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 found 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 triggers, such as:
- Use of household items with fungal spores. If one family member has onychomycosis and others use his 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 these places can become a place for infection with onychomycosis.
- Constant high temperature and humidity of the shoes. The fungal infection often involves office workers and military personnel who are forced to spend all day in shoes. Lack of air, compressed space and uncomfortable shoe models provoke increased sweating, blood stasis and as a result of onychomycosis.
- Decreased immunity. If the immune system is weakened by the disease, onychomycosis may occur after taking antibiotics and other causes.
- Human age. In children, the fungus does not appear due to physiological characteristics - the infectious pathogen takes some time to attach and multiply. And children's nails grow very quickly, so onychomycosis does not have time to develop. It often affects the elderly and almost always the elderly and the elderly. Their nail plates grow very slowly and therefore it is especially difficult to remove the fungus on the senile nails.
How do we know that nails are affected by mycosis?
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;
- nail separation without mechanical causes;
- 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 for treating fungus at home
Fighting onychomycosis usually takes at least a month. The earlier you start treatment, the faster you will get rid of the disease. You can turn to traditional medicine or use pharmaceuticals. But it is better to combine time-tested tips and effective drugs - this will allow you to quickly forget about the fungus.
Preparing the nail plate for treatment
Often the simple application of antifungal drugs does not bring the desired result. This happens because the drugs cannot penetrate inside the nail, thickened due to the fungus.
Before starting treatment, the nail plate affected by onychomycosis should be removed. There are several ways to do this:
- Steam 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 pour dry mustard into the water and constantly add new portions of hot liquid. Then you need to cut the overgrown part of the evaporated nail plate and reduce the thickness of the nail itself with a file with low abrasiveness (100-150 grit).
- Buy antifungal cream paste from the pharmacy. 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, then cut or remove with a scraper. The drug is applied to clean and dry nails affected by onychomycosis, and a patch is cross-applied to it. It is important not to remove it for about 2 days. At an advanced stage of the fungus, several such procedures may be necessary.
- Use an antifungal cream. The main component is urea or urea. Steamed, but towel-dried nails, you should apply cream, seal with plaster and not remove for 3-4 days. Then take a hot bath again, remove the softened fragments.
Without removing the nail or its fragment affected by onychomycosis, it is pointless to treat.
Steam baths
The high temperature and water soften the nail plate. It becomes easier to deal with and, if necessary, remove diseased fragments. Before any medical procedure, you should thoroughly steam your feet. 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 cool. Then wash and dry with a clean towel.
- Grate tar soap. Add 3 tablespoons of the resulting "powder", a glass of baking soda in a bowl of hot water, steam your feet 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 make a compress or apply ointment for a long time, wiping an inflamed nail will help. Onychomycosis requires constant and complex treatment, so sometimes you can use folk recipes:
- Soak cotton in apple cider vinegar, generously lubricate sore nails. The fungus loves an alkaline environment, so its oxidation will suppress the infection.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of marigold and lilac flowers, pour a glass of vodka, boil for at least a week. Apply on inflamed nails three times a day.
Coatings and compresses
Compresses have a good effect on nail health, remove the infectious agent.
- Pour celandine oil on a cotton swab. Put the infected nail, bandage lightly, put on socks and walk all day. You can then treat the plate with hydrogen peroxide or iodine.
- Grate a few cloves of garlic on a fine grater, add 1 teaspoon of each vegetable oil. Apply the resulting slurry on the diseased nail plates, make a bandage on top and put on socks. Leave it to act for a few hours. If there is a burning sensation, remove the compress, wash your feet with tar soap.
Creams, pharmaceutical solutions
Antifungal drugs are effective against fungal infections. Often in the product line from one manufacturer there are both liquid forms of products and different creams with the same active substance in the composition.
Tablets and capsules for oral use
Treatment of the fungus is sometimes impossible without exposure from the inside. Taking antifungals speeds up recovery.
How to treat advanced toenail 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. Scraping is usually taken from the plate, less often - a fragment of the nail. These materials are sent for microscopic examination.
- Taking medication. After identification of the parasitic fungus, internal antifungals 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 to this protein and the infection dies. Repeated application of iodine on the affected area also practically cauterizes the parasitic pathogen. The drug has an antiseptic effect that prevents the recurrence of the infection.
Iodine is a powerful medicine. It can be applied only on the affected nail fragments. Contact with healthy skin can cause inflammation and severe burns.
In advanced onychomycosis, iodine can help as an additive in steam baths. Pour all the detergent from the bottle in 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 cause of the infection. After the procedure you can treat your feet with hydrogen peroxide.
Initially, you should 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, showing successful treatment.
For simultaneous antifungal and caring effect you can add 3 drops of iodine to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat this mixture in a water bath, apply on inflamed nails and put on clean socks on top. Leave on overnight, wash your feet with soap and water in the morning.
Iodine is one of the most affordable high-efficiency pharmaceuticals. Its continuous use is possible throughout the month. If there are no 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 pharmaceutical and folk remedies will allow you to beat a fungal infection for a period of 1 month.