According to dermatologists, mycoses, including fungus between the toes, develop against a background of weak immunity. The skin on the feet, and especially between the toes, is exposed to the negative influence of shoes and lack of personal hygiene. These factors make it susceptible to mycotic infections. Cracks, micro abrasions, abrasions, calluses, etc. susceptible to the development of fungus on the toes. Sweaty feet play an important role in the occurrence of this unpleasant disease, which is important for young people. In older people, fungus develops between the toes for reasons related to limb diseases, metabolic disorders, etc. People who are overweight are especially prone to mycoses on the feet.
Symptoms of fungus between the toes
Mycoses on the bottom of the feet begin with interdigital fungus, which then spreads to other areas. Symptoms of fungus between the toes vary. The number of signs of the disease depends on its stage. In the first stage there are several signs. They show themselves as redness between the fingers and itching. Then, if the infection is not stopped, the symptoms develop further. Bubbles appear, burst and crack. They can get wet and cause pain. When bacterial flora accumulates at the crack site, a weeping ulcer appears. Fungus between the toes is characterized by severe itching. When the blister is scratched, the infection will spread further. This is what toenail fungus looks like between your toes.
Interdigital fungus on the toes is almost always combined with onychomycosis, a fungus on the nail plate. The fungus grows slowly but steadily into healthy areas of the skin of the feet. Acute forms without appropriate and timely treatment become chronic. The surface of the foot and the space between the toes becomes rough and acquires a yellowish dirty color.
Diagnosis of interdigital fungus
Before determining how to treat nail fungus between the toes, it is necessary to diagnose it. Identifying foot mycosis is not difficult for experts. It is enough to examine the skin between the toes and see the characteristic signs of this disease. To find out how to treat the fungus between the toes and the type of fungal flora that lives on the patient's skin, scrapings are taken from the affected area and sent to the laboratory. Fungal spore inoculation allows you to accurately determine the causative agent of the disease and then choose the most effective methods and means of future treatment.
Treatment
The treatment of fungus between the toes, as well as other areas, should be carried out in a complex way. It includes the following types of treatment:
- local;
- anti-inflammatory;
- antibacterial;
- systemic.
Local therapy
Local therapy is effective in the early stages of the disease. First, the doctor chooses antimycotic drugs. They are effective when the infection has not spread beyond the interdigital space. Today, the market for such drugs is quite wide, which allows effective treatment of fungus between the toes. But self-medicating the disease even in the early stages is risky, because of the wrong choice of medicine, which may not solve the problem, but can make it worse. Only a dermatologist can choose and prescribe local antimycotics. The most well-proven dosage forms are ointments and creams. They should be applied in a thin layer to the interdigital space, covering cracks and ulcers. It is mandatory to treat the areas not affected by the fungus to prevent the infection from spreading further.
Which dosage form is better - ointment or cream? It is best to use the ointment on dry and flaky areas. It is easy to use under bandages for better penetration into the base layer of the dermis. The cream is recommended for use at a more significant stage of the disease. It is used for weeping and erosive ulcers between the fingers. As a rule, both ointment and cream are prescribed. Ointment is applied to the affected area at night. It is better to use the cream during the day.
Before using ointments and creams, the feet must be prepared - thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap and dried.
Anti-inflammatory therapy
Inflammatory phenomena in the affected area can be treated with a foot bath. A bath with a slightly pink manganese solution gives a good effect. Such a bath dries the weeping ulcer and relieves the inflammation around it. After bathing, ointment with glucocorticosteroids is applied to the legs.
Treatment for bacterial infections
An unpleasant smell from the feet indicates a layer of bacterial and fungal infection between the toes. Treatment of complicated forms of foot fungus involves the prescription of combined drugs with antibiotics.
Systemic treatment of fungus with tablets
In patients with diabetes mellitus, diseases of blood vessels in the legs, and those who have taken antibiotics for a long time, treatment with local drugs may not be effective. In such cases, systemic therapy is used. Most often these are drugs from the triazole group.
These drugs are strictly prescribed by medical experts for serious indications. They have limitations, because their use is associated with side effects in the form of dysbiosis, dyspeptic disorders, impaired kidney and liver function, etc. The course of systemic therapy prescribed by the doctor should not be interrupted without sufficient reason. Interrupted treatment can cause drug resistance to some drugs, especially antibiotics.
People's recovery
Traditional medicine is also used to treat foot fungus. They can have a good effect in the early stages of the disease, relieving symptoms such as itching and redness.
One of the proven remedies is kombucha.
Kombucha treatment
Its effectiveness is explained by the large composition of ingredients included in it and vinegar. Grind a small piece of old kombucha, rinse well in water, and rub it into the interdigital space. You can use kombucha for a month. Repeat the course of treatment as prophylaxis after two weeks.
Propolis colored
Another popular medicine in folk medicine is propolis tincture. It has strong anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antifungal effects. A cotton swab or bandage moistened with the color of propolis is squeezed and placed between the fingers. You should wear cotton socks on top and leave it all night. The course of treatment is 15-20 days. Since the tincture is alcohol-based, you should lubricate your feet with a nourishing cream after removing the lotion.
Celandine juice
A powerful remedy for the early stages of fungus between the toes is the juice of flowering celandine. To get it, just crush the green part of the plant and squeeze the juice. It is used as an independent medicine that can only be used to lubricate skin areas damaged by fungus. With daily use of celandine juice, uninfected fungi will disappear within 2 weeks.
Foot bath
Apple cider vinegar bath has a good healing effect. Add 2 cups of apple cider vinegar to 2 liters of warm water. And keep your feet in the bath for 25-30 minutes. After showering, remove the dead skin between the fingers and apply medicated ointment.
A bath with vinegar can alternate with a bath with celandine.
Prevention of fungus on the feet between the toes
Although yeast infections are common, they can be avoided. Following simple recommendations will help prevent fungal infections:
- follow the rules of personal hygiene. Washing your feet daily with antibacterial soap will help prevent excessive sweating. To prevent your feet from burning, you should not wear tight and uncomfortable shoes. From time to time it is necessary to disinfect shoes;
- When visiting public saunas, baths and swimming pools, you must wear special shoes;
- keep the shower clean by always disinfecting with cleaning products and hot water;
- Personal hygiene items – wipes and sponges – should always be treated with a disinfectant solution. Never use other people's rags and sponges;
- monitor the condition of your feet. For care, use special creams that contain components that prevent the development of fungal infections.
And of course, we must not forget about strengthening the immune system. After all, mycotic infections, including toenail fungus between the toes, occur in people whose immunity cannot cope with the fungus, the spores of which are always around us. And only people with a weak immune system develop fungal diseases.