The fungus is an infectious disease and most commonly affects the nails or skin of the legs. You can get infected very easily, the danger lurks almost everywhere. Since the fungus is essentially an infection, it mostly lives in public places. In order to exclude the possibility of infection, it is important to know how the pathology is transmitted to humans.
How an infection occurs
The disease always arises from a humid environment. The main reason will be the constant sweating of the legs.Statistics show that a large accumulation of parasites is observed in public places such as saunas, baths, swimming pools, etc.It is impossible to destroy the causative agent of infection by drying shoes or feet.
When asked how infectious the fungus is, it can be argued that the pathology is quite easily transmitted from person to person. It is almost impossible to insure yourself against such diseases. Many pathogens are found in public places where people go barefoot. This means that if a healthy person steps with his bare foot on the surface on which the infected person was previously standing, then in the presence of provoking factors the disease immediately begins to progress.
The fungus has high resistance to various destructive factors, so it remains on surfaces for a long time. The fungus occurs much less frequently on the beaches, since salt water destroys the pathogen, but the risk of infection still exists. Remember to wear only your slippers, socks and shoes at all times.
The first signs of nail fungus and its symptoms
Athlete's foot is always a developing stage, so the first signs of nail fungus can be seen at an early stage if you pay attention to the condition of your body.Different stages of the fungus differ in their properties. If the first stages of the disease can still be skipped due to inattention to yourself, then the latter make themselves clearly felt. Consider the symptoms that appear in the early stages:
- small dots appear on a healthy nail, different in shade from the rest of the plate;
- over time, such dots begin to grow, turning into white spots and stripes;
- later the spots become large and the nail plate loses its shine;
- The plate takes on a yellow tint, sometimes changing to blue or green.
How to determine pathology at home
If the nail changes color, loosens, it doesn't necessarily mean that it was the fungus that hit it. How does nail fungus develop? To determine a fungal infection at home, iodine and potassium permanganate are used.
- potassium permanganate.This procedure is quite simple and does not require much free time. Pour warm water into a bowl and add potassium permanganate to weaken the solution. Lower your legs into the pool and wait 10 minutes. By this time, healthy nail plates turn brown, and those affected by the fungus remain unchanged.
- Iodine.Unfortunately, this tool does not determine that there is a fungal pathogen on the legs. However, iodine indicates the exclusion of other fungal species, including pityriasis versicolor. If redness, peeling, etc. are visible around the nail, treat this area with iodine. Healthy tissue does not darken much, but the affected tissue acquires a fairly dark hue.
treatment
Treating athlete's foot begins with its diagnosis. First, the dermatologist conducts a visual examination, and then prescribes laboratory tests.Do not forget that after the first improvements it is impossible to stop treatment, since the fungi are very resistant, and the disease will develop again.
local therapy
As local preparations, creams, ointments, lotions, sprays, medicinal varnishes are used. Such drugs relieve symptoms well and destroy superficial foci. Funds are actively used in childhood, during pregnancy, as they are absolutely safe. Local therapy is especially effective in the early stages of pathology.
medication
Taking medication contributes to the effectiveness of topical fungal treatment. Pills enter the bloodstream and kill the fungus from inside the body.But this method has a number of significant disadvantages.Firstly, drugs have a number of contraindications, and secondly, they have side effects. It is not possible in all cases to take such medicines. However, funds are the only solution that helps in advanced cases. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, local remedies, medicines and traditional medicine are used at the same time.
laser treatment
Laser therapy is becoming increasingly popular.The technique has recently materialized and its effectiveness has already been proven.Laser therapy has the following advantages:
- The treatment is safe, the beam only treats the affected tissue. After the event, only healthy tissue remains.
- The procedure is painless and well tolerated by patients.
- An improvement is noticeable after the first session.
- About 4 procedures are enough to get a positive result.
The use of a laser frees the patient from taking harmful drugs and a long course of treatment.
surgery
In some cases, complete removal of the affected nail is required.Surgery is performed to completely stop the further spread of the infection. This approach can increase the effectiveness of the use of local funds. Nail removal can be performed using special formulations. It is important for a specialist to be careful. Otherwise, so that such a substance does not get on the skin, it will cause a chemical burn.
Keratolytic patches can help remove the nail plate. Such a tool softens the nail well for easy removal. Plasters are becoming increasingly popular due to their dense texture. In this way, the doctor reduces the likelihood of substances getting onto the skin. The plaster softens the nail in 2 days, other products last 4 days.
Therapy of the neglected form
If you have advanced toenail fungus, you should not despair, it is enough if you adhere to the following rules:
- Identify and eliminate the cause of the infection.
- Constantly disinfecting shoes or even changing all pairs. Purchase antifungal shoe sprays.
- update socks.
- Pass all the required tests and follow the treatment regimen prescribed by a dermatologist.
- Observe any dietary restrictions.
Therapy at this stage should be carried out in a complex mode. In addition to local remedies, they combine effective drugs that act on the fungus from the inside, and also use traditional medicine. With the latter, you need to be careful and take into account the existing allergic reactions to one or another component.
Types of forms of mycosis
Athlete's foot is divided into several types, depending on the pathogen. Among these types it is worth noting:
- rubromycosis.Symptoms of this type include peeling skin, dryness, excessive sweating, cracked and broken nails.
- epidermophytosis.The fungus destroys the nail by destroying the keratin it contains. This type of fungus is very difficult to cure, it is resistant to low temperatures, antiseptics, drying and other manipulations. The fungus can reproduce for a long time. Signs of this form are reddening of the skin, severe itching, its detachment, the base of the nail is peeling.
- candidiasis.The disease is caused by different types of fungi. The nail plates on the 3rd and 4th fingers are affected. The initial stage is characterized by mild inflammation. After that, edema is associated, a change in shape and thickness leads to the fact that the cuticle begins to tear off. After such processes, the fungus penetrates into the bed itself and spreads over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe nail. In this case, the development of onycholysis begins.
disease prevention
Doctors and scientists say that there are about a million and a half species of fungi in the world. Only half of them have been examined, while the choice of treatment for them is quite complicated.The ideal solution would be just laser therapy, which positively affects any type of fungus.
In order to prevent infection with this unpleasant disease, it is important to follow the rules of prevention. Measures to prevent pathologies are quite difficult, but they do not require financial costs. There are two ways to protect yourself from toe fungus:
- personal hygiene and caution in public places;
- Prevention with the help of special drugs.
If you like going to public places like baths, saunas, or swimming pools, you should wash your feet thoroughly when you get home.Also, be sure to dry your feet, as the fungus is very persistent and especially loves a moist environment. Only buy cotton socks. This material absorbs moisture well, which is released when the feet start to sweat. If your feet sweat a lot in closed shoes, air them regularly if possible.
When you go to the store to buy shoes, take your own footprint or sock from home, do not try on shoes barefoot, and do not use public footprints. Get regular foot care like pedicures and other treatments. Do not use shared toiletries. You must bring your own footcloth. Well, if someone in your house got infected with athlete's foot, avoid contact with it in every possible way, allocate individual household items to the patient.