The first symptoms and signs of toenail fungus

Fungus is an infectious disease and most often affects the nails or the skin of the feet.You can get infected very easily;danger lurks almost everywhere.Since the fungus is essentially an infection, it lives mainly in public places.To eliminate the possibility of infection, it is important to know how the pathology is transmitted to people.

How does the infection occur?

The disease always starts due to moist environment.The main reason will be the constant sweating of the feet.Statistics show that a large concentration of parasites is observed in public places, such as saunas, baths, swimming pools, etc.It is impossible to destroy the pathogen by drying shoes or feet.

When you wonder how contagious the fungus is, it can be argued that the pathology passes quite easily from person to person.It is almost impossible to insure yourself against such diseases.Many pathogens are found in public places where people walk barefoot.This means that if a healthy person steps barefoot on the surface where an infected person previously stood, in the presence of provoking factors, the disease will immediately begin to progress.

The sponge is highly resistant to various destructive factors, so it remains on surfaces for a long time.On beaches, the fungus is much less common because the salt water destroys the pathogen, but the risk of infection still remains.Remember to always wear only your own slippers, socks and shoes.

The first signs of nail fungus and their symptoms

Mycosis of the feet is always in the development stage, so the first signs of toenail fungus can be noticed even in the early stages if you carefully monitor the condition of your body.The different stages of the fungus differ in their characteristics.If the first stages of the disease can still be missed due to inattention to oneself, then the latter will be clearly felt.Let's look at the symptoms that appear in the early stages:

1. small dots appear on a healthy nail, which differ in their shade from the rest of the plate;
2. over time, such points begin to grow and turn into white spots and stripes;
3. later the spots become large and the nail plate loses its shine;
4. the plate acquires a yellow tint, sometimes changing to blue or green.

How to determine the pathology at home

If the nail changes color and becomes loose, this does not necessarily mean that it is affected by fungus.How does toenail fungus start?To determine a fungal infection at home, iodine and potassium permanganate are used.

1. Potassium permanganate.This procedure is quite simple and does not require much free time.Pour warm water into a bowl and add potassium permanganate to make the solution weak.Place your feet in the basin and wait 10 minutes.During this time, healthy nail plates will turn brown, while those affected by fungus will remain unchanged.
2. iodine.Unfortunately, this medication does not detect that there is a fungal pathogen on the feet.But iodine will show the exclusion of other types of fungi, including pityriasis versicolor.If redness, peeling, etc. is visible around the nail, treat this area with iodine.Healthy tissue will not darken much, but affected tissue will take on a rather dark shade.

Treatment

Treatment of foot fungus begins with its diagnosis.First, the dermatologist conducts a visual examination and then prescribes laboratory tests.Remember that in no case should you stop the treatment after the first improvements, because the fungus is very resistant, so the disease develops again.

Local therapy

Creams, ointments, lotions, sprays, healing varnishes are used as local preparations.Such drugs relieve symptoms well and destroy superficial lesions.The products are actively used in childhood and pregnancy, as they are absolutely safe.Local therapy is especially effective in the early stages of the pathology.

medicines

Taking medication adds effectiveness to the topical treatment of fungus.The tablets penetrate the blood and kill the fungus from inside the body.But this method has a number of significant drawbacks.Firstly, drugs have a number of contraindications and secondly, they have side effects.It is not possible to take such drugs in all cases.However, medication is the only solution that will help in advanced cases.In order to increase the effectiveness of the treatment, local remedies, drugs and traditional medicine are used simultaneously.

Laser treatment

The laser therapy procedure is gaining more and more popularity.The technique has been implemented recently and its effectiveness has already been proven.Laser therapy has advantages:

• The treatment is safe;the beam only treats the affected tissue.After the event, only healthy tissue remains.
• The procedure is painless and patients tolerate it well.
• The improvement is noticeable after the first session.
• About 4 procedures are enough to achieve a positive result.

Using a laser frees the patient from taking harmful drugs and a long course of treatment.

surgery

In some cases, complete removal of the affected nail is necessary.The operation is performed to completely stop the further spread of the infection.This procedure can increase the effectiveness of the use of local remedies.Nail removal can be done using special compounds.It is important for the specialist to be careful.In order not to get such a substance on the skin, otherwise it will cause a chemical burn.

Keratolytic patches can help remove the nail plate.This product will soften the nail well for easy removal.Plasters are used more popularly because they have a dense texture.In this way, the doctor reduces the likelihood of substances getting on the skin.The patch softens the nail for 2 days, other products last 4 days.

Therapy for advanced forms

If the toenail fungus is at an advanced stage, do not despair;just follow these rules:

1. Find and remove the cause of the infection.
2. Continually disinfect shoes or completely replace all pairs.Buy anti-fungal shoe sprays.
3. Update your socks.
4. Pass all the necessary tests and follow the treatment regimen prescribed by the dermatologist.
5. Follow all dietary restrictions.

Therapy at this stage should be carried out in a comprehensive manner.In addition to local remedies, they include effective drugs that act on the fungus from the inside, as well as using traditional medicine.With the latter, you should be careful and take into account possible allergic reactions to one or another component.

Varieties of forms of mycosis

Fungi on the feet are divided into several types that depend on the pathogen.Among these types, it is worth noting:

• rubromycosis.Symptoms of this type are peeling skin, dry skin, excessive sweating, cracking and breaking of nails.
• Mycosis.Fungi destroy the nail, destroying the keratin in it.This type of fungus is very difficult to treat;it is resistant to low temperatures, antiseptics, drying and other manipulations.The fungus can reproduce for a long time.The signs of this form are reddening of the skin, severe itching, peeling and the base of the nail is peeling.
• Candidiasis.The disease is caused by several types of fungi.The nail plates of the 3rd and 4th fingers are affected.The initial stage is characterized by mild inflammation.After that, swelling appears, a change in shape and thickness leads to the fact that the cuticle begins to be rejected.After such processes, the fungus enters the bed itself and spreads over the entire area of the nail.In this case, the development of onycholysis begins.

Disease prevention

Doctors and scientists say that there are about a million and a half species of mushrooms in the world.Only half of them have been studied, and the choice of treatment for them is quite complicated.The ideal solution is only laser therapy, which will have a beneficial effect on any type of fungus.

In order to prevent contracting this unpleasant disease, it is important to follow the rules of prevention.Measures to prevent pathology are quite difficult, but do not require financial costs.There are 2 main ways to protect yourself from foot fungus:

1. observance of personal hygiene and caution in public places;
2. prevention with the help of special drugs.

If you like to visit public places such as a bath, sauna or pool, be sure to wash your feet well when you get home.Also, dry your feet, as fungus is very hardy and especially likes a moist environment.Buy socks made of cotton fabric only.This material absorbs well the moisture that is released when the feet start to sweat.When your feet sweat a lot in closed shoes, air them out periodically if possible.

If you are going to the store to buy shoes, bring your own shoes or a sock from home;you should not try on shoes with bare feet or use public shoes.Get regular foot care such as pedicures and other treatments.Do not use common hygiene items.You must have your own foot towel.Well, if someone in your home has contracted foot fungus, avoid contact with them in any way possible and provide the patient with separate household items.