The manifestation of mycosis on the legs is a frequent occurrence. In most cases, mycosis of the toenail or toenail does not bring any life-threatening consequences, but it does cause a lot of inconvenience.
Onychomycosis occurs in 25% of the world's inhabitants.
Often colonies of trichophyton cause fungus on the legs, the fungus on the legs may not be visible at first, but soon the symptoms make themselves felt. Often the foot is affected by several pathogens, including molds and yeasts.
As a result of the activity of fungi in the body, toxins accumulate, impairing metabolism, reducing immunity.
Under favorable conditions, the fungus affects not only the toenails, the toenails will not be enough for it, and it will spread to the feet, can enter the bloodstream in the presence of wounds, and affect various organs.
The fungus can begin with an infection in abrasions and cuts, cracks in the skin of the legs. Sweating feet, neglecting hygiene, wearing tight shoes - for example, how toenail fungus begins in most cases. However, if you follow preventive measures and treat onychomycosis of nails in time, you can not remember the unpleasant disease.
Where can you pick up the fungus
The appearance of the fungus is associated not only with reduced immunity. Of course, a lot depends on the body's defenses, but there are other reasons for the appearance of the fungus that must be taken into account.
First of all, mycosis can get on the nails from a sick person. In about 30% of patients, mycosis of toenails is due to infection from a relative. In everyday life, skin scales of a sick person fall on carpets, towels, slippers and other household items.
If a person's bare skin comes into contact with surfaces, discomfort, itching and other signs of a fungal infection will begin to appear.
Establishing why the toenail fungus occurs, the reasons can be determined in the bath, sauna and pool. High humidity increases the chance of infection at times and almost every visitor to the public institutions listed above can find out what toenail fungus is.
The spores of the fungus are resistant to temperature extremes and remain viable for a long time. For the purpose of prevention, each person should know what the fungus is from, and take measures so as not to get infected.
Usually, the fungus enters the body through wounds and cracks in the skin. If there are no wounds, then the fungal infection can manifest itself as scaling of the feet and itching. If these and the signs listed below began to bother you, you need to see a doctor who will tell you how to defeat the fungus quickly and inexpensively.
Fungus symptoms
The first signs of fungus on the toenails are the dull color of the plate, perhaps a feeling of dry feet, peeling of the skin. Later, symptoms of fungus on the toenails will appear, such as thickening of the plate, its fragility and discoloration.
The attending physician will prescribe a diagnosis - take a scraping of the skin and nails, send it to the laboratory. There, experts know how to determine nail fungus and its sensitivity to drugs. Based on the results, the doctor will tell you how to get rid of discomfort and how to start the treatment of toenail onychomycosis.
Those who have been ill once already know about how to determine the fungus on the toenails, and in case of a relapse, they immediately go to the doctor. If you do not start treatment in time, mold fungus of toenails can go from an acute form to a chronic one, bother with relapses in the warm season, with exacerbation of chronic diseases, etc.
Often, the fungus of the thumbnail is accompanied by mycosis of the skin, then the appearance of weeping ulcers, blisters with pus is likely. If quick nail treatment is unsuccessful, the spores are embedded deeper into the nail plate.
It is fraught with yellow spots, the nail crumbles, the affected areas exude an unpleasant odor. Often you need to remove the nail to get to the focus of the disease. In this case, the fungus can be removed after removing the plate (laser, chemical or mechanical). An adequate treatment regimen for the fungus includes a set of remedies, including hygiene procedures and nutrition.
The specialist will assess the symptoms and prescribe treatment on an individual basis, since not all drugs are universal, not everything can be taken by everyone. In the initial stages, creams are usually prescribed that remove the symptoms and the fungus itself from the nail.
If several nails are affected, the disease has spread to the skin, the doctor will initiate a serious drug treatment for nail fungus and control all stages. The addition of a bacterial infection can complicate the situation. In this case, it will be necessary to decide not only how to remove the fungus under the nails, but also take effective treatment for eczema, psoriasis, etc.
Types of nail fungus
The vesicular type begins with the plantar part of the foot. With the course of the disease, swelling appears, a scattering of bubbles with liquid. Later, a fungus may develop on the nail of a sore toe, and if the fungus of toenails is not recognized in time, the disease will go higher, spreading to other parts of the body. The vesicular type is characterized by the addition of a bacterial infection.
The membrane type begins between the 4th and 5th toes, in the folds of the skin. Until the toenail fungus manifests itself, it strongly affects the skin - scales, cracks, ulcerations appear.
The moccasin-like type starts from the sole, heel. Symptoms of this type of nail fungus begin to appear after the disease damages the skin. Cracks, skin peeling, painful sensations will appear.
In all three variants of the disease, over time, a fungus can appear under the toenail, which causes its thickening, brittleness, and often loss. The doctor knows how to recognize nail fungus in the early stages, so do not self-diagnose. The main thing is to find a good specialist who will tell you how to get rid of toenail fungus faster.
How is fungus treated
In order to get rid of the fungus on the toenails and not "fly into the pipe", you need to use the drugs prescribed by the doctor in a specific dosage and exactly as long as the doctor prescribes. Otherwise, the recently removed fungus will return again with renewed vigor.
Nowadays, complex treatment is popular, including the method of pulse therapy. This implies an active fight against toenail fungus with voluminous doses of antimycotic drugs.
Long pauses are made between courses of therapy. To remove the fungus under the toenail, treatment should include the use of varnishes, films, ointments. They are based on fungicidal preparations, which, unfortunately, do not always work.
To successfully treat toenail fungus, you need to determine the type of pathogen, skin type, and the severity of the disease. This is the only way to exterminate the nail fungus, the spores of the nail fungus should not get a single chance.
The doctor will tell you how to treat onychomycosis on dry skin, how to properly prepare for the procedures. For example, a greasy cream is perfect for dry skin, ointments are chosen to treat the soles, suspensions are applied between the fingers, and varnish is applied to the nails. You do not need to think about how to remove the fungus yourself. The doctor will take care of this.
When diagnosed with mycosis of toenails, treatment often involves removing the nail. This is necessary because the nail prevents the medication from affecting the fungus underneath. The doctor at the reception will explain how to properly treat a toenail with local drugs and pills.
External drugs alone can be used only at the onset of the disease and when it is forbidden to use systemic drugs. How do you know if systemic drugs are not suitable? The doctor will tell you about this. In particular, pills are not prescribed for pregnant women, children, people with kidney and liver pathologies. For them, special instructions are drawn up on how to get rid of toenail fungus. The therapy is likely to be long-term.
External preparations are used twice a day, after 2 weeks the ointment is changed with another preparation so that the fungus does not develop resistance. In order for a new nail to grow back healthy, the treatment period for toenail fungus will last about a year. If the disease has affected only the foot or interdigital spaces, there are enough ointments for a month.
Systemic drugs are prescribed for severe nail damage. Such treatment of mycosis of toenails will be very effective, but medical supervision is necessary due to the toxicity of the drugs.
Systemic drugs act on the stomach, kidneys, and liver. Before starting therapy, removal of the toenail with a fungus may be prescribed in a suitable way. The doctor will tell you how to remove the fungus on the toenails with the least injury, and get back to business faster.
Get rid of the fungus with folk remedies
Until the moment how to deal with toenail fungus through folk remedies, you need to consult with your doctor about their safety and appropriateness of use in a particular case.
The fact is that the recipes describe in general how to get rid of the fungus on the nails, but do not take into account the individual characteristics of the organism, the patient's age, concomitant ailments and contraindications.
Only a doctor can tell the patient how to treat toenail fungus with pharmacy medicines and improvised means, medicinal herbs. The following are popular guidelines for those looking for how to treat toenail fungus.
Washing powder, judging by the reviews, helps due to the content of alkalis, which are harmful to the fungus. To treat toenail fungus in this way, you need to take 100 g of powder, dissolve in a bowl of hot water and steam your nails for 15 minutes. The reviews say that it is possible to cure the mild stage of the disease in 10 days.
Another recipe recommends treatment with hydrogen peroxide when diagnosing a toenail fungus on the big toe. First, you need to steam your feet in a soda bath (1 liter of heated water = 1 spoonful of baking soda). As soon as the toenails are steamed, you can soak a cotton swab in peroxide and apply to the affected areas.
To prevent the peroxide from evaporating, you can wrap the compress with cling film over it. The duration of the procedure is about an hour, you need to repeat it 2 times daily. The course of therapy lasts taking into account the depth of the nail plate lesion.
Garlic is a plant rich in phytoncides. It can be dipped in salt and rubbed over the affected area. Also useful is gruel, which is applied in the form of a compress. It is important that there are no wounds or cracks on the skin, otherwise the garlic will cause pain and the wound will not heal.
Ammonia is used as compresses, but not pure, but diluted with water. As soon as the symptoms of the fungus begin to appear, 1 tbsp. ammonia is stirred in a glass of water. Next, a clean bandage is dipped in a solution and applied to the affected areas overnight in the form of a compress.
Many times in the reviews it is mentioned about the fungus on the nails, defeated by using ordinary soda. Soda creates an environment that is unfavorable for the fungus. The powder is diluted with water to a gruel state, applied to the affected nails for 20 minutes, rinsed and dried. This is not only an effective therapy, but an effective prevention of toenail fungus in case of visiting swimming pools and saunas.
Boric acid is used after the feet have been steamed in a soda bath. After water procedures, you need to dry your feet and nails well, sprinkle with boric acid powder, put on socks and leave overnight. The procedure is repeated throughout the week.
Prevention of onychomycosis
The attending physician will explain how to quickly cure toenail fungus, and what to do in order not to get infected with this unpleasant disease. Firstly, you need to beware of walking barefoot in public places (saunas, fitness room, swimming pool) - everywhere you need to wear rubber slippers.
If, nevertheless, an incident happened and you do not want to learn from your own experience what the danger of toenail fungus is, you need to use a preventive varnish on your return home or take a shower with an antifungal shampoo.
Secondly, if the skin is damaged on the legs, the risk of infection increases significantly. Before the restoration of the skin, you need to cancel the trip to the pool, to workouts, etc. If there was contact with a surface that could be infected, and after that the skin itches, you need to immediately treat these places with ointment from the fungus.
Thirdly, in order not to worry about the question of whether toenail fungus can be cured, it is important to choose shoes for the season, dry them and keep them clean. Your shoes should not be allowed to be worn by other people.
You should not take shoes from someone, and when trying on shoes in a store, you need to put on your own socks or stockings so as not to come into contact with bare skin with the shoes. After buying a shoe, you need to disinfect it - put a cotton swab dipped in tea tree oil inside, put it in an airtight bag for a day.