This article will focus on unpleasant phenomena, but, unfortunately, such as toenail fungus. The symptoms and causes of this disease are known by medical science and can be easily diagnosed at all levels. However, it can only be detected with a careful attitude towards one's health. How to identify toenail fungus? How to take care of it? Is the advertised ointment effective?
What Causes Nail Fungus?
Nail fungus is a fairly common disease. The disease spreads successfully in places with tropical and temperate climates, where it is humid and warm. However, paradoxically, residents of cold countries most often fall ill with nail fungus. This is due to the fact that in harsh climates, you should always wear warm shoes with socks. Sweaty feet, socks get wet and the person has to stay in this condition for a long time without a chance to change shoes. This is the best method to promote the formation of nail fungus. Before discussing how to identify toenail fungus, let’s find out who is more susceptible to this disease.
Nail fungus as an occupational disease
At risk are people whose feet cannot breathe during the day because of tight shoes. These are miners, power plant workers, gardeners and representatives of other work specialties. Fungi can be "picked up" by working in the laundry, in swimming pools, hotels, restaurants.
What diseases can be a prerequisite
Often, not only representatives of the above professions suffer from this disease, but also people with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, foot deformities, varicose veins can be a prerequisite for the formation of nail fungus. Among the causes of this infection is inadequate nail nutrition due to blockage or blockage of blood vessels. This is why creams advertised today, as well as nail polishes that are supposedly designed to protect against fungus, will be completely useless in the fight against disease. However, it is often caused by an internal disease, and external influences will not eradicate the problem.
Who is at risk?
Decades ago, nail fungus was diagnosed in most cases in the elderly. However, every year the number of patients suffering from nail fungus is increasing, and the disease itself is getting younger.
Official data show that nail fungus grows two to three times more often in men. At the same time, women are more often turning to dermatologists facing this problem. The fairer sex is more concerned about their health and does not feel embarrassed when seeing a doctor.
Next, we will consider why it is so important to get fungal treatment recommendations from a dermatologist, as well as discuss how you can determine the fungus on the nails and what symptoms it has at each stage of its development.
What is Nail Fungus Like?
The disease is not fatal, but, of course, need to get rid of it. Fortunately, realizing the onset of the disease is easy for anyone. How to identify fungus on the feet? See below for tips. First of all, take a closer look at your nails.
The first thing to notice is the color of these nails. Fungal nails become dull yellow and opaque. Depending on the stage of the disease, the affected can be the edge of the nail plate, the base or the entire nail.
Note the thickness of the nails
To answer the question of how to determine nail fungus, changes in the nail plate should also be mentioned. Even because of this disease, the nails become thinner, visually and sensually they seem to become thicker and swollen.
How to identify nail fungus? To detect the presence of infection, visual inspection on the nail plate is insufficient. Mix potassium permanganate and water in a ratio of 1 to 5, dip the nail into the resulting solution for half a minute. Healthy nails will be colored and brown. The affected part of the plate will remain white.
The stage of the disease
The disease progresses in four stages. The earlier you start treatment, the more likely you are to get rid of nail fungus permanently.
The first stage is characterized by damage to the edges of the nail. As mentioned above, the color of the plate changes, a bulge appears. Nails grow of low quality, perforated, and therefore broken and crumbling.
An increase in the area of the lesion will be a sign of the second stage. In addition, it should be noted that sometimes the second stage can begin as if past the first stage. The defeat of the nail plate will start not from the edges, but at the base of the nail. It will be more problematic to recover from nail fungus in the second stage than the first.
How to identify toenail fungus 3? In medicine, it is called a white surface fungus and looks like the entire plate is affected. It has a dense white color, strongly crushed at its edges.
The fourth stage is called fungal total dystrophy. The nails have a yellowish gray color, emit an unpleasant and brittle odor strongly. In the fourth stage, you can often see the exposed part of the skin under the broken nail, as it grows due to the fungus, in most cases it breaks.
The reason for contacting a dermatologist is often an independent identification of the fourth stage of nail fungus. Do not search forums or the Internet for advice on how to treat nail fungus effectively. It is better to see a specialist with the first symptoms of the disease.
What to expect from a visit to the doctor?
Probably, in each of us there is a fear of doctors. However, don’t be afraid to contact a dermatologist if you suspect you have nail fungus. The specialist will perform an external examination, as well as scrape the nail layer over the stratum corneum to send it to a laboratory for diagnosis. A detailed analysis will reveal what is the causative agent of the disease, determine the type of fungus, and even tell the doctor what type of treatment should be prescribed.
Nail fungus treatment takes a long time. It can last from a month to three. After treatment, you will need to undergo the test again, even if the above symptoms are not observed.
A few words about effective treatment
So, now we know how to identify toenail fungus. The method is given above. Now it is necessary to say a few words about the treatment that you can do yourself. Naftifine medication has been well proven. However, you should not use an ointment, but a solution. This medicine can also be used if there is a fungal infection of the feet.
How do I use Naftifin? If you have fungus in the first stage of the disease, then lubricate the affected nail surface twice a day. Make sure your nails are dry and well washed. In the next stage of the disease, you cannot do without taking pills. However, in this case, the use of Naftifin should not be stopped: this will increase the side effects of the drugs.
Before using the product, thoroughly clean the affected nail surface with a manicure tool. However, you need to be careful when doing this. After perfect manipulation, it is necessary to apply Naftifin solution to the cleaned area. Repeat 2 times a day.
Summarize
The article provides an answer to the question of how to identify toenail fungus. However, keep in mind that self -treatment does not always lead to full recovery. If the thickness or color of your nails changes, you should see a doctor.
According to the degree of damage to the nail plate, the fungus can be divided into four stages. If in the first stage of the disease does not cause alarm, because it does not damage the nail plate, then in the fourth stage you can lose nails easily. Do not hesitate to contact a dermatologist.
It is strongly discouraged to self -medicate, giving up on advertising about the effectiveness of certain drugs. Creams or other agents affixed to the nail plate from the outside will not eliminate the causative agent of the disease, and, therefore, will not be effective. As a result, you will only slow down the treatment process, obscuring the manifestations of the disease. Not forgetting also that nail fungus not only looks unesthetic, but also a kind of flare, which indicates the presence of a disorder on the body.