The sun, the sea, the wonderful beach. . . You are well rested in the summer and your skin is covered in a magnificent tan. But what are these nasty cracks on the leg between the toes and why did the nail turn yellow? Take a closer look. Maybe this is not just a cosmetic flaw?
The first signs of a fungus
A parasitic fungus that has settled on the skin is capable of poisoning the life of any person. And especially many problems and pain are caused by the fungus that has settled on the skin of the foot and nails. Women who have become victims of such a fungus are primarily concerned with the external side of the problem (cracked, flaky skin, yellow crumbling nails) but, according to doctors, the aesthetic problem is far from the main one. .
This is a serious disease that needs long-term treatment. The disease occurs first on the skin of the feet, most often in the interdigital folds. Peeling appears between the fingers, accompanied by burning and itching. Then bubbles appear, which burst, forming ulcers and cracks. If you don't start treatment right away, the fungus will spread to your nails. Once on the nail plate, it continues to grow and multiply. Despite its slowness, the fungus gradually exfoliates the nail, gradually fills it up and penetrates the nail bed. Over time, the affected area captures the nails not only on the feet, but also on the hands. There is even a defeat of the internal organs, fortunately, very rarely.
Manifestationstoenail fungusthey depend on the type of infection, as well as the degree and depth of the fungus. Having moved to the nail plate, dermatophytes usually declare themselves with yellow spots or longitudinal stripes on the sides of the toenail. In some cases, the disease can be guessed by the appearance of bright yellow stripes or spots in the center of the nail plate. On the hands, the nails are also "decorated" with similar, but lighter, whitish or grayish stripes.
Yeast fungi thin the nail plate from the sides, while lagging behind the nail bed and turning yellowish. Often the disease begins with the folds of the nails, usually on the hands. The rollers thicken, swell and turn red, silver flakes appear along the edge, the nail skin gradually disappears. A bacterial infection can join the process, in which case even suppuration is possible. The nutrition of the tissue in the area of the roller is disturbed, as a result of which transverse grooves appear. . . . . . .
Mold fungi can cause onychomycosis only against the background of an already existing nutritional disorder of the nails, which has arisen 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 yourself, especially since nail damage can be caused by several fungi at once. Also, fungus is a common, but not the only cause of serious nail problems.
See a doctor immediately!
If you notice signs of a fungus, don't expect it to all go away on its own. The longer the nail fungus lives, the more difficult it will be to treat and the worse for the whole body. Prolonged onychomycosis can lead to an allergic reaction, weaken the immune system, and lead to an exacerbation of chronic diseases. Therefore, the most correct at the first suspicion is to consult a mycologist or dermatologist. The doctor will not only perform an examination, assess the thickness and structure of the nail, but will also perform tissue scrapings for analysis. Only then will you be able to determine the presence of the fungus, its type and prescribe appropriate 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 growth rate of the nails, etc. In our time, there are drugs of high general and local efficacy. action for treatment. In the initial forms of the disease, when the area of the nail lesion is insignificant, it can be limited to local treatment: apply to the nail bed 2 times a day an antifungal (antifungal) drug of a wide spectrum of action in the form ofointment, cream, or solution.
Before applying the drug, a special preparation of the nails is carried out. First, a soap and soda bath: the basin is half filled with hot water (40-50 degrees C), in which 1 tablespoon is dissolved. l. soda and 50 g of laundry soap. The feet or fingers that need treatment are soaked in the solution for 10-15 minutes. After that, the smoothed horny layers on the nails are treated with nail clippers and filed with a file. Duration of treatment: until unchanged healthy nails grow back.
Important! Don't use the same manicure accessories for healthy and diseased nails.
Topical medications include clotrimazole-based medications. They are applied to the affected nails with a dispenser and left under a waterproof plaster for a day. One day after the soap and soda bath, 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 drug 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 local treatment, which are applied to the nails 1-2 times a week. Treatment lasts between 6 and 8 months for fingernails and about a year for toenails. Manicure can also be applied over 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). These medications are taken by mouth. They can be used in combination with antifungal varnishes. However, it is very important to ensure that you do not have contraindications to general antifungals. For example, kidney and liver diseases. Systemic medications are often contraindicated in children, in addition, they have serious limitations in their simultaneous use with some other medications. For example, some of them are not compatible with hormonal contraceptives. If you are breastfeeding your baby, you will have to wait a bit while using these medications.
Pregnancy also means a ban on systemic antifungals. Therefore, women of childbearing potential who receive them must use contraception throughout treatment. In some cases, you have to go to the extraction of the nail plate, followed by a treatment. After that, a new nail grows, although its surface may be uneven at first. Whatever treatment your doctor prescribes, for a time you become a disinfectant. The doctor will write a prescription according to which the necessary solution will be prepared for you at the pharmacy.
Before the start of the course, they will have to process all available shoes, all socks, gloves, etc. , and then once a month, until healthy nails grow back, they will need to process the clothes and shoes that had to wear treatment. This is not difficult: the inner surface of the shoe is cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in a solution, the same swab is put on gloves, socks, stockings, etc. All this is hidden in a dense plastic bag overnight, then dried well and ventilated for 2-3 days.
So, as a result of persistent treatment, the external manifestations of the disease disappeared and finally healthy nails will grow. But that's not all, now the control tests come at the end of the treatment, after 2 weeks and after 2 months. Is the fungus gone? So, everything is in order, the only question is how not to get sick again.
At-risk group
In medical practice, fungal infection of the nails is denoted by the term onychomycosis, where "onycho" means a nail and "mycosis" is a fungal infection. The disease is not as rare as it seems. Onychomycosis is widespread in all countries of the world and its participation 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 for the misfortune: various yeasts and molds. Both men and women become victims of onychomycosis with equal success.
The risk of getting sick increases with age. For example, after 70 years, one in two people suffers from onychomycosis. Fortunately, children suffer from onychomycosis much less often, since tissue regeneration, the replacement of old by new, 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 often get it from their parents and, curiously, through shoes: by flaunting the mother's shoes around the apartment, the baby runs the risk of contracting the fungus from the mother. An intact and healthy nail is practically invulnerable to fungal infection, but altered nails, for example as a result of injury, become easy prey for the fungus.
The state of the organism as a whole plays an important role. The risk of getting sick 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 carefully monitor the condition of your nails, because in such cases, the defeat of the fungus can be especially serious.
Flat feet and too tight shoes contribute to skin and nail injuries. Tights and socks made of synthetic fibers, poor ventilation in shoes create a too humid microclimate on the skin of the feet. Frequent hand contact with detergents and household cleaners can damage your nails. All this increases the risk of getting sick, but sometimes the danger lies in the proper care of your appearance: false nails can create favorable conditions for the development of onychomycosis on the hands.
Prophylaxis
To avoid problems, you must be careful. A visit to the pool, bathhouse, gym, and even a sun-drenched beach can turn into trouble. The causative agents of onychomycosis are remarkably resistant to external factors. The spores of the fungus can withstand drying, heating up to 100 and freezing to minus 60 degrees C. They are able to survive the "attack" of disinfectants, which are generally used in public places, as a result, they pose a constant threat. to our health. In the sand on the beach, the fungi remain viable for months. And, apparently, where else can you walk barefoot, if not on the beach? This is exactly what it is not necessary to do: there are slippers to visit beaches and swimming pools. But most of the time (up to 65% of cases), the infection occurs in the family circle. After all, you can get infected through direct contact with a sick person, through the shoes and clothes you wear, as well as through household items, be it a rug in the bathroom, a common towel, scissorsnails, etc. fungus-infected flakes. They easily stick to wet feet. Therefore, if one of the family members has this harmful "treasure", he must be especially vigilant.
The bathtub should be thoroughly disinfected with any cleaning agent and rinsed with a stream of hot water, as loose nail pieces or skin flakes may remain on the surface.
A cloth or sponge should be regularly processed in a 5% chloramine solution (soak for at least one hour). Used clothes should be boiled in powdered detergent for 20-30 minutes or kept for an hour in a 5% chloramine solution, as it is sold in the pharmacy without a prescription.
Abrasions and abrasions associated with sweating or, conversely, dry skin, greatly facilitate the task of infection. To cope with excessive sweating and diaper rash on the feet will help dustboric acid and talc. . .
It is useful to treat the legs with drying solutions.
To avoid excessive dryness of the skin, you can use a special ointment, creams containing vitamins and other similar products. Use creams to prevent corns.
Compliance with simple rules will save you from the disease:
- walk on the beach only in slippers;
- when visiting a bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool, wear closed rubber slippers that protect against splashes;
- after washing, dry your feet, especially the interdigital folds, and treat them with an antifungal prophylactic cream or a special powder;
- do not wear someone else's shoes;
- Change your socks and stockings daily.