To determine whether you have fungus on your toenails and quickly deal with the disease, you need to know the signs of its appearance.It has been ascertained that approximately 20% of the world's population is affected by onychomycosis.People who practice sports and go to the swimming pool fall into the risk category.
Reasons for the development of onychomycosis
Faced with this problem, the question arises as to why nail fungus appears on the hands or feet.Pathogens thrive in soil or air.The best conditions for their reproduction will be excessive humidity and a significant increase in temperature (public showers).
Fingernail or toenail fungus is an infectious disease, so its development occurs very quickly.The human nail plate is porous, contains water, keratin fibers and fat.Therefore, having created suitable conditions for the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, one should soon expect the appearance of unpleasant lesions.
The main causes of nail fungus are:
- Use tight shoes.Particularly dangerous are poorly breathable products made from low-quality materials.
- If a person suffers from excessive sweating.
- There are significant disturbances in the functioning of the patient's immune system.Onychomycosis can occur due to changes in hormone levels or due to dysfunction of metabolic processes.
- Often the disease appears after the use of non-sterile manicure tools.
- After a long course of therapy with antibacterial drugs.
- As a concomitant disease of diabetes mellitus or varicose veins.
- Due to bad habits and characteristics of work.
Symptoms of fungal diseases on the feet
To recognize toenail fungus, you need to know its symptoms.The main signs of the disease are excessive dryness, flaking and regular itching of the skin.Unfortunately, this symptomatology is almost always ignored.After some time, changes on the surface of the nail become noticeable.Instead of shine and healthy color, cracks form and sometimes there may be recesses.But even these obvious signs are often ignored.
As a rule, patients whose fungal infection has developed into an advanced form are examined by a doctor.In this case, the nail plate completely changes color, the nail becomes brittle and may subsequently even peel off.
If the disease is not treated promptly, the risk of the fungal infection spreading to the skin increases.And due to the bad habit of nail biting, the disease manages to penetrate the human body and affect the internal organs (when the patient suffers from fungus on the nails).
To prevent serious complications from occurring, it is important to diagnose the disease in time.It is better to start fighting the fungus in the initial stages.You can diagnose a fungal infection yourself.To do this, you need to prepare a potassium permanganate solution at home and then soak your feet in it.Healthy dishes are characterized by a uniform color, closer to brown.And nails affected by onychomycosis will be white.
There are several ways to identify nail fungus yourself:
- There is a 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 the infection is also signaled by unusual spots of different colors.
- Changes in the structure of the nail have occurred.It is possible to diagnose onychomycosis not only by unusual spots.Sometimes veins and stripes appear on the nail plate.Without timely treatment, they spread and then affect the skin of the legs.
- If the nail becomes loose.Due to a fungal infection, the plate begins to crumble and sometimes comes off.
- Instead of a healthy color, the nail becomes dull yellow.At the same time, the edges of the rollers become inflamed, becoming excessively sensitive.
- Due to tissue death, an unpleasant odor occurs.
- If the fungus on the legs has developed to an advanced stage, pain appears when walking or when pressing.
Characteristics of some fungal infections
Before carrying out therapeutic treatment of onychomycosis, 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 turns dull yellow, becoming very dense.He also comes off the bed.
But if it is determined that the fungus was caused by mold, the symptoms manifest themselves as a change in color (sometimes green, brown and sometimes black).Also, the plate begins to peel strongly and there are more inclusions on it.
Sometimes a fungal infection occurs due to the activity of dermatophyte pathogens.The disease manifests itself as longitudinal stripes, which are located in the center or along the edges of the nails.
You should not self-medicate.Instead, it is advisable to consult a specialist.Only the attending physician will determine how to recognize the causative agent of onychomycosis and prescribe the optimal therapeutic method.
The process of getting rid of an illness is always long.However, with the help of special ointments, the unpleasant symptoms disappear from the skin after 3 weeks.In some cases, treatment of fungal nail infections will take several months.In addition to following the specialist's instructions, it is necessary to take care of hygiene.Foot baths with the addition of apple cider vinegar bring excellent results.
It is recommended to regularly treat the affected areas with tea tree oil or use a special propolis tincture.
Reinfection with onychomycosis can be prevented.You must understand that for this everyone in the family must have their own hygiene items.Also, do not forget to regularly treat the inside of your shoes with special alcohol.