liters of water and 200 grams of soda are added.
Prevention will prevent illness of family members and re-infection of the patient himself.