Onychomycosis is an infectious disease of the nails caused by pathogenic fungi. According to statistics, it occurs in every tenth person on Earth. About a third of all nail pathologies are fungal infections. More than 30% of cases occur in patients over 65 years old. Nail fungus is 3 to 5 times more common than on the 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 containing spores of the pathogen fall on the ground, benches, paths and carpets. Moist and warm environments allow fungi to survive and multiply, especially on unpainted wooden objects. Wearing tight shoes increases the risk of infection.
If one of the family members is sick, there is a high risk of disease transmission through a towel, rug or grate in the bathroom. The fingernails mainly become infected when combing the affected areas of the skin. The risk of disease increases with repeated damage to the nails, reduced blood circulation in the extremities and severe comorbidities (diabetes, AIDS, systemic blood diseases).
Symptoms and types of onychomycosis
There are three forms of the disease - atrophic (onycholytic), normotrophic and hypertrophic onychomycosis. 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 separation from the bed;
- dystrophic processes in the nail plate.
With atrophic onychomycosis, the nail plate becomes grayish-brown, atrophies and separates from the bed. Loose layers form on the exposed area. The hypertrophic form is characterized by subcutaneous hyperkeratosis, which causes pain when walking, a change in shape and destruction of the nails. The nail plates become dull and thickened. With normotrophic onychomycosis, the nail does not thicken and retains its shine. Stripes and spots appear on the nail plate, changing its color.
Nail fungus treatment
Onychomycosis begins to be treated immediately after diagnosis, as 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.
For systemic treatment of nail fungus to be safe and effective, several rules must be followed:
- Treatment can be started only after confirming the diagnosis and consulting a doctor, since antifungal agents have a number of serious side effects. Self-selection of dosage is unacceptable.
- During treatment with systemic antimycotics, the use of other drugs, except life-saving drugs, should be limited.
- The affected areas of the nail should be removed after softening them with keratolytic patches.
- To prevent digestive disorders during the treatment period, foods that can cause bloating are excluded from the diet - dark bread, dairy products, cabbage, legumes.
- You should choose comfortable shoes that do not compress the foot.
Treatment of nail onychomycosis at home
Traditional medicine offers several recipes for remedies that will help speed up recovery, but they should be used only in combination with the main treatment.
- Treat affected nails twice a day with 5% iodine solution. During application, a slight burning sensation should be observed. In case of severe pain, treatment should be stopped.
- To facilitate the separation of infected nails and improve regeneration, a 20% propolis tincture is used, which is applied to lesions 2-3 times a day.
- Take a small piece of kombucha and attach it to the nails of a washed and steamed foot. Leave overnight, remove in the morning, rinse with water and remove softened areas of the nail. Treat affected areas with an antiseptic. The duration of treatment is 2-3 weeks.
- Grate the head of garlic and make compresses, applying gruel to the infected nails for 10-15 minutes.
Prevention and prognosis of nail onychomycosis
To prevent the disease, you need to observe personal hygiene, do not use someone else'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 pallets and carpets). You need to wear comfortable shoes, avoid damaging the nails and fight against excessive sweating of the feet.
The prognosis is favorable, depending on the severity of the disease, full recovery takes from several weeks to a year. The effect of therapy is enhanced when damaged nails are removed. Reinfection is possible if the rules of personal hygiene are not observed.
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