Fungal diseases of the skin and nails belong to the group of human infectious diseases caused by fungal diseases. Yeast infections (mycoses) are different. There are very serious forms of infections with a high mortality rate. However, not many people get them. Nail fungal infection 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 is transmitted from person to person.
What does nail fungus look like?
Many people do not pay attention to changes in the nail plates, and very often they see these changes as a consequence of trauma or characteristics of age. Fungal nail diseases have many different manifestations. But, as a rule, changes in the nails with a fungal disease have three main manifestations: changes in the color of the nail plate, its thickening, crumbling or destruction.
Fungus or not fungus?
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, several hundred names. However, according to statistics, one in two nail diseases is fungal. That is, if the nails are changed, the probability of having a nail fungus is 50%, regardless of the manifestations and factors. But what about skin diseases of the feet? They obey the same laws of probability. That is, most of the skin lesions on the feet 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 fooled. 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 must be taken into account. Here it is necessary to highlight, first of all, the chronic trauma of the nails. Nail changes can occur with some common skin diseases, internal infectious diseases, lesions of the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular system, various types of poisonings, and dystrophy. Finally, nail changes can be congenital. These nail changes are apparently similar to fungal infections, but they are not. Treatment with antifungal drugs for nail diseases not caused by fungi, of course, will not be successful. This is another reason to consult a mycologist and not try to cure yourself of any nail changes.
Can you recognize a nail fungus by yourself?
No, You can not! And not a single professional physician, by experience, will undertake the treatment of a fungal disease without confirming the diagnosis in the laboratory, even with the most typical signs of fungus on the legs. Laboratory confirmation is a prerequisite for any fungal disease. Simply put, if the lab finds a fungus on a scale of skin or a piece of nail removed for analysis, it is a fungal disease.
Dilemma: to treat or not to treat a fungus?
Some people have doubts as to whether a nail fungus treatment is worth taking. Many argue the following: Does treating a fungal disease require money? Requires. How long will it take to treat? Maybe for a long time. So, really, why bother getting mycosis treatment? Does it matter if the nails are changed, because they can finally be hidden. . .
Is this game worth it? Why do you need a mycosis treatment? Let's try to understand this problem. . . Once started, the yeast infection will not go away until the fungus is destroyed. Fungi are very stubborn and can survive for months on the flakes of the skin that are shed. So what can you expect from the fungus lurking in your nails? First, the cells of the fungus enter the skin, fixate, multiply and spread over it, and then, under favorable conditions, get into the nail. Over time, the fungus affects all parts of the nail and spreads to other nails or skin. Nail fungus is a hotbed and source of infection for other parts of the body. Even if all foci of the fungus on the skin of the feet or trunk are cured, reinfection will come from the remaining foci of nail infection.
Fungal nail diseases affect quality of life. Research conducted by the National Academy of Mycology has shown that the presence of nail fungus or mycosis of the feet 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 typical total value of a healthy person. At the same time, the patients noticed not only physical inconveniences associated with the thickening or destruction of the nails, but also experienced various negative experiences, fears and emotions. Nail fungus was found to severely limit a person's activity, interfering with their rest, sports, and communication with other people. In addition, feelings of discomfort and shame about the condition of their nails sometimes prevented them from seeing a doctor in a timely manner. The longer the disease 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 cause certain health problems. The first and main health problem, caused by the presence of mycosis in the nails, is the fungus itself, a chronic infectious disease that constantly destroys the nails and threatens to spread to the people around them, especially the patient's relatives. . . The presence of a relative with a fungus, by the way, is noticed by at least 1/3 of patients with nail damage. According to medical statistics and epidemiological studies, in Russia, the presence of fungal nail diseases can be expected in almost one in five adults. At the same time, the incidence in the last 10 years has multiplied by 2, 5. A further increase in incidence is expected. At the same time, the probability of the presence of a fungus increases with age - about 2 times for every 10 years of life.
Untreated nail fungal infection and foot fungal infection are considered a gateway for other infectious diseases, for example bacterial erysipelas. Nail fungal infection significantly complicates the course of diabetes mellitus and can lead to serious complications.
Allergy of the human body with a fungal infection is possible - the formation of hypersensitivity to the fungus as an allergen, that is, allergy to fungi. The development or worsening of the course of diseases such as bronchial asthma, allergic dermatitis, various skin rashes and reactions is possible.
In very rare cases, as a rule, against the background of immunodeficiency, untreated nail fungus led to the development of deep mycosis - the germination or penetration of the bloody fungus into internal organs, which caused death. Fortunately, most modern nail fungus patients do not have such results. But even if you completely exclude its possibility, you cannot leave fungal nail disease without treatment. It is impossible not to treat scabies, lice, and other infectious diseases. If you have a suspicion of nail fungus, we recommend that you see a doctor as soon as possible.
Although we reason this way, the fungus on someone's nail may have advanced a few fractions of a millimeter. This is your job, a small business, so to speak. The fungus does this all the time, day after day. Days add up to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. Over the years, the disease worsens if the fungus is not treated. In one of the latest studies, it was shown that every 5 years the severity of onychomycosis increases by several points on a special scale. This means that the new nails are affected by the fungus, and in each one of them the affected area and the degree of thickening grows. This means that the negative impact of mycosis on health and quality of life will be greater. 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 antifungal varnish or nail solution can help in the early stages of infection, then after a few years, antifungal pills cannot be dispensed with. The longer the disease lasts, the more time will have to be taken (and more to buy). And after ten to twenty years, as a rule, only the removal of the nail plate will help, plus these funds.
Ask your doctor as soon as possible. Every year he gives a delay to the fungus, lengthens the required period of treatment and observation, adds large doses of drugs, performs the necessary nail processing. Don't make a big mistake - don't take systemic medications on your own! If fungal nail diseases did not cause the aforementioned changes, then in fact the treatment of the fungus would become only a matter of attitude towards one's appearance. Then we would put healthy nails on the same list along with white teeth, fair skin, and no odor. And the question about the cost of treating mycosis would sound like this: Are you willing to give money to get back your nails that have not been eaten, thickened and unwanted? However, the question is not the only one. Are you willing to pay to protect your family from athlete's foot? Do you want to recover your previous quality of life? Can you stop the spread of the infection today?