Sun, sea, wonderful beach. . . You are well rested during the summer, and your skin is covered with a wonderful tan. But what are these uncomfortable cracks in the foot between the toes and why did the nail turn yellow? Look closely. Maybe this is not just a cosmetic defect?
The first signs of a fungus
A parasitic fungus that has settled on the skin is capable of poisoning anyone’s life. And especially a lot of trouble and bitterness is caused by fungi that have settled on the skin of the foot and nails. Ladies who have become victims of such a fungus mainly deal with the outside of the issue - cracking, furry skin, shredded yellow nails - but, according to doctors, the aesthetic problem is far from the main problem.
This is a serious disease that needs long-term treatment. The disease occurs first on the skin of the feet, most often on the interdigital folds. Peeling appears between the fingers, accompanied by burning and itching. Then bubbles appear, which burst, forming ulcers and cracks. If you do not start treatment immediately, the fungus will spread to your nails. Once inserted into the nail plate, it continues to grow and multiply. Despite the slowness, the fungus gradually layers the nails, gradually filling it and penetrating the nail bed. Over time, the affected area catches the nails not only on the feet but also on the hands. Even, there is a defeat of internal organs, fortunately, rarely.
EVENTStoenail fungusdepend on the type of infection as well as the degree and depth of the fungus. Once they have moved to the nail plate, dermatophytes are usually declared with yellow spots or longitudinal stripes on the sides of the toenails. In some cases, the disease can be guessed by the appearance of bright yellow streaks or spots in the center of the nail plate. On the hands, the nails are "decorated" with similar stripes, but lighter - white or gray.
Yeast fungus thins the nail plate on the sides while remaining behind the nail bed and becomes yellow. Often, the disease begins with the folds of the nails, usually on the hands. Rolls thicken, swell and turn red, silvery scales appear along the edge, nail skin gradually disappears. A bacterial infection can join the process, in which case suppuration is also possible. Tissue nutrition in the roller area is disturbed, as a result of which transverse grooves appear. . . . . . .
Fungal fungi can cause onychomycosis only against the background of an already existing nutritional disorder of the nails, which was born due to other diseases. In this case, the color of the nail plate also changes, it can be yellow, green, blue, brown and even black, but the nail lesion remains superficial. However, you should not diagnose it yourself, especially since nail damage can be caused by several fungi at the same time. In addition, fungus is a common but not the only cause of serious nail problems.
See a doctor right away!
If you notice signs of a fungus, do not expect everything to disappear by itself. The longer the fungus lives on your nails, the harder it is to treat and the worse for the whole body. Prolonged onychomycosis can provoke an allergic reaction, weaken the immune system and lead to a worsening of chronic diseases. Therefore, the most accurate thing at first suspicion is to consult a mycologist or dermatologist. The doctor will not only perform an examination, assess the thickness, the structure of the nail, but will also make pieces of tissue for analysis. Only in this way he will be able to determine the presence of the fungus, its type and prescribe adequate treatment.
At the same time, the doctor will take into account the prevalence of the process, the shape of the lesion, the presence of concomitant diseases, the degree of nail growth, etc. In our time, there are very effective general and local action medications for treatment. In the initial forms of the disease, when the area of the nail lesion is insignificant, you can limit yourself to local treatment - applying to the nail bed 2 times a day an antifungal drug (antifungal) of a wide spectrum of action in the form of an oil, cream or tincture.
Before applying the drug, a special nail preparation is performed. First, a bath with soap and soda: the basin is half filled with hot water (40-50 degrees C), in which dissolve 1 tbsp. lsode and 50 g of laundry soap. The feet or toes that need treatment are soaked in the solution for 10-15 minutes. After that, the softened horny layers on the nails are treated with scissors and placed with a file. Duration of treatment - until healthy nails remain unchanged.
Important! Do not use the same manicure equipment for diseased and healthy nails.
Current medications include clotrimazole-based medications. They are applied to the affected nails with a dispenser and left for a day under a waterproof plaster. One day after bathing with baking soda, the affected areas of the nail are removed with a file. The procedure is repeated until the affected areas of the plaque are completely removed, and then the medicine is rubbed into the nail bed. Duration of treatment, as in the case of other drugs, until healthy nails grow back.
In the initial forms of lesions, special antifungal varnishes can be used for topical treatment, which are applied to the nails 1-2 times a week. The treatment lasts about 6-8 months for fingernails and about a year for toenails. Manicure can also be applied on antifungal varnish.
If local treatment no longer helps or the nail plates are completely affected by the fungus, general antifungals are prescribed (they are also called systemic). Such drugs are taken orally. They can be used in combination with antifungal varnishes. However, it is very important to make sure that you do not have contraindications to general antifungals. For example, kidney and liver diseases. Systemic drugs are often contraindicated in children, in addition, they have serious limitations in their concomitant use with some other drugs. For example, some of them are not compatible with hormonal contraceptives. If you are breastfeeding your baby, you will have to wait a while while using these medicines.
Pregnancy also means banning systemic antifungals. Therefore, women of childbearing potential who receive them should use contraceptives throughout the course of treatment. In some cases, you need to go for nail plate removal, followed by treatment. After that, a new nail grows, although its surface may be uneven at first. Whatever the treatment your doctor prescribes, for a while you turn into a disinfectant. The doctor will write a prescription, according to which the necessary solution will be prepared for you in the pharmacy.
Before starting the course, they will have to process all the available shoes, all the socks, gloves, etc. , And then, once a month, until the healthy nails grow back, they should process the clothes and shoes that were to be worn during the treatment. This is not difficult: the inner surface of the shoe is wiped with a cotton swab dipped in a solution, the same swab is placed on gloves, socks, socks, etc. All this is hidden in a dense plastic bag overnight, then dried well and aerated for 2-3 days.
So, as a result of continuous treatment, the external manifestations of the disease disappeared and finally healthy nails will grow. But that is not all, now control tests are coming to the end of treatment, after 2 weeks and after 2 months. Mushrooms are gone? So everything is fine, the only question is how not to get sick again.
Risk group
In medical practice, nail fungus infection is referred to by the term onychomycosis, where "onycho" means a nail, and "mykosis" is a fungal infection. The disease is not as rare as it may seem. Onychomycosis is widespread in all countries of the world and its share among all nail diseases reaches 40%. The main causative agents of the disease are dermatophyte fungi (fungal parasites of the skin, hair and nails). But there are other culprits of the disaster - yeast and various molds. Both men and women become victims of onychomycosis with equal success.
The risk of disease increases with age. For example, after 70 years, every second person suffers from onychomycosis. Fortunately, children suffer from onychomycosis much less frequently, as tissue regeneration, the replacement of old ones with new ones, occurs very quickly. Even the nails of a baby grow much faster than those of an adult, while the fungus, on the contrary, develops quite slowly. And yet it is impossible to completely exclude a child from the risk group. Children are usually infected by their parents and, surprisingly, through shoes: going out into the apartment in the mother's shoes, the baby risks catching the mother fungus. An intact and healthy nail is practically invulnerable to fungal infection, but altered nails, for example, as a result of damage, become easy prey for the fungus.
The condition of the organism as a whole plays an important role. The risk of disease increases if the vascular tone of the legs is disturbed, for example, with heart failure or varicose veins. The same can be said for disorders of the endocrine system. Diabetes mellitus is a good reason to monitor the vigilance condition of your nails, because in such cases, the defeat of the fungus can be particularly severe.
Flat feet and overly narrow shoes contribute to skin and nail damage. Socks and stockings made of synthetic fibers, poor ventilation in shoes create a very humid microclimate on the skin of the feet. Frequent hand contact with household detergents and cleaning products will damage your nails. All this increases the risk of getting the disease, but sometimes the risk lies in the very care of your appearance: false nails can create favorable conditions for the development of onychomycosis on the hands.
Prophylaxis
To avoid trouble, you need to be careful. A visit to the pool, spa, gym and even a sun-baked beach can turn into trouble. The causative agents of onychomycosis are extremely resistant to external factors. Mushroom spores can withstand drying, heating up to 100 and freezing up to minus 60 degrees C. They are able to survive the "attack" of disinfectants, which are commonly used in public places, as a result, pose a constant threat toour health. On the beach sand, the fungus remains valid for whole months. And, it would seem, where else can you walk barefoot, if not on the beach?! This is exactly what is unnecessary to do - there are slippers to visit beaches and swimming pools. But more often (up to 65% of cases), the infection occurs in the family circle. After all, you can become infected through direct contact with a sick person, through the shoes and clothes he wears, as well as through household items, whether it is a rug in the bathroom, an ordinary towel, nail clippers, and so on. flakes infected with fungi. They climb easily on wet feet. Therefore, if one of the family members has this harmful "treasure", you need to be especially vigilant.
The tub should be thoroughly disinfected with any cleaning agent and rinsed with a stream of hot water as loose nail pieces or flakes of skin may remain on the surface.
A washing cloth or sponge should be processed regularly in a 5% solution of chloramine (soak for at least an hour). Used flaxseed should be boiled with washing powder for 20-30 minutes or kept for one hour in a 5% solution of chloramine, as it is sold in pharmacies without a prescription.
Scratches and abrasions accompanied by sweating or, conversely, dry skin, greatly facilitate the task of infection. To cope with excessive sweating and redness of the diapers on the feet will help dust fromboric acid and talc. . .
Useful is useful to treat feet with drying solution.
To avoid excessive drying of the skin, you can use a special oil, lotions containing vitamins and other similar products. Use creams to prevent corns.
Adherence to simple rules will save you from illness:
- beach slippers only;
- when visiting a spa, sauna or swimming pool, use closed rubber slippers that protect against splashes;
- after washing, wipe your dry feet, especially the interdigital folds, and treat them with a prophylactic antifungal cream or special powder;
- do not wear someone else's shoes;
- change socks and stockings every day.