Onychomycosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic fungi. The problem is relevant to many as the disease is extremely common and highly contagious. Therefore, it is useful for everyone to learn how to get rid of toenail fungus. Let's find out what drugs can be used in the treatment process and how traditional medicine can help.
Most often, a fungal nail infection develops with age. However, the disease can develop well in a young and strong person. Onychomycosis is less common in children. Every person is at risk of getting an infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is relevant for everyone.
Symptoms
In order to start treatment on time, you need to know how it manifests itself. The insidious thing about this disease is that it develops gradually. In the early stages, when you can get rid of nail fungus quickly, most people just don't pay attention to the first signs.
In fact, few people will be alerted when a stain appears in the corner of the nail. And only when the disease affects most of the nail and the plate begins to collapse do people begin treatment.
In the meantime, there is only one answer to the question of how to get rid of the fungus quickly - you need to start treatment as early as possible. If the affected area already exceeds a third of the nail plate surface, the treatment will take a long time.
So, the primary sign of the disease is discoloration of the nail plate. Most often, such a change is noted in the corner of the toenail on the big toe. The stain occurs much less often on the inner edge of the nail or on the other toe.
The appearance of nail fungus on the hands is noted even less, most often women encounter this type of onychomycosis. The fact is that women often do manicures, and not too high-quality disinfection of the instrument and nail injuries are predisposing factors to the development of the disease.
Advice!Of course, manicure itself is not harmful, and you do not need to refuse this hygienic procedure. You should just make sure that the master carefully sterilizes the instruments or uses individual files and pliers.
If there is no treatment, the stain will get bigger. In addition, the structure of the nail begins to change. The plate becomes thicker, cracks may appear, the plate begins to collapse.
Often, onychomycosis occurs at the same time as mycosis of the skin of the feet. When this happens, the skin in the affected areas turns red, becomes inflamed, and painful cracks appear. The disease is accompanied by an unpleasant odor on the feet.
At this stage, it is impossible not to notice the manifestations of the disease, therefore, at this advanced stage, most patients go to the doctor or try to cure themselves.
Advice!Self-medication for fungal nail diseases is very dangerous because the patient cannot determine the type of pathogen himself. Therefore, the measures it has taken may prove ineffective.
When there is no or no treatment, the disease progresses. The nail plate begins to peel off. At this stage, bacterial infection often joins, which leads to the development of a purulent process. If the disease started difficult, complete removal of the diseased nail is advisable. Therefore, it is better not to take the matter to surgery, but to start treatment in a timely manner.
Basic principles
It is necessary to remember that getting rid of onychomycosis for good is not easy. This disease very often leads to relapses. In particular, if the patient has not completed treatment, the course will be interrupted as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease have passed.
To rule out the development of relapse, you need to continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Advice!It is recommended that control tests be performed twice with an interval of two weeks. If both tests are negative, the disease is considered completely cured.
The main principles of treatment for fungal diseases are:
- Regularity;
- A complex approach.
Not a single drug, even the most effective, helps once. The duration of treatment is determined individually, its duration is influenced by:
- the nature of the causative agent (mold forms a lesion on the surface of the nail, so it is easier to cure this type of onychomycosis than a disease caused by yeast or dermatophytes);
- the degree of damage, at the initial stage, the course of treatment can last 3-5 weeks, but if onychomycosis is actively progressing, then treatment lasts for several months or even more than a year.
- Health status of the patient, many effective antifungal drugs have an impressive list of contraindications, so you will have to use less effective but safer means.
In addition, you need to remember that even the most modern and effective medicine will not help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- Good hygiene is important. You need to disinfect all of your shoes, and it is better to replace socks and slippers with new ones. You need to regularly disinfect the bathtub, as well as manicure tools that are used to treat diseased nails.
- Follow your diet. It is necessary to minimize the amount of sugar in the diet, avoid alcohol and very fatty foods. But fermented milk products, cereals and vegetables, on the contrary, are useful.
- Try to lead a healthy lifestyle. Observe the way you work and rest, be outdoors, get enough sleep, try to avoid stress. All of these measures support the immune system.
- Choose the right footwear. Avoid tight models, choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials. There are now even artificial materials that can ensure a normal exchange of air, for example eco-leather has such properties.
Advice!It is convenient to use special sprays to disinfect shoes, but you can also use home remedies. For example vinegar.
Pharmacy products
There are many drugs available to fight fungal diseases. They differ in the form of release and the active ingredient. It is impossible to recommend a remedy that will help everyone without exception. A doctor should prescribe treatment for a nail fungus. Most often, the following scheme is recommended:
- Use of topical agents. Most often, antifungal drugs are prescribed in the form of a solution or varnish, less often the use of creams is recommended.
- Taking systemic drugs, i. e. capsules or tablets. The need to take tablets is determined by the doctor. Usually they are prescribed at an advanced stage or when a local remedy does not work;
- Taking multivitamin complexes and means for general strengthening of the body.
Topical agents
To cure nail fungus, it is necessary to use drugs that are applied directly to the diseased nail. The doctor should prescribe drugs, the patient's job is to use them properly.
First of all, you need to prepare your nail. In contrast to the skin, the nail plate absorbs drugs less well, so it is more difficult to treat onychomycosis than skin mycosis. The preparation of the nail is as follows:
- You should soften the nail by taking a warm bath. Soda, vinegar, sea salt, decoctions of herbs are added to the water (of course, you need to add one remedy, and not all at the same time);
- the duration of the bath is about 20 minutes. During this time, the nails have enough time to become sufficiently soft.
- After that, you need to work the nails: cut them as short as possible, work them with a file and remove loose layers of peeling from the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of topical agents will be more beneficial. Your active ingredients can penetrate deeper, directly into the focus of the fungal infection.
Local funds are applied 1-2 times a day. The solution is applied with a pipette (usually a bottle is equipped with it) or a pipette. You don't need to drip onto the horizontal surface of the nail, but onto its outer edge.
Creams are applied to the entire surface of the plate and gently rubbed. Medicinal varnishes are one of the most convenient means of treating onychomycosis. They do not have to be used daily, but twice a week. However, this remedy only helps in the early stages of the disease.
Advice!Women especially like to use medical varnishes, as a decorative varnish is allowed to be applied over the layer of the medical coating.
Additional measures
In order to speed up the healing process, it is recommended to do a hardware pedicure (manicure) or laser treatment when getting rid of nail fungus. During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, the removal is done mechanically, that is, the nail is cut off with special cutters. After the treatment is completed, a medical antifungal agent is applied to the surface. The laser procedure not only allows you to remove the affected part of the nail, but also allows you to perform treatment as the laser beam can kill the fungus.
Home methods
Some people have been quite successful in getting rid of a yeast infection by simple and cheap means of treating the disease. Here is a description of the most effective means.
vinegar
This is one of the most effective remedies and can be used in combination with medication. The essence of the method is that the acidic environment has a harmful effect on fungi.
The easiest treatment option is to add vinegar to the trays. Take a glass of vinegar (9%) for two liters of warm water. It is recommended to take such a bath every evening before applying topical medications. You can also perform applications by applying cotton swabs soaked in vinegar to sore nails for a quarter of an hour.
garlic
The most common garlic is effective in fighting fungal diseases. You can simply smear sore spots with fresh juice or make compresses. To carry out the procedure, you need to prepare garlic pulp, put it between two layers of gauze and apply the resulting lotion to the affected area for an hour.
Celandine
Celandine juice effectively destroys fungal infections. The affected areas are smeared with fresh juice. In winter, you can use celandine tincture for this purpose, and a decoction of this herb is suitable for baths.
So, only a specialist can answer the question of how to get rid of the fungus on the nails after the tests. Treatment is prescribed taking into account the type of pathogen. It is best to use a number of remedies, you can combine the use of medication and home remedies.