Fungal diseases of the skin and nails belong to the group of human infectious diseases caused by disease-causing fungi. Fungal infections (mycoses) are different. There are very severe forms of infections with a high mortality rate. However, not many people suffer from them. Nail mycosis is not one of them and it is impossible to die directly from it. But fungal infection of the skin and nails is one of the most common fungal diseases. It is a contagious disease that spreads from person to person.
What does nail fungus look like?
Many people do not pay attention to changes in nail plates, too often considering these changes as a result of trauma or age characteristics. Fungal nail diseases have many different manifestations. But as a rule, changes in nails with a fungal disease have three main manifestations: changes in the color of the nail plate, its thickening, destruction or destruction.
Mushrooms or not mushrooms?
So you may notice some changes in the skin or nail plates. It remains to be decided whether it is a fungus or not.
There are many non-fungal diseases of the skin and nails - a few hundred names. However, according to statistics, every second nail disease is fungal. That is, if your nails are changed, the chance of having a nail fungus is 50%, regardless of any manifestation and factor. But what about foot skin diseases? They obey the same laws of probability. That is, most foot skin lesions are fungal. Remember, untreated fungus on the skin of the feet will sooner or later turn into nail fungus. And it is not so easy to get rid of nail fungus. Do not be deceived. If you suspect you have a skin or nail disease, contact your mycologist!
Despite the fact that most nail changes turn out to be a fungus, another nature of these changes needs to be considered. Here it is necessary to emphasize, first of all, chronic nail trauma. Changes in the nails can occur with some common skin diseases, infectious internal diseases, lesions of the nervous system, endocrine, cardiovascular, various types of intoxication, as well as dystrophy. Finally, nail changes can be congenital. These exterior nail changes are similar to fungal infections, but they are not. Treatment with antifungal drugs for non-fungal nail diseases, of course, will not be successful. This is another reason to consult a mycologist and not try to recover from any nail changes.
Can you recognize a nail fungus yourself?
No you can not! And no single professional doctor, no matter how experienced he may be, will undertake the treatment of a fungal disease without confirming the diagnosis in the laboratory, even with the most typical signs of foot fungus. Laboratory confirmation is a prerequisite for any fungal disease. Simply put, if the lab finds a fungus in a skin peel or a piece of nail taken for analysis, then it is a fungal disease.
The dilemma: to treat or not to treat a fungus?
Some people have doubts about whether it is worth it at all to get a nail fungus treatment. Many argue as follows: does it cost money to treat a fungal disease? Requires How long will it take to be treated? Maybe for a long time. Then, really, why bother to be treated for mycosis? Is it the same thing that nails change because they can finally be erased. . .
Is this candle game worth it? Why do you need mycosis treatment? Let’s try to understand this issue. . . Once it starts, the fungal infection will not go anywhere until the fungus is destroyed. Fungi are very persistent and can survive for months in the scales of the skin. So what can you expect from the fungus that hides on the nails? First, the fungal cells enter the skin, attach, multiply and spread in it, and then, under favorable conditions, enter the nail. Over time, the fungus affects all parts of the nail and spreads to the nails or other skin. Nail fungus is a hotbed and source of infection for other parts of the body. Even if all the fungal foci on the skin of the feet or trunk have healed, the re-infection will come from the remaining foci of infection on the nails.
Fungal diseases of the nails impair the quality of life. Research conducted by the National Academy of Mycology has shown that the presence of nail fungus or toenail fungus significantly reduces the quality of life - a set of indicators that characterize a person's emotional, mental and social well-being. It turned out that the quality of life in case of fungal nail disease decreases on average to 50-55% of the total full value typical for a healthy person. At the same time, patients noticed not only physical discomfort associated with thickening or destruction of the nails, but also experienced various experiences, fears and negative emotions. It was found that nail fungus severely restricts a person's activity, interfering with his leisure, sports, communication with other people. Moreover, feelings of embarrassment and shame about the condition of their nails sometimes prevented them from seeing a doctor at the right time. The longer the illness lasted, the more severe the nail fungus became and the worse the quality of life became.
In addition to reducing the quality of life, fungi lead to some health problems. The first and foremost health problem, which is caused by the presence of nail fungus, is the fungus itself - a chronic infectious disease that destroys the nails constantly and threatens to spread to people around them, especially to the patient's family members. The presence of a relative with a fungus, by the way, is noticed by at least 1/3 of patients with nail injuries. According to medical statistics and epidemiological studies, in Russia, the presence of fungal nail disease can be expected in almost every fifth adult. At the same time, the incidence over the last 10 years has increased by 2. 5 times. A further increase in incidence is expected. At the same time, the likelihood of the presence of a fungus increases with age: approximately 2 times for every 10 years of life.
Untreated nail fungus and foot fungus are considered a gateway for other infectious diseases - for example, bacterial erysipelas. Fungal nail infection significantly complicates the course of diabetes mellitus and can lead to serious complications.
Allergy of the human body to a fungal infection is possible - the formation of hypersensitivity to fungi as an allergen, namely fungal allergy. Developments may develop or worsen the course of diseases such as bronchial asthma, allergic dermatitis, various skin rashes and reactions.
In very rare cases, as a rule, against the background of lack of immunity, untreated nail fungus led to the development of deep mycosis - germination or penetration of fungi with blood into the internal organs, which caused death. Fortunately, most modern patients with nail fungus do not have such results. But even if you completely rule out their possibility, you can not leave fungal nail disease untreated. It is impossible not to treat scabies, head lice and other infectious diseases. If you have doubts about nail fungus, we advise you to see a doctor as soon as possible.
As we reason in this way, the fungus on someone’s nail may have moved forward by a fraction of a millimeter. This is his job, a small business, so to speak. Mushrooms do this all day, day after day. Days are added to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. Over the years, the disease worsens if the fungus is left untreated. In one of the recent studies, it was shown that every 5 years the severity of onychomycosis increases by a few points to a particular degree. This means that the young nails are affected by the fungus, and in each of them the affected area increases and the degree of thickening. This means that the negative impact of mycosis on health and quality of life will be stronger. This is a proven fact. But that is not all. The more severe the fungal nail infection, the more difficult it is to treat. If in the early stages of the infection can help antifungal varnish or nail solution, then after a few years, antifungal pills can not be dispersed. The longer the illness lasts, the longer it will have to be taken (and more to buy). And after ten to twenty years, as a rule, just removing the nail plate, plus these funds, will help.
See your doctor as soon as possible. Every year you give the mushrooms a delay, extend the required period of treatment and observation, add large doses of medication, do the necessary nail processing. Make no big mistake - do not take systemic medication yourself! If fungal nail diseases were not to cause the changes mentioned above, then, in fact, treating the fungus would simply become a matter of attitude towards one’s appearance. Then we would put healthy nails on the same list along with white teeth, clean skin and no bad smell. And the question of the cost of treating mycosis would sound like this: Are you willing to give money to get your nails back uneaten, thickened and unwanted? However, the question is not the only one. Are you willing to pay to protect your family from the athlete’s foot? Do you want to regain your former quality of life? Are you able to stop the spread of infection today?