If the nail plates are affected by a fungus, it will obviously not decorate the toenails.However, every fifth person encounters this disease at least once in their life.The nail changes color, thickens and splits.The symptoms of fungal infection can be erased and the treatment is not prescribed in time.
When the immune system is weakened, the fungus from the nails can spread to the skin of the feet.And in some cases, fungi can spread through the blood and damage internal organs.Fungal infection is a common cause of allergies and exacerbation of many diseases, for example, bronchial asthma.A sick person is dangerous for others, especially children.
Treating a fungal nail infection is not an easy task.The patient needs perseverance and accuracy.Despite the fact that the disease is apparently not serious, it is important to recognize foot fungus in time and make sure to treat it.
Causes of nail fungus infection
Fungi that cause nail disease are normal inhabitants of the environment.However, under certain conditions, fungal mycelia can begin to develop on human skin or nails.Onychomycosis, nail fungus, occurs several times more often on the feet than on the hands.This is due to more frequent foot injuries and more contact with contaminated surfaces.Nail fungus appears on the toes and hands in the same way.
You can get fungus in common places where people walk barefoot.These are beaches, swimming pools, baths, saunas, gyms, showers.Flakes of skin containing fungal spores are peeled from the legs of a sick person.Spores are very persistent and can remain alive for years.Fungi especially like moist environments and wooden surfaces.
When it comes into contact with the skin of a healthy person, the spores are activated and begin to multiply.Usually the feet are affected first.The infection can then spread to the toenails and hands.A sick person, in turn, becomes a source of infection for household members, especially children.
In a family, the disease develops in one of the parents and the child more often than in both spouses.The reasons for this are genetic.
Symptoms and types of the disease
Toenail disease is not difficult to recognize;its signs are obvious.Depending on how the affected nail looks, three forms of the disease are distinguished: normotrophic, hypertrophic and atrophic.
| The shape of the lesion | Symptoms of the disease |
|---|---|
| Normotrophic. | The nail retains its color and strength.Symptoms of the disease are limited to the appearance of spots on the nail surface. |
| Hypertrophic. | The nail becomes thick, opaque and loose.Over time, it changes its shape and resembles a "bird's claw".This phenomenon is called gryphosis. |
| Atrophic. | Destruction of toenails.The nail becomes dull, split and the nail bed is exposed.Over time, the nail plate can collapse completely. |
Distal-lateral, proximal, total and superficial onychomycosis is distinguished in the place where the infection penetrates the nail.Distal-lateral onychomycosis is the most common.This is an option when the infection enters the nail from the free end and affects the free edge of the nail, and the nail folds to the right and left of the nail bed.In the proximal version, the growth part against the free edge of the nail is affected.In the superficial version, the fungus affects the entire surface of the nail plate from the outside.It looks like a fine white powder scattered on the surface of the nail.The common variant is the result of any form when the fungus spreads and the entire nail is completely affected.
The first signs of the disease appear on the feet, because this is where the infection occurs.The skin of the foot peels off, the spaces between the toes become red, and itching may occur.The first signs of nail damage: the appearance of spots on the nail plate.Spots can be white, yellowish or blue-black, which is characteristic of mold.Later, the fungus penetrates deeper, the affected nail looks dull, thickens or collapses.Adjacent nail plates are affected.
Microscopy of nail scraps is performed to accurately determine the causes of the disease.In some laboratories, it is possible to inoculate this material into a nutrient medium to study the growth and culture of fungi.
How is the treatment done?
Treatment of a fungal infection should begin as soon as the initial symptoms of the disease are recognized.At the same time, treatment cannot begin until it is confirmed that the cause of the disease is a fungus.You should not take such expensive and harmful treatment for the body!
The treatment of fungal infection includes a number of measures:
- removal of the affected nail;
- taking antifungal drugs;
- treatment of the nail bed with local agents;
- additional treatment methods: laser radiation, physiotherapy, vascular agents.
Nail removal is performed when the nail plate is thickened, and drugs cannot penetrate the subungual layer through it.Using a special patch, you can remove the affected nail.The patient can perform this removal independently.A special mass is applied to the nail plate, fixed with plaster and removed after two days.The nail plate can be removed by scraping it off in layers.
However, it has been proven that the treatment is more effective when the nail is surgically removed.The surgeon removes the nail under local anesthesia.The nail plate can usually be removed using a clamp.Removing the nail allows you to significantly increase the effectiveness of therapy.
Treatment with antifungal drugs is carried out for 3-6 months.For the local treatment of the subungual region, pharmacies have various types of preparations in the form of varnishes, sprays and lotions.It is preferable to choose a drug with the same active ingredient that the patient takes orally.Physiotherapy and intravenous drugs complete the treatment.All these measures make it possible to increase the blood supply to the foot and increase the delivery of medicinal substances to the place of fungal infection.
Even if all symptoms disappear, it is necessary to carry out control tests 2 and 4 months after the end of treatment to determine whether there is a relapse.
The reasons for ineffective treatment can be different.Perhaps the fungus is not sensitive to the drug used for therapy.It happens that a person does not fully follow medical recommendations.Reinfection is possible.
Onychomycosis of the feet in children
The risk of infection for a child is primarily associated with fungal infection among adults in the family.Children often get infected in swimming pools.Immune defenses are not formed in children, so the risk of infection for a child is higher than for an adult.At the same time, regeneration processes are faster in children.Therefore, the nails grow faster than the fungus spreads on them, and the child may not develop the disease.
Symptoms of the disease in children do not differ from those in adults, and the principles of treatment are the same.The first signs of the disease, as in adults, appear on the skin of the feet: itching, crusting, the spaces between the toes become moist.And only after that the infection spreads to the toenails.
Treatment for children is mild.For a child, only local treatment is possible without the use of tablets, which are not harmful for small children.
Special measures should be taken to prevent other family members from being infected by a sick child.Shoes and toys should be treated with antiseptics, and bedding should be ironed with a hot iron.
In a breastfeeding woman, the fungus is dangerous for the baby.However, in this case, treatment is possible only locally, because antifungal drugs penetrate into milk during breastfeeding.It is harmful to the child.A woman can complete a full course of treatment when she weans her baby.
Prevention of fungal infections of the foot
The reasons for re-infection with the fungus are often the failure to prevent the disease.Prevention of onychomycosis includes the following measures.
- Wear comfortable shoes made of natural materials, especially in the hot season.
- Daily change of socks, stockings, tights.They should be washed daily and ironed if possible.
- Always wear slippers and do not walk barefoot in the pool and sauna.
- Never wear someone else's shoes - this is especially important for a child.
- All pedicure tools and foot towels must be individual.
If there is a patient with onychomycosis in the family, purposeful prevention of infection of other family members should be carried out.For this, the patient should use local antifungal agents: varnishes, creams, sprays.They prevent the spread of spores as a cause of infection.
It is necessary to treat the patient's shoes and underwear.Each shoe should be wiped inside and out with a disinfectant solution.This can be a 25% formaldehyde solution or a 40% solution of ordinary acetic acid.There is a special spray for antifungal treatment of shoes.After the shoes are wiped, a tampon is placed inside and the shoes are wrapped in a plastic bag for a day.Then each piece of shoe should be wiped with ammonia and aired.
The patient should choose socks and tights made of natural materials.Every time you wash them, you need to boil them with soap and soda for 20 minutes.The soap-soda solution is prepared as follows: 50 grams of detergent is diluted in 10 liters of water and 200 grams of soda are added.
Prevention will prevent re-infection of the disease between family members and the patient himself.