Onychomycosis is a disease in which a fungal infection affects the surface of the nail plate. There are 3 types of pathogens that are most frequently detected in the analysis: yeast-like fungi, molds, dermatophytes.
Why does the fungus appear?
The fungus itself cannot appear. The disease is always preceded by certain driving factors, such as:
- Use of household items with fungal spores. If a family member has onychomycosis and others use their towel, slippers or socks, the risk of infection is quite high.
- Visiting public places with a large flow of people. Saunas, baths, swimming pools, solariums, showers, fitness clubs, beaches - all of these places can become a place of infection by onychomycosis.
- Constant high temperature and humidity in shoes. The fungal infection often strikes office workers and military personnel, who are forced to wear shoes all day. Shortness of breath, compressed space and uncomfortable footwear models cause increased sweating, blood stasis and, consequently, onychomycosis.
- Reduced immunity. If the immune defense is weakened by the disease, after taking antibiotics and other reasons, onychomycosis may appear.
- Age of the person. In children, the fungus does not appear due to its physiological characteristics - the infectious pathogen takes a certain time to settle and multiply. And children's nails grow very fast, so onychomycosis has no time to develop. It often affects adults and almost always the elderly and the elderly. Their nail blades grow very slowly and, therefore, it is especially difficult to remove the fungus from senile nails.
How to understand that nails are affected by ringworm?
When the nail plate changes in any way, this indicates possible problems. The signs of onychomycosis will be the following conditions:
- cracks between the fingers;
- yellowing of the nail plate;
- thickening of the skin;
- separation of the nail without mechanical reasons;
- burning and itching;
- inflamed nail fold;
- Thinning or thickening of the nail.
A healthy nail should be pink, shiny and smooth.
Fast and effective methods of treating fungi at home
The fight against onychomycosis usually takes at least a month. The sooner you start treatment, the faster you will get rid of the disease. You can use traditional medicine or use pharmaceutical preparations. But it is better to combine proven advice and effective drugs - this will allow you to quickly forget about the fungus.
Preparation of the nail plate for treatment
Often, a simple application of antifungals does not bring the desired result. This is because medicinal substances are unable to penetrate the thickened nail due to the fungus.
Before starting treatment, the nail plate affected by onychomycosis must be removed. There are several ways to do this:
- Put your feet in hot water. It is important to keep the water temperature quite high (up to 50 degrees) for about half an hour. To do this, you can put dry mustard in the water and constantly add new portions of hot liquid. Next, you need to cut the full part of the steamed nail plate and reduce the thickness of the nail itself with a low abrasive file (grain 100-150).
- Buy antifungal cream paste at the pharmacy. This tool is from the budget segment, but its action can replace surgical or laser removal of nails. The paste contains urea, which softens the nail plate without pain and discomfort, after which it is cut or removed with a scraper. The drug is applied to clean, dry nails affected by onychomycosis, and an adhesive is glued across them transversely. It is important not to remove it for about 2 days. With an advanced stage of the fungus, several of these procedures may be necessary.
- Use antifungal cream. The main component is urea or urea. On steamed nails, but towel dried, it is necessary to apply cream, seal with a plaster and do not remove for 3-4 days. Then, again make a hot bath, remove the soft fragments.
Without removing the nail or its fragment affected by onychomycosis, it is useless to treat it.
Steam baths
High temperature and water soften the nail plate. It becomes easier to handle and, if necessary, remove diseased fragments. Before any medical procedure, you must cook your legs well. You can do this in the following ways:
- Mix 4 tablespoons of iodized salt, 200 g of baking soda and a few drops of lavender essential oil in hot water. Lower your legs and hold until it cools. Then wash and dry with a clean towel.
- Grate a piece of tar soap well. Add 3 tablespoons of the resulting "powder", a glass of baking soda to a bowl of hot water, steam for 10-20 minutes. It is good to use this bath as a preparation before the next treatment procedure.
Cleaning products
When it is not possible to make a compress or apply ointment for a long time, cleaning a wounded nail will help. Onychomycosis requires constant and complex treatment, so sometimes you can use popular recipes:
- Dip a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and generously lubricate diseased nails. The fungus loves an alkaline environment, so its oxidation will inhibit the infection.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of marigold and lilac flowers, pour a glass of vodka, let it ferment for at least a week. Apply to painful nails three times a day.
Wraps and compresses
The compresses have a good effect on the health of the nail, eliminating the infectious agent.
- Pour celandine oil onto a cotton pad. Apply the infected nail, bandage lightly, put your socks on and walk all day. After that, you can treat the plate with hydrogen peroxide or iodine.
- Grate some garlic cloves on a fine grater, add 1 teaspoon of any vegetable oil. Apply the resulting porridge to diseased nails, bandage it on top and put on your socks. Leave for a few hours. If there is a burning sensation, remove the compress, wash your feet with tar soap.
Creams, pharmaceutical solutions
Antimycotic drugs are effective against fungal infections. Often, in a manufacturer's product line, there are liquid product forms and several creams with the same active substance in the composition.
Tablets and capsules for oral administration
The treatment of a fungus is sometimes impossible without "from within" exposure. Taking antimycotics accelerates recovery.
How to treat advanced nail fungus
If you start onychomycosis, folk remedies become ineffective. In that case, you will definitely need an appointment with a mycologist or at least a dermatologist. He will probably prescribe the following procedures:
- Pathogen identification. Normally, a scrape is removed from the plate, less frequently - a fragment of the nail. These materials are sent for microscopic examination.
- Taking medication. After determining the parasitic fungus, internal antimycotics and topical preparations are prescribed.
- Removal of the affected part of the nail or the entire plaque. If onychomycosis affects less than half of your area, a medical pedicure is prescribed. If the entire nail plate has become infected, it may be necessary to remove it surgically.
Iodine treatment methods
The causative agent of onychomycosis feeds on keratin in the epidermis. The harmful effect of iodine on the fungus is that it sticks to that protein and the infection dies. Repeated application of iodine to the affected area also practically cauterizes the parasitic pathogen. The drug has an antiseptic effect, which prevents the infection from developing again.
Iodine is a powerful medicine. It can only be applied to the affected nail fragments. Contact with healthy skin can cause inflammation and severe burns.
In the advanced stage of onychomycosis, iodine can help as an additive in steam baths. Pour the entire preparation of the bottle into hot water, lower your legs for 20-30 minutes. A pronounced antiseptic effect will be exerted not only on the nails, but also on the skin, where there may also be spores of the causative agent of the infection. After the procedure, you can treat your feet with hydrogen peroxide.
At the initial stage, you need to apply iodine to the nail plate using a cotton swab every few days. When after about a week the area under the affected area starts to burn, this will be a good result, indicating successful treatment.
For an antifungal effect and simultaneous care, you can add 3 drops of iodine to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat this mixture in a double boiler, apply to painful nails and put on clean socks on top. Go out at night, wash your feet with soap and water in the morning.
Iodine is one of the most economical and highly efficient pharmaceutical products. Its continuous use is possible throughout the month. In the absence of results, you must change the type of therapy or consult a doctor.
Onychomycosis is successfully treated with complex local and systemic therapy. The combination of medicines and folk remedies will allow you to defeat a fungal infection in a period of 1 month.