The first symptoms and signs of nail fungus

The fungus is an infectious disease and most often affects the nails or the skin of the legs. You can get infected very easily, the danger is almost everywhere. Since the fungus is basically an infection, it mostly lives in public places. To exclude the possibility of infection, it is important to know how the pathology is transmitted to humans.

How does the infection occur

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

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

The fungus has a high resistance to various destructive factors, so it remains on surfaces for a long time. On beaches, the fungus is much less common, as salt water destroys the pathogen, however, the risk of infection remains. Remember to always wear only your indoor slippers, socks and shoes.

The first signs of nail fungus and its symptoms

Foot fungus is still in the development stage, so the first signs of nail fungus can be seen even in the early stages, if you are attentive to 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 skipped due to inattention to oneself, then the latter will clearly make themselves felt. Consider the symptoms that appear in the early stages:

1. small dots appear on a healthy nail, which differ in shade from the rest of the plate;
2. over time, these dots 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 it turns blue or green.

How to determine pathology at home

If the nail changes color, peels off, this does not necessarily mean that it was the fungus that hit it. How does nail fungus start? To determine a fungal infection at home, iodine potassium permanganate is 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 weaken the solution. Lower your legs into the pelvis and wait 10 minutes. At this time, the healthy nail plates will turn brown, and those affected by the fungus will remain unchanged.
2. Iodine.Unfortunately, this tool does not determine that there is a pathogenic fungus on the legs. But iodine will indicate the exclusion of other types of fungi, including pityriasis versicolor. If redness, peeling, etc. are visible around the nail, treat this place with iodine. Healthy tissue will not darken much, but affected tissue will acquire a rather dark hue.

Treatment

The treatment of foot mycosis begins with its diagnosis. First, the dermatologist conducts a visual examination, and then prescribes laboratory tests.Remember that it is impossible to stop treatment after the first improvements, because the fungi are very resistant, so the disease develops again.

Local therapy

Creams, ointments, lotions, sprays, medicinal varnishes are used as local preparations. These drugs relieve symptoms well and destroy superficial foci. Means are actively used in childhood, during pregnancy, as they are absolutely safe. Local therapy is especially effective in the early stages of pathology.

Medications

Medication adds to the effectiveness of topical fungus treatment. The tablets enter the bloodstream 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, funds are the only solution that will help in advanced cases. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, local remedies, drugs and traditional medicine are used simultaneously.

laser treatment

Laser therapy is becoming increasingly popular.The technique was performed recently, and its effectiveness has already been proven.Laser therapy has the following advantages:

• The treatment is safe, the beam only treats the affected tissue. After the event, only healthy tissue remains.
• The procedure is painless and well tolerated by patients.
• The improvement is noticeable from the first session.
• About 4 procedures are enough to get a positive result.

The use of a laser frees the patient from taking harmful drugs and a long treatment.

Operation

In some cases, complete removal of the affected nail is necessary.Surgery is performed to completely stop the spread of infection. This procedure can increase the efficiency of the use of local funds. Nail removal can be carried out using special formulations. It is important for a specialist to be careful. So that such a substance does not get on the skin, otherwise it will cause a chemical burn.

Keratolytic patches can help remove nail plate. Such a tool will soften the nail well, for easy removal. Plasters are used with greater popularity, as they have a dense texture. Thus, the doctor reduces the likelihood of substances coming into contact with the skin. The patch softens the nail in 2 days, other products last 4 days.

Neglected form therapy

With the advanced stage of nail fungus, one should not despair, it is enough to follow the following rules:

1. Determine and eliminate the cause of the infection.
2. Constantly disinfect shoes or even change all pairs. Shop for antifungal shoe sprays.
3. Update socks.
4. Pass all the necessary tests and follow the treatment regimen prescribed by a dermatologist.
5. Observe all dietary restrictions.

Therapy at this stage should be carried out in a complex mode. In addition to local remedies, they combine effective drugs that act on the fungus from the inside, and also use traditional medicine. With the latter, you need to be careful and take into account existing allergic reactions to one or another component.

Varieties of forms of mycosis

Foot fungus is divided into several types, which depend on the pathogen. Of these types, it is worth noting:

• Rubromycosis.Symptoms of this type are peeling of the skin, its dryness, excessive sweating, cracked and broken nails.
• Epidermophytosis.The fungus destroys the nail by destroying the keratin it contains. This type of fungus is very difficult to cure, it is resistant to low temperatures, antiseptics, drying and other manipulations. For a long time the fungus is able to reproduce. Signs of this form are reddening of the skin, severe itching, its peeling, the base of the nail peels off.
• 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, the edema is connected, a change in shape and thickness leads to the fact that the cuticle begins to tear off. After such processes, the fungus penetrates the bed itself and spreads over the entire surface of the nail. In this case, the development of onycholysis begins.

Disease prevention

Doctors and scientists say that there are about one and a half million species of fungi in the world. Only half of them have been studied, while the selection of treatment for them is quite complicated.The ideal solution would be only laser therapy, which will favorably affect any type of fungus.

To prevent infection with this unpleasant disease, it is important to follow the rules of prevention. Measures for the prevention of pathology are quite difficult, but do not require financial costs. There are 2 main ways to protect yourself from toe fungus:

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

If you like to visit common places such as baths, saunas or swimming pools, be sure to wash your feet well when you return home.In addition, dry your feet, because the fungus is very tenacious, and especially it likes a humid environment. Buy socks only in cotton fabric. This material absorbs moisture well, which is released when the feet begin to sweat. When feet in closed shoes sweat a lot, air them periodically if possible.

If you go to the store to buy shoes, take your own print or sock from home, don't try on barefoot shoes or use public prints. Get regular foot care like pedicures and other treatments. Do not use shared hygiene items. You must bring your own foot towel. Well, if someone in your house has been infected with a foot fungus, avoid contact with him in every possible way, assign individual household items to the patient.