Onychomycosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic fungi.The problem is relevant for many, because the disease is quite common and highly contagious.Therefore, it will be useful for everyone to learn how to get rid of toenail fungus.Let's understand what drugs can be used in the treatment process and how traditional medicine can help.
Fungal nails often develop in old age.But in a young and full-bodied person, the disease can develop well.Onychomycosis is less common in children.Any person is at risk of encountering an infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is relevant for everyone.
Symptoms
You need to know how it manifests itself in order to start treatment on time.The insidiousness of this disease is that it develops gradually.In the early stages, when you can get rid of nail fungus fairly quickly, most people simply do not pay attention to the appearance of the first signs.
Indeed, if a spot appears in the corner of the nail, few people will be worried.And only after that, when the disease affects most of the nail and the plate begins to collapse, people start treatment.
Meanwhile, there is only one answer to the question of how to get rid of fungus quickly - you need to start treatment at the earliest stage.If the affected area already exceeds a third of the area of the nail plate, the treatment will require a long time.
Thus, the main symptom of the disease is a change in the color of the nail plate.Most often, such a change is noted in the corner of the nail on the thumb.In very rare cases, the spot appears on the inner edge of the nail or on another finger.
The appearance of nail fungus on the hands is less common;Often women encounter this type of onychomycosis.The fact is that ladies often do manicures, and poor disinfection of tools and damage to nails are predisposing factors for the development of the disease.
Advice!Of course, the manicure itself is not harmful, and there is no need to abandon this hygiene procedure.You just need to make sure the technician carefully sterilizes the instruments or uses individual files and nippers.
If there is no treatment, the spot will begin to increase in size.In addition, the structure of the nail will begin to change.The plate thickens, cracks may appear on it, and the plate begins to collapse.
Often, onychomycosis occurs simultaneously with mycosis of the skin of the feet.At this time, the skin of the damaged area becomes red, inflamed, and painful cracks appear on it.The disease is accompanied by the appearance of an unpleasant smell from the feet.
At this stage, it is impossible not to notice the manifestations of the disease, therefore, at this advanced stage, most patients consult a doctor or try to treat themselves.
Advice!Self-treatment for fungal nail diseases is very dangerous, because the patient cannot determine the type of pathogen.Therefore, the measures taken by him may be ineffective.
If there is no treatment or it is ineffective, the disease progresses.The nail plate will begin to peel.At this stage, bacterial infection often occurs, leading to the development of a purulent process.If the disease develops seriously, it would be advisable to completely remove the diseased nail.Therefore, it is better not to bring the issue to surgery, but to start treatment on time.
Basic principles
It should be remembered that it is not easy to get rid of onychomycosis forever.This disease recurs very often.Especially if the patient has not completed the treatment, stop the course as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease pass.
To exclude the development of relapse, you should continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Advice!It is recommended to carry out two control tests with an interval of two weeks.If both tests give negative results, then the disease is considered fully cured.
The main principles of treatment of fungal disease are:
- regularity;
- integrated approach.
No medicine, even the most effective, will help immediately.The duration of treatment is determined individually;its duration is affected by:
- type of pathogen (molds form a lesion on the nail surface, so this type of onychomycosis is easier to treat than a disease caused by yeast or dermatophytes);
- the degree of damage, the treatment course may take 3-5 weeks at the initial stage, but if the onychomycosis is actively progressing, the treatment will take several months or even more than a year;
- the patient's health condition, many effective antifungal drugs have an impressive list of contraindications, so it is necessary to use less effective, but safer means.
In addition, it should be remembered that no, even the most modern and effective, medicine will help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- It is important to follow hygiene rules.You will need to disinfect all your shoes, and it is better to replace socks and slippers with new ones.You should regularly disinfect the bathtub, as well as manicure tools used to treat diseased nails.
- Follow your diet.You should reduce the amount of sugar in your diet as much as possible, avoid alcohol and fatty foods.But fermented milk products, cereals and vegetables, on the contrary, will be useful.
- Try to live a healthy lifestyle.Follow a schedule of work and rest, spend time outdoors, make sure you get enough sleep and try to avoid stress.All these measures will help support the immune system.
- Choose the right shoes.Avoid tight models and choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials.Now there are even artificial materials that can provide normal air exchange;for example, eco-leather has such properties.
Advice!It is convenient to use special sprays to disinfect shoes, but you can also use home remedies.For example, vinegar.
Pharmacy products
There are many drugs to fight fungal diseases.They differ in release form and active substance.It is impossible to recommend any tool that will help everyone without exception.A doctor should prescribe treatment for nail fungus.The following scheme is often recommended:
- Use of local agents.Most often, antifungal drugs are prescribed in the form of a solution or varnish, less often the use of creams is recommended;
- Taking systemic drugs, i.e. capsules or tablets.The need to use tablets is determined by the doctor.As a rule, they are prescribed at an advanced stage or when the local remedy does not give results;
- taking multivitamin complexes and means for general strengthening of the body.
Active products
To treat nail fungus, it is necessary to use drugs that are applied directly to the diseased nail.The doctor must prescribe drugs;the patient's duty is to use them correctly.
First you need to prepare your nail.The nail plate, unlike the skin, absorbs medicinal substances less, so the treatment of onychomycosis is more difficult than mycosis of the skin.Nail preparation is as follows:
- You should soften the nail by using a warm bath.Soda, vinegar, sea salt, herbal decoctions are added to the water (of course, you need to add one product, not all at once);
- The duration of the bath is about 20 minutes, during which the nails will have enough time to soften;
- After that, you need to treat your nails: cut them as short as possible, file them, remove loose, peeled layers in the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of local agents will be more useful.Their active ingredients will be able to penetrate deeper directly into the source of the fungal infection.
Local agents are applied 1-2 times a day.The solution is applied using a dropper (usually equipped with a bottle) or a pipette.It is necessary to drip not on the horizontal surface of the nail, but on the outer edge.
Creams are applied to the entire surface of the plate and rubbed lightly.Medicinal varnishes are one of the most convenient means for the treatment of onychomycosis.They should be applied twice a week, not daily.However, this tool helps only in the early stages of the disease.
Advice!Women especially like to use medicated varnishes because they can apply a decorative varnish on top of the medicated coating.
Additional measures
To speed up the healing process, it is recommended to perform a hardware pedicure (manicure) or use laser treatment in the process of getting rid of nail fungus.During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, removal is performed mechanically, that is, the nail is cut with special cutters.After the treatment is completed, an antifungal drug is applied to the surface.The laser procedure not only removes the affected part of the nail, but also provides a cure, because the laser beam can kill the fungus.
Home methods
Some people are quite successful in getting rid of yeast infection by using simple and inexpensive remedies to treat the disease.Here is a description of the most effective means.
vinegar
It is one of the most effective remedies and can be used together with drug treatment.The essence of the method is that the acidic environment has a harmful effect on fungi.
The simplest treatment option is to add vinegar to the baths.Take one glass of table vinegar (9%) for two liters of hot water.It is recommended to take this bath every evening before applying local medicines.You can also apply cotton cloths soaked in table vinegar to painful nails for a quarter of an hour.
garlic
The most common garlic effectively fights against fungal diseases.You can simply lubricate the painful areas with fresh juice or make compresses.To perform the procedure, it is necessary to prepare a paste of garlic, put it between two layers of gauze and apply the resulting lotion to the affected area for an hour.
Celandine
Celandine juice effectively destroys fungal infections.The affected areas are lubricated with fresh juice.In winter, you can use celandine tincture for this purpose, and a decoction of this herb is suitable for a bath.
So, only a specialist can answer the question of how to get rid of nail fungus after conducting tests.Treatment is prescribed taking into account the type of pathogen.It is best to use a combination of remedies;you can combine the use of medicines and home remedies.