What is nail fungus? Why? Symptoms and treatment
Nail fungi are a very common infectious infection and seriously impair the quality of life. Treatment of fungal infections of the hands or toenails can take quite a long time and requires the use of very strong drugs. Many forms of medicine are used in the treatment; some of them are applied to the nails while others need to be taken as pills. Starting the treatment of nail fungus without consulting a physician can be very dangerous. Because some medicines used have serious side effects; therefore, it should be used correctly under the supervision of a doctor.
What is nail fungus?
Nail fungi are a common infectious disease that begins as white or yellow spots under the nail tips. As the fungal infection deepens, it can cause the nail to change color, thicken and break. If your nail fungus is painful and causes thickened nails, you may need to take medication under medical supervision. Nail fungus, also known as onychomycosis, is a highly contagious fungal infection that rarely affects the hands and toes.
It begins with the appearance of a white or yellow dot on or under the nail tip and may cause the nail to change color, thicken or even break as the infection progresses. It may affect several or all of the nails. Unless treated, infection can spread to the other foot or to different parts of the body. The prevalence of the disease is around 10% of the general population, but it is twice as high in people over 60 years of age.
What is Athlete's Foot? Why? Symptoms and treatment
There may be many other reasons why your nails may look different than they are. You may need to consult a qualified doctor to ensure that you have a yeast infection. If your condition is mild and does not bother you, you may not need intensive treatment. However, if you have pain, smell from your nails or thicken, you may need serious care and medication. Click here for nail fungus pictures: Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
Symptoms of nail fungus
If your nail is thickened, dried or shattered (Figure 4)
If the nail is deformed (Figure 5)
If the nail has white or yellow lines
If your nail breaks easily
If it has lost its brightness and becomes dull
If the color is dark (Picture 6)
If smell comes from mushroom nails
If you have the above symptoms on one or more nails, always consult a dermatologist. Infected nails can be separated from the nail bed. As a result, you may feel pain and detect a bad smell. You may need to see a doctor if your self-care does not solve your problem. If you have diabetes and think you are developing nail fungus, you should get help from an expert.
What is Dermatology? What does a dermatologist do? Important skin diseases
Causes of nail fungus
Fungi are microscopic organisms that do not require sunlight to survive. Nail fungal infections are usually caused by dermatophyte fungi. These fungi often live harmlessly on your skin, but sometimes they can multiply and cause infections. Mushrooms; live in warm, humid environments, including swimming pools and showers. They can invade your skin through cuts.
If your nails are often exposed to warm and humid conditions, you are at increased risk of becoming nail fungus. Nail fungi are more common in the toenails. Because;
Most toenails are found in a dark, warm and humid environment - in your shoes - where fungi can grow.
Fingers have less blood flow than fingers. This makes it difficult for your body's immune system to find infection.
Men have more nail fungal infections than women. The older you get, the greater the risk. Other than that if;
If athletes
If you smoke
If you spend too much time in water or in humid environments
If you do not keep your feet clean and dry
If you wear shoes that sweat the feet
Walk around barefoot where fungal infections can easily spread, such as shared showers, changing rooms and gyms
If your nails are damaged for any reason
If your immune system is weak
If you have some other health condition, such as diabetes, psoriasis or peripheral arterial disease, you are at increased risk of getting nail fungus.
Factors that increase the risk of nail fungus
Decreased blood flow due to aging, exposure to fungi for many years and slower elongation of nails
Breathing heavily
Being male, especially if you have a history of nail fungal infection in your family
Working in a humid environment or in a job where your hands are often wet, such as bartending or room cleaning
Wearing socks and shoes that leave feet stuffy or sweaty
Living with someone who has nail fungus
Walk bare feet in damp public areas like swimming pools, gym
Small skin or nail damage or skin disease such as psoriasis
Children with diabetes, circulatory problems, having a weakened immune system or Down's syndrome
Before going to the doctor
Preparing before meeting with your doctor may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment process. List your personal information, including recent life changes and illnesses. List all medicines, vitamins and supplements you take.
What can you ask about nail fungus?
Do not hesitate to ask your doctor any questions you may have. Here are some questions you can ask to manage your treatment correctly:
Why did I have nail fungus?
Are the drugs I will use dangerous? What tests do I need?
What other alternative approaches to treatment exist?
I have other health problems. How do I best manage them together?
Diagnosis of nail fungus
You may need to see a foot specialist (a podiatrist) or a skin specialist (a dermatologist) first. Your toenail should be checked by a qualified physician, as toenail may resemble other ailments, including psoriasis. Physical examination alone is not enough. Studies have shown that only 50-60% of cases of abnormal nail appearance are caused by fungi.
What is Ingrown Toenail? Causes and treatment
Your doctor will examine your nail and send it to a laboratory to identify the type of fungus that may cause infection by scraping off some residue under the nail. Knowing the cause of your infection helps determine the best course of treatment. Most drugs used to treat nail fungus have side effects, so it is very important to correctly diagnose the disease and administer the treatment only by a specialist.
Treatment of nail fungus
Home care: If your nail fungus is not very advanced, you can achieve success with simple treatment methods at home:
Keep your feet clean and dry
Use separate nail clippers to cut your infected nails
If your nail looks uncomfortable or you feel pain, you can ask your pharmacist. We can offer you the following treatment products:
1- Antifungal nail cream: The infection may take up to 12 months to recover and you may not always get results.
2- Nail softening cream: Used for 2 weeks to soften the nail so that infection can be scraped off
Medications for nail fungus
If self-care strategies and over-the-counter products have not helped, your doctor may recommend a combination of prescription drugs and other approaches. The recommended treatment combination is usually as follows:
A topical cream to be applied directly on the nail
A topical nail polish: The nail is first cleaned and polished.
Regular cleaning of the nail or damaged area of the nail: Trimming and cleaning the nails can help reduce the amount of fungus in the nails and is highly recommended. This also reduces pain.
Antifungal prescription pills: These drugs prevent the infection of a new nail and slowly replenish infected parts. Usually you use these drugs for 6 to 12 weeks. However, you cannot see the results of the treatment until the nail is fully enlarged. An infection can take four months or more to disappear. In order to be more effective, drug treatment should be used together with topical products. Tablets may have side effects. You may occasionally need to have a blood test to check the effect of these drugs on your body. Doctors may not recommend these drugs for pregnant women, liver disease, or congestive heart failure, or for those taking certain medications. Side effects such as headache, itching and diarrhea may also occur.
The treatment applied is as follows:
Terbinafine and Itraconazole: Effective drugs for fungal infections of the nail. There are 80 %90% treatment success for hand nails and 70 ayak80% for foot nails. It is taken on a full stomach for 6 weeks for hand nails and for 12 weeks for foot nails. Itraconazole is usually given in cures for one week each month. Two times for hand nails and three times for foot nails, 7 days medication 21 days without medication is usually sufficient. However, since the new normal nail grows very slowly, it may take up to 6 months for the nails to regain their normal appearance after treatment.
Depending on the type of fungus that causes the infection and the degree of infection, you may need to take these medications for several months. If the infection is severe, topical solutions are often not effective in treating nail fungi alone. This is because external applications are very difficult to penetrate into the nail. Provides very slow and long-term recovery.
However, one of the most important advantages of topical treatment is the absence of serious side effects such as drug treatment. In addition, there is always the risk of recurrence of nail fungus after treatment. Therefore, protection after treatment is very important.
Nail fungus surgery
If your nail infection is severe and very painful, surgical intervention may be necessary to completely remove the nail. It is a simple procedure performed under local anesthesia. Grow a new nail in place. But this process can take up to a year.
Laser treatment of nail fungus
High-energy laser treatment is also an option to destroy fungi. However, this is an expensive treatment only in special cases. There are not enough studies on this type of treatment. In one study, antifungal nail cream and carbon dioxide laser treatment were tested and suggested to be partially effective.
Treatment of nail fungus with laser technology
Herbal treatment of nail fungus
Although some people say that they have achieved successful results with alternative approaches in the treatment of nail fungi, there is no accepted scientific research on this subject. Especially in advanced stage nail fungus cases will not be able to be effective in herbal methods. However, some herbal treatments recommended by some sources are as follows.
Snakeroot extract: This product comes from the plants of the sunflower family. In a study involving 110 people, it was suggested to be as effective as cyclopyrox. The treatment was administered once every 3 days for the first month, twice a week for the second month and once a week for the third month.
Tea tree oil: Twice a day, this product is said to be effective in the treatment of nail fungus, but further studies are required.
Cuticle and diabetes
Diabetes is a risk factor for nail fungus. Furthermore, the treatment process in diabetes patients can be longer and more difficult. If you have a suppressed immune system due to medications, diabetes, or other conditions, you can cause different and serious infections that go beyond your feet.
If you have diabetes, blood circulation and nerve conduction in your feet may be reduced. The risk of bacterial skin infection (cellulitis) is also higher. Therefore, you should be cautious about relatively minor injuries to your feet, including nail fungal infection.
How to protect yourself from nail fungus?
Wash your hands and feet regularly and keep your nails short and dry.
Wash your hands and feet with soap and water, rinse and dry thoroughly, including between your toes. Straighten the nails with a nail file
Wear socks that do not sweat. Change your socks frequently, especially if your feet are too sweaty.
Choose shoes that reduce moisture.
Discard the old shoes. If possible, avoid wearing old shoes that contain fungi and cause infection.
Use an antifungal spray or powder. Spray or sprinkle your feet and the inside of your shoes.
Wear rubber gloves. Invert the gloves to dry between uses.
Do not damage the skin around your nails. This can cause germs to reach your skin and nails.
Do not walk barefoot in public places. Wear sandals or shoes in pools, showers and changing rooms.
Make sure you go to a manicure or pedicure to sterilize the instruments. Better yet, bring it yourself and disinfect them after use.
Drop the nail polishes. Although it is tempting to hide nail fungal infections under beautiful pink polish, it can keep the nail moist and aggravate the infection.
Wash hands after touching an infected nail. Nail fungus is highly contagious.
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