Nail fungus (onychomycosis) is diagnosed on average in 10-15% of the world's population, and in people over 60 years of age the incidence reaches 30-50%. Men suffer 1. 3 times more often than women, which is believed to be due to an insufficiently responsible approach to the problem. It is difficult to get rid of onychomycosis, but it is possible, and the main task of the doctor and patient is to choose the right remedy for nail fungus. We talk about what drugs are and how they work.
Is therapy necessary for fungi?
Many people, especially older men, neglect to treat the fungus, believing that this problem is only aesthetic and, apart from a cosmetic defect, has no consequences. That's a pretty dangerous mistake. We explain why.
First, the fungus is extremely contagious. If you do not pay attention to the treatment, the infection will spread quickly. The causative agents of onychomycosis are easily transmitted through household items and the patient runs the risk of infecting the whole family.
Second (and most importantly), the problem of nail fungus is by no means just cosmetic. A neglected disease significantly affects the quality of life: pain appears, there are difficulties in choosing shoes and all sorts of household inconveniences. The nail plate affected by the fungus can break down over time. But it's still half the battle. Without timely and adequate treatment, onychomycosis damages the entire body. The risk of allergies increases (due to the developing hypersensitivity to fungi and their metabolites), and infectious complications often occur (e. g. erysipelas). Against the background of onychomycosis, skin diseases are more serious. Not to mention that a chronic infection weakens the immune system.
So the answer is clear: nail fungus needs to be treated, and as soon as possible. The more advanced the process, the more difficult it is to get rid of the disease. Therefore, therapy should ideally be started at the first sign of injury. Another issue is treatment. The variety of drugs is so great that it is easy to get confused. But you need to know how they work in order to understand which remedy will help get rid of nail fungus. We will tell about it.
Choosing a remedy for nail fungus
There are lots of fungus control recommendations on the web. Traditional medicine advises getting rid of it with the help of soda, ammonia, propolis, kerosene, celandine juice and essential oils. There are recipes for nail fungus remedies with vinegar, iodine, hydrogen peroxide. The patient resorts to such seemingly harmless home methods and only aggravates the problem. Not a single traditional medicine destroys the causative agents of onychomycosis, and the lesion progresses, covering an increasing area of \u200b\u200bthe nail plate. In the end, the patient ends up in the dermatologist's office with an advanced fungus that is very difficult to treat.
So advice number one - don't self-treat! When signs of the disease are detected, it is necessary to contact a dermatologist who will prescribe an effective drug for nail fungus. Self-medication is unacceptable if only because onychomycosis is caused by different types of pathogens, and in each case it is important to choose the right drug. And in order not to doubt the recommendations of a specialist, it is important to know how they work and how the drugs used to treat this disease differ from each other.
Means for the treatment of nail fungus can be divided according to the form of release and the active substance. Other selection criteria include price range and user-friendliness.
release form
External preparations against nail fungus are made in the form of varnish, spray, cream (ointment) and solution.
Antifungalpaints, women usually prefer, because with the help of such products, treatment can be combined with cosmetic care. Before processing, the surface of the nail plate must be ground with a file. After applying the medical varnish, you can use it decoratively. This is the main advantage of this dosage form.
However, varnishes are not universal. First, they are only effective over a small area of damage. If the fungus has spread to more than a third of the nail plate, the remedy will not help. Secondly, the drug in the form of varnish can only cope with superficial mycosis. Because it cannot penetrate into the lower layers of the nail. With a deep lesion, when the nail plate is thickened, the antifungal drug in the form of nail polish will not work - a stronger drug is needed.
cream and spray- similar forms: both have an oil base. They are ideal for treating skin mycoses, which are often associated with nail fungus. The tool easily penetrates the lower layers of the epidermis and destroys the pathogen. But the nail has a denser structure, and the oil-based preparation does not reach all sites of infection. Cream or spray is best used as a supporting component in the treatment of onychomycosis - with simultaneous fungal infection of the skin of the feet.
solution- the optimal form of antifungal for nails. The water-alcohol-based drug penetrates deep into the nail plate, filling the cavities and channels through which the pathogen spreads. Therefore, the fungicidal and fungistatic effect of the liquid nail fungus remedy is stronger than other forms.
active substance
Preparations against fungi are mainly substances of synthetic (rarely natural) origin with a different chemical structure. Depending on this, the spectrum of their effect differs, i. e. the effect against certain pathogens. Given that onychomycosis can be caused by different types of pathogenic fungi, the right choice of the active substance is very important.
note
In order to reliably determine the type of pathogen, a microbiological examination of a tissue fragment is required. But usually you can determine the type of fungus by the external features of the affected nail. The most common causative agent of onychomycosis is Trichophyton rubrum. Less commonly, the disease is caused by other types of dermatophytes, yeast, and mold.
In terms of chemical structure, there are several groups of antifungal drugs:
polyena. These include such substances as nystatin, levorin, amphotericin. When taken orally, they are effective against many types of fungi, but topical application of these agents is effective only in candidiasis. As such, polyenes are not typically prescribed to treat onychomycosis.
azoles. For external use, drugs based on the substances clotrimazole, econazole, miconazole, oxiconazole, isoconazole, bifonazole are used. Their effect is predominantly fungistatic - that is, these drugs stop the development of the fungus. The fungicidal effect (killing the pathogen) is possible if high concentrations of the substance are reached in the tissue. Azoles are effective against yeast-like Candida fungi and dermatomycetes that cause skin lesions. With onychomycosis, these drugs are not very effective.
allylamines. This is the main group of antifungal drugs prescribed to treat mycosis of the skin and nails. Products based on terbinafine and naftifine are suitable for topical application. The former is prescribed orally even in the advanced stage of the disease. Naftifine is an effective treatment for onychomycosis. It shows fungicidal activity against dermatophytes (including Trichophyton rubrum), yeasts and molds - in a word, the main possible causative agents of fungal nail infections. In addition, naftifine acts on many bacteria.
Of the other substances that do not belong to these groups, amorolfine and ciclopirox are used to treat onychomycosis. Both drugs are applied topically, primarily as part of antifungal medications.
user friendliness
Getting rid of the fungus is a long process. For several months, nail treatment becomes a daily procedure, otherwise a positive result will not be obtained. Given the length of treatment, it is important to choose a tool that is convenient to use. When using varnish, it should be noted that the nail surface must be sanded before each use. Therefore, it is good if disposable files are included in the kit. In case of a solution, it is preferable to choose a product that is packaged in a sealed bottle with a dropper. The elongated dropper nose is more suitable for spot application of the solution, where it can penetrate deep into the nail plate. This form is optimal in dosage: it is easy to measure and apply the required amount of the drug, which makes its consumption more economical.
packaging and course costs
Treatment of the fungus should be continued until the full growth of a healthy nail plate. With onychomycosis of the hands, this process takes about four months. Toenails grow slower on toenails and can take up to a year to heal. The purchase of an antifungal is therefore not a one-time expense, but a regular item of expenditure, which of course I would like to reduce as much as possible. However, the will to save should not prevail: the main selection criterion is efficiency. A sensible decision is to focus on the active ingredient. This sometimes makes it possible to choose an analogue of a widely advertised drug, equal in effectiveness, but more profitable in price.
Onychomycosis not only reduces the quality of life, but also threatens serious complications. Therefore, when the first signs of infection are detected, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible and start treatment.Remedy against foot and hand nail fungus with clinically proven effectiveness.
Solution for nail fungus
To combat nail fungus, you can use the drug in the form of a solution. The active substance of the drug is naftifine, a substance from the group of allylamines, which is effective against most types of pathogenic fungi. It destroys dermatophytes (Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, Microsporum), Candida yeasts, Aspergilla molds and other types of nail and skin fungal pathogens. The drug in the form of a solution penetrates into the thickness of the nail plate, moving along the path of spread of the fungus, creating stable concentrations of the drug in the zone of accumulation of infection.
The effect of the drug is fungicidal, that is, it not only stops the development of the fungus, but destroys it.
In addition, naftifine has an antibacterial effect. Fungal diseases of the nails and skin are often complicated by bacterial infections, and using the drug can solve both problems at once.
An additional effect of naftifine is anti-inflammatory. It helps reduce the redness, swelling, and itching that often accompanies a yeast infection.
Indications for the use of the solution are fungal infections not only of the nail plate, but also of smooth skin, skin folds and interdigital lesions, as well as candidiasis, pityriasis versicolor, inflammatory dermatomycosis. The same range of indications for other products in the line - cream and spray.