Summer gives us wonderful opportunities for relaxation and beauty. After all, when, if not in summer, can we afford a fashion show in beautiful open shoes, demonstrating to others our impeccable pedicure and beautiful legs? And how much pleasure we get walking barefoot on the warm gentle sand!
Unfortunately, all these summer charms can end up rather sadly for our feet and nails, because by opening them, we run the risk of contracting such an unpleasant and extremely insidious disease as a fungus. And most often it is our nails and feet that are affected by it. Moreover, you can get nail fungus not only on the beach or in a public shower.
You can catch this disease even in public transport, or just walking down the street in open shoes: slippers or sandals.
Unfortunately, the consequences of a fungal infection for the nails, and indeed the entire human body, are quite serious, so you should not start this disease.
Therefore, it is important to know the symptoms of infection and start treatment in a timely manner. And for this you need to figure out what constitutes a toenail fungus.
What is onychomycosis
Mushrooms, as a class, belong to lower plants that form filaments of mycelium and spores. It is with the help of spores that fungi reproduce and also spread in the external environment. You will be surprised, but scientists know more than 300, 000 varieties of fungi, and about 100 species of them can cause skin and nail diseases in humans.
Since they also reproduce by spores, any tiny crumb of a diseased nail or a tiny piece of skin from the heel or foot of a sick person is enough to infect with such fungi.
Fungal infections of the nails (onychomycosis) can be caused by various types of fungi. Accordingly, the signs of infection will be different, and the means of getting rid of them too.
Dermatophytes
If you notice that small yellow spots or stripes appear on your toenails, stripes of a lighter white or gray shade appear on your fingernails, and the edge of the nail moves away and turns yellow - most likely you have become infected with dermatophytes.
The degree of infection with dermatophytes can be easily determined by the same stripes and spots: the brighter they are, and the closer to the center of the nail they are located, the stronger the infection. So if these stripes and spots are located closer to the edges of the nails, then the infection has not advanced too far and the disease can be stopped in time. But in no case should you delay! After all, if left untreated, not only the toenails are affected, but also the skin around them, and the nail plate will eventually become completely yellow and opaque.
yeast fungi
If the toenails become uneven, grooves and "waves" appear on them, if at the same time the nail gradually turns yellow and loses its density, becomes very brittle, thin, begins to lag behind the nail bed - most likely you have become infected with yeast. In this case, the degree of infection is determined by the color of the nail: the more yellow and even brownish it became, the further the lesion advanced.
The defeat of toenails with yeast most often begins with a slight thickening of the nail folds, which eventually swell and become red. Pressing on these inflamed rollers is quite painful. Later, pus may appear in them, which, if it comes into contact with the skin, can cause additional infection. If no measures are taken, over time, the nail may gradually bend and change its color, shallow brown grooves will appear on it.
Molds
If a person’s nails, like his entire body, were weakened for a long time by a long illness, and then quickly changed their color - they became yellow, blue, green, brown or black, or dark or even black dots or spots appeared on the nails -most likely, there was an infection with mold fungi.
Such an infection, fortunately, does not penetrate very deep into the structure of the nail plate itself and, compared with the above types of fungi, is treated quite quickly: from one to two months.
Consequences of the disease
However, all these are only external signs of the disease, and if no measures are taken, toenail fungus can spread throughout the body, especially when it comes to dermatophytes or molds. Over the course of a year, and sometimes several years, the fungus slowly destroys the nail plate, fills the entire nail and penetrates the nail bed, and after a while it spreads from the feet to the hands, while first affecting the thumbs, and then all the others.
Spreading and taking root in the human body, the fungus significantly weakens the immune system, thereby contributing to the appearance of various allergic reactions and exacerbation of chronic diseases.
If a person does not start treatment at this stage, the internal organs are damaged. Particularly susceptible to such infection are people who have a bad habit of biting their nails.
Therefore, it is extremely important to recognize the disease in a timely manner and begin timely and adequate treatment. Naturally, only a specialist can prescribe it, who will conduct the necessary examination and prescribe the appropriate drugs that affect exactly the fungus that affects your body.
Self-diagnosis
You can try to diagnose your own nail fungus yourself if you suspect something is wrong in their appearance, feel itchy and dry skin.
To do this, you will need the most common potassium permanganate. You need to make it an aqueous solution and lower your legs into it. After a few minutes, your nails will turn brown, but the fungal lesions will remain light.
In this case, you definitely cannot do without consulting a doctor. And it's better not to delay it!