How to accurately recognize nail fungus and when to start treatment?

Nowadays, not only women but also most men take care of the beauty of their nails.But only healthy nails can be beautiful, so it will be useful for everyone to know how to recognize nail fungus.The sooner a person notices the signs of the disease, the easier the treatment will be.But it will be difficult to cure an advanced form of onychomycosis.The disease often recurs and is difficult to treat.

Onychomycosis is a common disease.Most often, the fungus affects the toenails, but the disease can also appear on the fingers.Onychomycosis of the hands is especially common in women.Signs of the disease on toenails and fingernails are approximately the same.Symptoms depend on the type of pathogen and where the infection was introduced.

Species

How to identify toenail fungus?This disease is quite insidious, as the symptoms depend on the type of pathogen that caused the disease.There are several dozen varieties of fungi that can cause onychomycosis.But they can be divided into three groups depending on the nature of the pathogen.

Yeast

This type of fungus most often affects the fingers, but can appear on the feet.The infected nail plate becomes loose and detaches from the nail bed.In addition to the nail, the skin is also affected and the ridges surrounding the plate become inflamed.They become red, painful and in advanced stages, when you press the roller, white content comes out from underneath it.

Dermatophytes

This type of filamentous fungus most often affects toenails.The disease manifests itself gradually.In the first phase, spots or stripes of a yellowish hue appear.At first these spots are small, but little by little they grow, occupying the entire surface of the nail.

Mold

Fungi are extremely common but rarely cause onychomycosis.When affected by this type of pathogen, the nails change color.The spots have an unusual color - black, green, dirty gray.

Forms

The disease can occur in different ways.Symptoms of the disease depending on the form of onychomycosis:

• Lateral-distal.This is the most common case;The first changes in the nail can be noticed in the growing part of the nail in one of the corners (sometimes in both corners at the same time).
• Proximal.In this case, the first changes appear on the inner edge of the nail.

• Superficial.Unlike previous forms, in the superficial type of onychomycosis the pathogen does not penetrate deeply into the plaque.The symptoms are unusual, spots appear in the center of the plate, the nail itself becomes looser, the entire surface begins to peel and the scales come off.

Clinical manifestations

Fungal nail diseases do not cause discomfort in the first phase.The patient does not feel pain or any other unpleasant sensation.However, an attentive person may notice that the appearance of the nails has changed.Main signs of the disease:

• loss of natural shine, stains;
• the appearance of spots or stripes, their color differs from the color of a healthy dish;
• grooves may appear on the surface;
• the plate can change shape;
• the nail may begin to thicken or, on the contrary, become thin and atrophic;
• the plate delaminates, begins to crumble and subsequently lags behind the skin;

• in advanced stages physical discomfort also appears, pain appears when applying pressure;
• when a secondary infection occurs, inflammation and suppuration may occur.

Advice!Onychomycosis can occur alone, but often this disease is accompanied by mycosis of the skin of the feet.Redness, rashes and cracks appear between the fingers.Feet begin to emit an unpleasant odor.

Fungus or not?

Unfortunately, fungal nail diseases do not have specific symptoms.A similar clinical picture can occur with other dermatological problems.For example, with psoriasis.To accurately tell whether there is a fungal disease in your fingernails or toenails, it is necessary to carry out laboratory tests.

For analysis, take a piece of the nail (distal) or scrape the surface of the plate.The material collection procedure is safe and painless.Then, the biological material is delivered to the laboratory.

Microscopic examination reveals the presence of fungal infection, but does not determine the type of pathogen.To make an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to place the collected material (nail particles) in a nutrient medium and in favorable conditions.

Advice!The most favorable conditions for mold growth are heat and humidity.

Analysis results will be available only after 5 days.During this period, the fungal colony will grow so much that it will be possible to determine the type of pathogen by its appearance.Furthermore, the study makes it possible to determine which antimycotic agents destroy this fungus most effectively.

To do this, the filter paper is moistened with antifungal solutions and then applied to the fungal colonies.After some time, the paper is removed and they observe which places the growth of microorganisms will be stopped most effectively.

Home methods

It happens that for some reason you cannot enter the laboratory.Is it possible to determine the presence of a fungal infection at home?Of course, home diagnostic methods are far from perfect;they cannot be compared with laboratory research methods.

However, even these simple methods, in most cases, can detect the presence of a fungal infection.Many people have a jar of brown potassium permanganate crystals at home.A solution of this product has antiseptic properties and is used in medicine and gardening.

This solution will also help with home diagnosis of onychomycosis.To carry out diagnostics, you must:

• prepare a strong, dark purple solution in a small container;
• pour warm water into a basin or other container in such quantity that you can completely immerse your nails;
• add drop by drop to the strong solution previously prepared in water, obtaining a soft lilac colored solution;

Advice!Never add dry crystals to bath water.If the crystals do not dissolve, they can cause burns if they come into contact with the skin.

• dip the limbs into the solution so that the nails are completely covered with the solution;

• hold for about ten minutes;
• then remove the limb from the solution and examine the nails, healthy nail plates will turn brown and the patients will remain unchanged.

Advice!Before diagnosing the use of potassium permanganate, make sure that the potassium permanganate solution does not cause the development of allergies.

How to avoid infection?

Everyone is at risk of contracting onychomycosis, but there are people who are at risk.These are:

• elderly;
• people who frequently come into contact with water (dishwashers, laundresses, etc.);
• patients with diabetes mellitus;
• patients with severely weakened immunity.

Furthermore, non-compliance with hygiene rules contributes to infection.In particular, using things together with the patient.Therefore, never wear someone else's shoes, use your own towel, never walk barefoot in public bathrooms, wear rubber slippers.

The risk of contracting onychomycosis is greater in the following places:

• public places where people carry out water procedures - showers, baths, water parks, swimming pools;
• shoe stores;
• nail salons.

Additionally, you can easily become infected at home if one of your family members has onychomycosis.The use of active preventive and protective measures will help avoid infections and prevent the development of the disease.

Each person should know the answer to the question of how to identify nail fungus.Knowing what a sick nail looks like will help you notice negative changes in a timely manner.If onychomycosis is detected in the early stages, curing the disease will be much easier.But at an advanced stage, treatment will be difficult and time-consuming;the course of treatment may take a year or more.