The manifestation of mycosis on the legs is a frequent occurrence. In most cases, toenail or toenail mycosis does not bring life-threatening consequences, but it does cause a lot of inconvenience.
Onychomycosis occurs in 25% of the world's inhabitants.
Often the trichophyton colonies cause fungus on the legs, the fungus on the legs may not be visible at first, but soon the symptoms are felt. Often the foot is affected by various 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 and 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 starts in most cases. However, if you follow preventive measures and treat onychomycosis of the nails in time, then you can not remember the unpleasant disease.
Where can you collect the mushroom
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 need to be taken into account.
First of all, mycosis can get to the nails of a sick person. In about 30% of patients, toenail fungus is due to infection in a relative. In everyday life, the skin scales of a sick person fall on rugs, 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.
By establishing why toenail fungus occurs, the reasons can be determined in the bathtub, sauna and swimming pool. High humidity increases the chance of infection at times, and almost any visitor to the public institutions listed above can find out what toenail fungus is.
The spores of the fungus are resistant to extreme temperatures and remain viable for a long time. For the purpose of prevention, each person should know what the fungus comes 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, the fungal infection can manifest as flaking of the feet and itching. If these and the signs listed below start bothering you, you need to see a doctor who will tell you how to defeat the fungus quickly and inexpensively.
Symptoms of fungi
The first signs of fungus on the toenails are the dull color of the plate, possibly 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 brittleness 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 drug sensitivity. Based on the results, the doctor will tell you how to get rid of the discomfort and how to start the treatment of onychomycosis of the toenail.
Those who have been sick once already know approximately how to determine the fungus on the toenails, and in case of relapse, immediately go to the doctor. If you do not start treatment in time, the toenail mold fungus can go from an acute to a chronic form, disturb relapses in the hot season, with exacerbation of chronic diseases, etc.
Often, the nail fungus is accompanied by mycosis of the skin, so the appearance of weeping ulcers, blisters with pus is likely. If the 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 give off an unpleasant smell. Often, it is necessary to remove the nail to get to the center 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 number 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 early stages, creams are usually prescribed that remove the symptoms and the fungus itself from the nail.
If multiple nails are affected, the disease has spread to the skin, the doctor will start serious drug treatment for nail fungus and check all stages. Adding 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 to take an 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 dispersion of bubbles with liquid. Subsequently, a fungus can develop on a sore toenail and if the toenail fungus is not recognized in time, the disease will increase, spreading to other parts of the body. The vesicular type is characterized by the addition of a bacterial infection.
The type of membrane begins between the 4th and 5th fingers, in the folds of the skin. Until the toenail fungus manifests itself, it strongly affects the skin: scales, cracks, ulcerations appear.
The moccasin type starts from the sole, heel. Symptoms of this type of nail fungus begin to appear after the disease has damaged the skin. Cracks, peeling of the skin, painful sensations will appear.
In all three variants of the disease, over time, a fungus can appear under the toenail, causing it to thicken, brittle and often lose. The doctor knows how to recognize nail fungus early, 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 the fungus is treated
To get rid of the fungus on the toenails and not "fly in the tube", it is necessary to use the drugs prescribed by the doctor in a specific dosage and exactly for the time prescribed by the doctor. If not, the recently removed fungus will come back again with renewed vigor.
Nowadays, complex treatment is popular, including the method of wrist therapy. This implies an active fight against toenail fungus with large doses of antifungal drugs.
Long breaks are taken between courses of therapy. To remove the fungus under the toenail, treatment should include the use of paints, films, ointments. They are based on fungicidal preparations, which, unfortunately, do not always work.
To successfully treat toenail fungus, it is necessary to determine the type of pathogen, the type of skin and the severity of the disease. This is the only way to exterminate nail fungus, nail fungus spores shouldn't have a single chance.
The doctor will tell you how to treat nail fungus 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 of the feet, suspensions are applied between the toes, and varnish is applied to the nails. There is no need to think about how to remove the fungus yourself. The doctor will take care of this.
When toenail fungus is diagnosed, treatment often involves removing the toenail. This is necessary because the nail prevents the drug from affecting the underlying fungus. The doctor at the reception will explain how to properly treat a nail with local drugs and pills.
Only external drugs can be used only at the beginning of the disease and when the use of systemic drugs is prohibited. How do you know if systemic medications are not suitable? The doctor will tell you. In particular, the pills are not prescribed to pregnant women, children, people with kidney and liver pathologies. For them, special instructions are drawn up on how to get rid of toenail fungus. Therapy is likely to be long-term.
External preparations are used twice a day, after 2 weeks the ointment is changed to 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 the interdigital spaces, there are enough ointments for a month.
Systemic drugs are prescribed for severe nail damage. Such treatment of toenail mycosis will be very effective, but medical supervision is required due to drug toxicity.
Systemic drugs act on the stomach, kidneys and liver. Before starting therapy, the removal of the toenail with the fungus can be prescribed appropriately. Your doctor will tell you how to remove toenail fungus with minimal injury and get back to work faster.
Get rid of the fungus with folk remedies
Until such time as to deal with toenail fungus through folk remedies, it is necessary to consult with your doctor about their safety and appropriateness of use in a particular case.
The fact is that the recipes generally describe how to get rid of the fungus on the nails, but do not take into account the individual characteristics of the organism, the age of the patient, concomitant ailments and contraindications.
Only a doctor can tell the patient how to treat toenail fungus with pharmaceutical 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 alkali, which are harmful to the fungus. To treat toenail fungus in this way, you need to take 100g of powder, dissolve it in a bowl of hot water, and steam your nails for 15 minutes. Reviews say that it is possible to cure the mild stage of the disease in 10 days.
Another recipe recommends hydrogen peroxide treatment when diagnosing toenail fungus on the big toe. First, you need to steam your feet in a soda bath (1 liter of hot water = 1 tablespoon of baking soda). As soon as your toenails are steamed, you can dip a cotton ball in the peroxide and apply it 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, it is necessary to repeat it 2 times a day. The course of therapy lasts taking into account the depth of the lesion of the nail plate.
Garlic is a plant rich in phytoncides. It can be dipped in salt and rubbed on the affected area. Porridge is also useful, 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 a compress, but not pure, but diluted with water. As soon as the symptoms of the fungus begin to appear, 1 tbsp. ammonia is mixed 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 the fungus on the nails is mentioned, defeated using ordinary soda. Soda creates an unfavorable environment 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 effective therapy, but effective toenail fungus prevention when visiting swimming pools and saunas.
Boric acid is used after the feet have been steamed in a soda bath. After water procedures, it is necessary to dry the feet and nails well, sprinkle with boric acid powder, put on socks and leave them 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. First, you need to be careful not to walk barefoot in public places (saunas, gym, swimming pool) - wherever you need to wear rubber slippers.
If, however, an accident has occurred and you do not want to learn from your experience what the danger of toenail fungus is, you must use a prophylactic 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 skin is restored, it is necessary to cancel the trip to the pool, to workouts, etc. If there has been contact with a surface that may be infected, and after the skin itches, it is necessary to immediately treat these places with an ointment from the fungus.
Thirdly, in order not to worry about whether toenail fungus can be cured, it is important to choose shoes for the season, dry and keep them clean. Your shoes shouldn't be worn by other people.
You shouldn't take shoes from someone and when you try on shoes in a store, you need to wear socks or stockings so that you don't come in contact with bare skin with your shoes. After buying a shoe, you need to disinfect it: put a cotton ball soaked in tea tree oil inside, put it in an airtight bag for a day.