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 often detected in analyzes: yeast-like fungi, molds, dermatophytes.
Why does the fungus appear?
The mushroom itself cannot appear. The disease is always preceded by certain push factors, such as:
- Using 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 onychomycosis infection.
- Constantly high temperature and humidity of the shoes. The fungal infection often overtakes office workers and military personnel, who are forced to spend all day in shoes. Lack of air, compressed space and uncomfortable shoe models cause increased sweating, blood stasis and, as a result, onychomycosis.
- Reduced immunity. If the immune defense is weakened by the disease, after taking antibiotics and other reasons, onychomycosis may appear.
- Age of person. In children, the fungus does not appear due to physiological features - the infectious pathogen takes some time to gain a foothold and multiply. And children's nails grow very quickly, so onychomycosis does not have time to develop. It often affects adults and almost always the elderly and the elderly. Their nail plates grow very slowly and therefore it is particularly difficult to remove the fungus on senile nails.
How to understand that the nails are affected by yeast infection?
When the nail plate changes in any way, it indicates possible problems. 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.
Quick and effective methods of treating fungus 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 turn to 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.
Preparing the nail plate for treatment
Often a simple application of antifungal drugs does not bring the desired result. This happens because the medicinal substances cannot get inside through the thickened nail due to the fungus.
Before starting treatment, the nail plate with onychomycosis should be removed. There are several ways to do this:
- Cook your feet in hot water. It is important to keep the water temperature high enough (up to 50 degrees) for about half an hour. To do this, you can pour dry mustard into the water and constantly add new portions of hot liquid. Then you need to cut off the overgrown part of the steamed nail plate and reduce the thickness of the nail itself with a low abrasiveness file (100-150 grit).
- Buy a paste of antifungal cream in pharmacies. This tool is from the budget segment, but its action can replace surgical or laser nail removal. 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 a patch is stuck on it crosswise. It is important not to take it off for about 2 days. With an advanced stage of the fungus, more of these procedures may be necessary.
- Use an antifungal cream. The main component is urea or urea. On the nails steamed, but towel dried, you need to apply cream, seal with a plaster and do not remove for 3-4 days. Then again make a hot bath, remove the softened fragments.
Without removing the nail or its fragment affected by onychomycosis, there is no need to be treated.
Steam baths
High temperature and water soften the nail plate. It becomes easier to handle it and, if necessary, remove diseased fragments. Before any medical intervention, you must spray your legs well. You can do this in the following way:
- 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 continue until it cools. Then wash and dry with a clean towel.
- Finely grate a piece of tar soap. Add 3 tablespoons of the resulting "powder", a glass of baking soda in a bowl of hot water, steam your legs for 10-20 minutes. It is good to use such a bath as a preparation before the next treatment procedure.
Cleaning products
When it is not possible to compress or apply ointment for a long time, wipe a fingernailpainful will help. Onychomycosis requires constant and complex treatment, so sometimes you can use folk recipes:
- Soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, generously lubricate the diseased nails. The fungus likes an alkaline environment, so its oxidation will inhibit infection.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of calendula and lilac flowers, pour a glass of vodka, let it brew for at least a week. Apply to sore nails three times a day.
Wraps and compresses
Compresses have a good effect on the health of the nail, eliminate the infectious agent.
- Pour celandine oil on a cotton ball. Put on the infected nail, bandage lightly, put on socks on top and walk all day. After that, you can treat the plaque with hydrogen peroxide or iodine.
- Grate a few cloves of garlic on a fine grater, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Apply the resulting oatmeal to the diseased nail plates, make a plaster on top and put on socks. Leave it 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 the product line of a manufacturer there are both liquid forms of products and various creams with the same active substance in the composition.
Tablets and capsules for oral administration
Treatment of a fungus is sometimes not possible without "inside" exposure. Taking antimycotics speeds up recovery.
How to treat advanced nail fungus
If you start onychomycosis, folk remedies become ineffective. In this case, you will definitely need a consultation with a mycologist or at least a dermatologist. Most likely, he will prescribe the following procedures:
- Identification of the pathogen. Usually a scraping is taken from the plaque, less often - a fragment of the nail. These materials are sent for microscopic examination.
- Take medication. After determining the parasitic fungus, internal antimycotics and topical preparations are prescribed.
- Removal of the affected part of the nail or the entire plate. If onychomycosis affects less than half of its area, a medical pedicure is prescribed. If the entire nail plate is infected, it may need to be surgically removed.
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 this protein together 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 late stage onychomycosis, iodine can help as an additive in steam baths. Pour all the preparation from 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 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, it will be a good result, indicating successful treatment.
For an antifungal and healing effect at the same time, you can add 3 drops of iodine to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat this mixture in a double boiler, apply to the sore nails and put clean socks on top. Leave overnight, wash your feet with soap and water in the morning.
Iodine is one of the most economical, high yielding pharmaceuticals. Its continuous use is possible throughout the month. In the absence of results, you should change the type of therapy or consult a doctor.
Onychomycosis is successfully treated with complex local and systemic therapy. The combination of pharmaceuticals and folk remedies will allow you to beat a fungal infection in 1 month.