In order to identify that you have fungus on your toenails and to deal with the disease quickly, you need to know the signs of its appearance.Approximately 20% of the world's population has been determined to be infected with onychomycosis.People who participate in sports and go to swimming pools fall into the risk category.
Causes of onychomycosis
Faced with this problem, people can't help but ask, why do onychomycosis appear on hands or feet?Pathogens multiply in the soil or air.The best conditions for their reproduction are excessive humidity and significantly higher temperatures (public showers).
Onychomycosis on the fingers or toes is a contagious disease, so it develops very quickly.Human nail plates are porous and contain water, keratin fibers, and fat.Therefore, after suitable conditions are created for the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, unpleasant lesions appear very quickly.
The main causes of onychomycosis are:
- Use tight-fitting shoes.Particularly dangerous are products with poor breathability made from inferior materials.
- If a person sweats excessively.
- The patient's immune system function was significantly disrupted.The appearance of onychomycosis may be due to changes in hormone levels or dysfunction of metabolic processes.
- The disease usually develops after using unsterile manicure tools.
- After long-term antibiotic treatment.
- As a concomitant disease of diabetes or varicose veins.
- Due to bad living habits and work characteristics.
Symptoms of foot fungus
To recognize onychomycosis, you need to know its symptoms.The main symptoms of the disease are excessive dryness, flaking and frequent itching of the skin.Unfortunately, this symptom is almost always ignored.After some time, changes in the nail surface become apparent.Cracks will form, instead of a glossy and healthy color, and dents may sometimes appear.But even such obvious signs are often overlooked.
Typically, patients who have advanced fungal infections see a doctor.In this case, the nail plate becomes completely discolored, the nails become brittle and may even fall off.
If the disease is left untreated, the risk of the fungal infection spreading to the skin increases.And due to the bad habit of biting nails, the disease is able to penetrate the body and affect the internal organs (when fungus appears on the patient's nails).
To prevent serious complications, it is important to diagnose the disease promptly.It’s best to start fighting fungus in its early stages.You can diagnose fungal infections yourself.To do this, you need to prepare a solution of potassium permanganate at home and immerse your feet in it.Healthy plates are characterized by a uniform, almost brown color.Nails affected by onychomycosis will appear white.
There are several ways to identify onychomycosis on your own:
- The deck is significantly deformed.You should not ignore changes in nail color or signs of slight thickening of your nails.Abnormal spots of different colors also indicate the presence of infection.
- The structure of the nails changes.Onychomycosis can be diagnosed not only by abnormal spots.Sometimes veins and streaks appear on the nail plate.If left untreated, they can spread and affect the skin on the legs.
- If the nail is loose.Due to a fungal infection, the plates begin to crumble and sometimes even peel.
- The nails no longer have a healthy color, but turn dark yellow.At the same time, the edges of the drum can become inflamed and become overly sensitive.
- As the tissue dies, an unpleasant odor develops.
- If fungus in the legs is advanced, pain may occur when walking or pressing.
Characteristics of some fungal infections
Before treating onychomycosis, it is necessary to determine what type of pathogen is affecting the nails.This requires careful diagnosis.Although the symptoms of fungal infections are similar, the course of the disease is somewhat unique.
When the causative agent is yeast, the patient's nails will turn dark yellow and become very dense.Additionally, it will peel off the bed.
But if the fungus is determined to be caused by mold, symptoms will appear as a color change (sometimes green, brown, sometimes black).In addition, the board began to peel off strongly and there were many inclusions on it.
Sometimes fungal infections occur due to the activity of dermatophyte pathogens.The disease appears as longitudinal streaks, either in the center of the nail or along the edges.
You should not self-medicate.Instead, it is recommended to consult an expert.Only the treating physician can determine how to identify the causative agent of onychomycosis and prescribe the best treatment.
The process of getting over a disease is always long.However, with the help of special ointments, the symptoms of discomfort on the skin disappear after 3 weeks.In some cases, treatment of fungal nail infections takes several months.In addition to following the instructions of experts, you also need to pay attention to hygiene.A foot bath with apple cider vinegar is great.
It is recommended to treat the affected area regularly with tea tree oil or use a special propolis tincture.
It can prevent re-infection of onychomycosis.You need to understand that for this, everyone in the family must have their own sanitary products.Also, do not forget to regularly treat the inside of the shoes with special alcohol.