Onychomycosis is an infectious disease of the nails caused by pathogenic fungi. According to statistics, this happens to every tenth person on Earth. About a third of all nail pathologies are fungal infections. More than 30% occur in patients older than 65 years. Fungus on toenails is 3-5 times more common than on hands.
Causes of nail onychomycosis
The disease begins with an infection of the nail plates, which often occurs in public places - swimming pools, saunas and baths. Scales with spores of the pathogen fall on the floor, benches, paths and carpets. Damp and warm environments allow fungi to live and multiply, especially on unpainted wooden items. Wearing narrow shoes increases the risk of infection.
If one of the family members is sick, then there is a high risk of transmission of the disease through towels, rugs or grills in the bathroom. The nails on the hands are mainly infected when combing the affected areas of the skin. The risk of the disease increases with repeated damage to the nails, decreased blood circulation in the extremities and severe accompanying diseases (diabetes, AIDS, systemic blood diseases).
Symptoms and types of onychomycosis
There are three forms of the disease - atrophic (onycholytic), normotrophic and hypertrophic onychomycosis. The characteristic symptoms are:
- the appearance of white or yellowish spots in the thickness of the nail plate;
- inflammatory process in the periungual roller;
- atrophy of the nail with bed rest;
- dystrophic processes on the nail plate.
With atrophic onychomycosis, the nail plate becomes gray-brown, atrophies and separates from the bed. Loose layers are formed in the open area. The hypertrophic form is characterized by subcutaneous hyperkeratosis, which causes pain when walking, changes in shape and destruction of the nails. The nail plates become dull and thick. With normotrophic onychomycosis, the nail does not thicken and retains its shine. Streaks and spots appear on the nail plate and change color.
Treatment of nail fungus
Onychomycosis begins to be treated immediately after diagnosis, because the infection develops rapidly. Therapy with local antifungal drugs is effective only in the initial stages. With the development of the disease, the use of systemic agents is necessary.
In order for the systemic treatment of nail fungus to be safe and effective, several rules must be followed:
- Treatment can begin only after confirming the diagnosis and consulting a doctor, because antifungal agents have a number of serious side effects. Self-selecting the dosage is unacceptable.
- During treatment with systemic antimycotics, the use of other drugs should be limited, except for vital ones.
- Affected areas of nails should be removed after softening with keratolytic patches.
- During the treatment period, to prevent digestive disorders, foods that can cause bloating are excluded from the diet - black bread, dairy products, cabbage, legumes.
- It is necessary to choose comfortable shoes that do not squeeze the foot.
Treatment of nail onychomycosis at home
Traditional medicine offers several recipes for remedies to help speed up healing, but they should only be used in conjunction with basic treatment.
- Treat affected nails with 5% iodine solution 2 times a day. A slight burning sensation should be observed during application. Treatment should be stopped with severe pain.
- 20% propolis tincture applied to the lesions 2-3 times a day is used to facilitate the separation of infected nails and increase their recovery.
- Take a small piece of kombucha and stick it on the nails of the washed and steamed toe. Leave it on overnight, remove it in the morning, rinse with water and remove the softened areas of the nail. Treat the affected areas with an antiseptic. The course of treatment is 2-3 weeks.
- Grate the head of garlic and prepare compresses, apply to infected nails for 10-15 minutes.
Prevention and prognosis of nail onychomycosis
To prevent the disease, you should observe personal hygiene, do not use other people's clothes, shoes and towels. In baths, swimming pools and saunas, walk only in slippers, avoiding contact with places of potential accumulation of the pathogen (wooden floors and rugs). It is necessary to wear comfortable shoes, not to damage the nails and to fight excessive sweating of the feet.
The prognosis is favorable, depending on the severity of the disease, complete recovery lasts from a few weeks to a year. The effect of therapy increases when damaged nails are removed. Re-infection is possible if the rules of personal hygiene are not followed.
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