Nail fungus is one of the most common dermatological diseases. Fungal infection affects the nail plate, nail bed and surrounding skin. Although the hands can also be affected by the infection, mycosis is more often found in the toes. An invisible pathogen is transmitted to the feet from wet surfaces or through the air in the bath, sauna, swimming pool, gyms and other places with high humidity.
Although nail fungus is statistically more common in older men who are in poor health, anyone can get it. Children often bring the disease from camps or sports clubs. Sometimes you can get infected from relatives at home. In order to prevent serious complications, it is important to recognize the infection in time and start treatment.
Types of nail fungus
There are thousands of fungi that can parasitize or coexist peacefully with a person. Only a few of them cause onychomycosis or otherwise damage the nail plate.
If you are not sure what is causing the change in nail structure, consult a doctor. According to the external signs, the condition of the skin and the results of laboratory tests, a specialist will be able to identify the pathogen.
The destruction of the plate begins when it is infected with one of the following fungi:
- Dermatophytes. Common pests associated with chronic diseases of the skin, hair and nails. The pathological process develops against the background of weak immunity. If your immune defenses are in order, the infection will be limited to a short-term, almost imperceptible peeling. You can get spores in a humid environment that helps the fungus Trichophyton menagrophytes multiply rapidly. This dermatophyte appears primarily on the thumbs. Already in the early stages, the skin around the fingers suffers. You can also become infected with other dermatophytes in a damp sauna or bathroom in your own home. Trichophyton rubrum is noticeable at first only at the end of the plate, but gradually covers the entire surface to the root. Infection is accompanied by stratification.
- yeast fungi. Infect the skin of the hands or feet, quickly develop protection with drug treatment. Fungi like Candida can remain on your skin or mucous membranes for years after an infection. Symptoms of the disease appear only when your immune system is weakened - for example, in autumn or early spring. The center of infection develops in the root. The nail quickly changes color, becomes dull. Without systemic treatment, the disease does not go away, but it rarely goes into an acute stage. With the strengthening of immunity, the lesion may disappear temporarily.
- Mold. For severe systemic lesions, mold fungi are often responsible, scientists have more than 40 species. Mold organisms spread so actively that laboratory studies do not always give unequivocal results about the nature of the disease. As a result, the fungus is not diagnosed in time or is treated with various drugs for a long time using brute force methods. If you do not find medicine within six months, there is a risk of developing serious complications.
symptoms
In the first stages of infection, it is impossible to recognize the fungus on its own. The condition of the nail plate will change only when the living cells of the fungus gain a critical mass. Colonization of nails and skin is faster if you have weakened natural defenses:
- health deteriorated - immunity weakened due to insufficient or unbalanced nutrition, viral attacks or cold weather;
- the body does not have the resources to resist the disease;
- nutrition in the nail bed is disturbed.
In the absence of all these factors, the disease will still start, but it will continue without being noticed by you and others.
If the fungus is able to break the body's defense systems and firmly stand on the skin or nail plate, onychomycosis will begin to develop gradually. Affected areas will darken, air gaps will appear between the layers. If left untreated, the plate will begin to delaminate.
Gradually, the entire nail surface can crack, become covered with a cloudy coating and turn black. You can remove a black nail with a special plaster or other means, but this will not protect you from relapses of the fungus. While there was a slow darkening of the nail plate, the spores penetrated into the deeper layers of the skin. Without medical treatment, new nails will become diseased, deformed or discolored.
There are several types of infection. They can be recognized by the main characteristics shown in the table.
Look |
Symptoms |
|---|---|
Subungual form |
In the distal-lateral phase, skin irritation almost does not occur. Changes can be determined only by the appearance of the nail plate. An early symptom of onychomycosis is gray or yellow streaks at the end of the nail plate. If this part of the nail becomes brittle or flakes, and the darkening returns even after cutting off the infected part, you should see a doctor. A less obvious sign is slow nail growth with good nutrition. |
white surface mold |
A small white spot appears on the nail, which does not cause concern. The skin is usually not raised, red, or itchy. Cosmetic defects in the nails appear and disappear without treatment. Other small defects appear at the site of the lesion: small holes in the plate, bumps. Symptoms of the disease often appear after a long stay in a humid environment. |
Proximal subungual form |
The first symptom is the thickening of the base of the nail layer. Since the affected areas are small, the first stage of the disease is often overlooked. The color of the pit changes - from white-transparent to cloudy yellow, then white. Affected nails grow very slowly, but do not crack or peel. A few months after the color of the well changes, the plate begins to peel off quickly. |
General destruction (an advanced form of any fungal disease). |
The color of the plate changes significantly, the nails turn yellow. The nail looks unpleasant, collapses along its entire length. Behind the exfoliated tissues, the skin is usually seen where it is closed. The skin around the infected fingers becomes inflamed and red. Possible itching and itching. |
How to treat nail fungus
The earlier the disease is recognized, the easier it is to treat onychomycosis. This disease does not manifest itself in a day. If you check your toes every time after a shower, you can see unpleasant signs on the skin and nail plate long before the nail is destroyed. Are there signs of infection? Then you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.
- The dermatologist will conduct a laboratory examination of the material from the nail plate, evaluate the stage of the lesion and select drugs. Depending on the type of infection, the doctor can prescribe single or systemic treatment. In the latter case, after recovery, you will have to continue taking courses of pills or lubricating the skin with creams for another six months. This will ensure that there are no relapses.
- A cosmetologist can cover the affected plates with medical varnish, buy a cream for inflamed skin or perform nail removal. Cosmetic treatment does not eliminate the cause of the infection, but makes conservative treatment more effective. Biomaterial damaged by a fungus is infectious. By removing the worn tissues, the cosmetologist eliminates the biggest focus of the infection.
Many types of onychomycosis show little - like a white coating, brittleness or slow nail growth. Local treatment is suitable for this type of lesions. The doctor will prescribe local preparations - ointments, creams, gels - that will not transfer the components into the bloodstream. Such treatment does not have unpleasant consequences in the form of an allergic reaction on the skin or weakening of the body. The drug acts on the site of the infection, so healing occurs faster.
Systemic treatment of mycosis is required in the following cases:
- large deformations are visible along the entire length;
- cracks or wrinkles appear;
- the process has spread to several nails, the skin of the fingers is infectious;
- damaged, infected nail root;
- large black or yellow areas appear;
- the plate is layered to the base;
- a fungus is detected on the skin;
- quick fixes don't help.
Systemic therapy begins with diagnosis. It is important to quickly recognize the causes in order to start targeted treatment. In addition to taking medicine, you should take measures to improve your health. Your doctor may advise you to stay at home for the first week to prevent an acute infection.
Two types of drugs are selected for complex therapy:
- To relieve symptoms. Onychomycosis and other forms of athlete's foot often cause skin irritation and itching. It saps an already weakened body of strength.
- Drugs with cumulative effect. These types of funds do not start working immediately. The drug must enter the bloodstream through the skin or stomach and accumulate in the nail plate in sufficient quantities. After a few weeks, the fungus will die by itself.
Effective antifungal drugs
You can treat nail and skin fungus without leaving home. But if you choose the wrong tool, the infection will catch your fingers again under the right conditions. Only if you are sitting at home due to illness or temporarily unable to visit a dermatologist for other reasons, you should treat yourself. In this case, it is worth trying medicines suitable for home use:
- Cream for external use from the group of imidazoles. Treats onychomycosis, early forms of mycosis and most fungal infections known to science. Suitable for treatment of nail plate and skin. One of the first most popular means: quickly kills fungal colonies, prevents relapses. It can be used at home without medical supervision: the drug has almost no contraindications.
- Antifungal agent for external use belonging to the group of allylamines. Treats the consequences of onychomycosis and other forms of mycosis, is safe for the skin, suitable for the treatment of children and pregnant women. This is a fast-acting cream: complex forms of the disease are treated within a few weeks. After a few months, if deformations or white plaque appear again, the course should be repeated.