There are many reasons for the development of toenail fungus. In most cases, infection is spread through household contact. Especially in the summer, when the disease often strikes, when everyone wears mostly open-toed shoes. In addition, bacteria multiply faster and become more active in warm, humid environments.
Most of the time, people who prefer to walk barefoot in public places such as swimming pools, baths and saunas, changing rooms on beaches and sports clubs develop lesions. Additionally, toenail fungus often affects children who like to try on other people's shoes. Usually, this happens in school or kindergarten.
Nail fungus may be the result of a weakened immune system. Even if a person follows all rules of safe behavior in public, infection can easily penetrate the skin due to excessive sweating of the feet or insufficient personal foot hygiene.
It is recommended to wash your feet with warm water and soap as often as possible, be sure to dry them, and use powder in summer so your skin doesn't sweat too much. This is especially true for people who are prone to colds and infectious diseases.
In some cases, poor quality shoes are the cause of the fungus. This usually occurs when a person wears closed shoes for an extended period of time that do not allow air to pass through. This creates a favorable environment for bacteria to grow.
If possible, it is recommended to buy shoes made of natural materials, wash and ventilate frequently.
Symptoms of Fungus on Nails
Symptoms of toe fungus are easy to spot. After all, when infections are introduced into the body, they appear almost immediately. But the problem is that people don't always pay attention to the first change, delaying treatment for the disease. Let's look at these symptoms in more detail.
- During the initial stages of disease development, sweating between the toes may increase. In this case, an unpleasant odor is observed, which is almost impossible to remove. As the disease progresses, it can be further exacerbated, causing great discomfort.
- Nails change their color and structure. In most cases, they will appear yellow, gray or even green. The nail plate can be painted gradually. Also, the nails on the thumb start to fall off. Sometimes it even crashes. Meanwhile, nail files and nail clippers won't help with this problem.
- As the disease progresses, the skin around the nail plate becomes inflamed. A characteristic of the fungus is severe itching and burning. This is especially enhanced if the foot is always in the shoe. Itching is not so intense in summer.
- Often, on the background of toenail fungus, the disease begins to develop, and before that it was just a stimulus for bacterial growth. The course of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and thyroid is complex.
- If the nails start to thicken, this is a sign that the disease is developing. Often, when large growths appear on the nail plate, treatment of the fungus takes a long time. Only an integrated approach can guarantee good results.
specificity of treatment
When nail fungus or foot involvement occurs in the big toe, it should be treated promptly and comprehensively.
Thumb fungus in children is best treated with safe folk remedies early in the disease's development. Or consult your doctor first.
As for adults, the treatment of big toe fungus can be done with the help of medicinal preparations and home remedies. Let's discuss this in more detail.
Pharmaceutical products
If the fungus on the thumb has gotten too much, it's not just local remedies that should be used to fix the problem. It is advisable to consult a specialist about taking pills. There are many today, so it's important to choose the one that suits you best.
The most popular tablets based on terbinafine and ketoconazole. But the truth is, tablets have a lot of contraindications. Therefore, people with kidney or liver failure and people with heart problems should not drink it under any circumstances. Care should be taken to take these tablets at the same time as other medicines. This is especially true for hormonal drugs.
Sprays, gels and ointments are used for topical treatment of fungi. It is also recommended to choose with the attending physician. They perfectly help fight nail fungus in the initial stages of the development of the disease. A medicated varnish that should be applied directly to the affected nail is an excellent help.
Varnish can destroy the cell membrane structure of pathogenic fungi in the shortest time. It is also useful to spend these funds on disease prevention, as they have absolutely no side effects and are completely safe.
However, if the nail is so affected that you need to remove it, there are special solutions for this. These substances are applied to pre-steamed affected toenails, and then the painful area is closed with a cast and bandage. After a few hours, everything was painlessly removed.
Removing unhealthy nails is an excellent alternative to surgery. After all, together with the stratum corneum, pathogenic microorganisms are killed and removed. Special auxiliary ingredients allow new healthy nails to grow as actively as possible.
folk recipes
You can deal with nail fungus and folk methods at the same time. They are in great numbers. Consider a few of the most common and effective. So, taking a hot bath with salt every day can be very helpful. They help soften the skin and disinfect the nails.
Kills fungus and fresh garlic juice. You should mix warm vegetable oil with garlic porridge and let it cook for a day.
Lubricate the affected skin of sore fingers and feet daily at bedtime for a month for complete healing. Note that the visible results after the first two procedures should not stop, as it is necessary to completely kill the entire infection.
Fighting toenail fungus can be very difficult if you start contracting the disease.
Therefore, it is advisable to act immediately upon detection of the first symptoms. Simultaneous treatment with folk remedies and drug remedies will certainly produce good results.