Nail fungus can affect even people who lead completely normal, healthy lives. Most fungi spread in saunas, swimming pools and beaches. But, since the disease is not new, it can still be overcome with the help of folk remedies. According to statistics, people who lead a healthy lifestyle most often suffer from fungal diseases. Periodically they visit places of active public recreation, where they are attacked by the virus. Gyms, swimming pools and saunas are the main vectors of this disease.
Causes of nail fungus
It should be noted right away that nail fungus (in medicine, onychomycosis) is a fairly stable type of infection. This disease affects the entire nail as a whole, destroying it and gradually moving to the skin. The causative agent is a common fungal infection, which is transmitted quite easily between people. Onychomycosis can affect the legs in a wide variety of areas. For example, you can wipe your feet once with a towel from a stranger and install this unpleasant virus on your body. That is why it is necessary to observe all the rules of personal hygiene when visiting public places for recreation and active sports. The inconvenience of the disease is that it is not limited to the destruction of the nails, it gradually passes to the skin. The treatment of a skin fungus is fundamentally different from the treatment of a nail fungus. In any case, if you find a fungus inside you, immediately consult a mycologist. Only he can determine how to eliminate the fungus from your body. Nail fungus is often caused by fungal organisms called dermatophytes. The favorite place of these organisms is the toes. The fact is that people are used to wearing relatively tight shoes, which create ideal conditions for the existence and prosperity of the fungus (lack of light, heat and humidity). Also, the circulation in the feet is much worse than in other parts of the body, so it is very difficult for our body's immune system to detect and destroy these bacteria. In addition, the risk of contracting a fungal infection increases:
- When working in the heat;
- In the presence of psoriasis;
- When wearing uncomfortable shoes with poor air circulation;
- In case of nail damage;
- With diabetes;
- Walking barefoot in various public places (baths, swimming pools, gymnasiums);
- With a weakened immune system, you can get nail fungus;
Symptoms of nail fungus
The main signs of nail fungus on the legs:
- Distorted shape of the nail;
- The affected nail gradually acquires a darker color;
- The nail exfoliates and becomes too brittle;
Additionally, the affected nails often exfoliate from their nail bed. In medicine, this deviation is called onycholysis. Pain in the fingertips and a characteristic odor are the first symptoms of onycholysis. If a person with a fungal infection does not receive timely assistance, the disease will persist and only progress and develop further. Having found out the main signs of the disease, a person should consult a qualified doctor to determine how to treat nail fungus.
How to recognize and identify nail fungus?
Many are interested in the question of how to identify the fungus at home. To do this, you need to take a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and dilute it in water until a purple color appears. You need to lower your legs into this solution and hold them there for some time. In the presence of a fungus, brown areas on the nails will necessarily appear, which will indicate the presence of a fungal infection on the human body. After the procedure, the legs should be treated with a fifteen percent solution of hydrogen peroxide. At the slightest suspicion, you should immediately consult a doctor.
We treat nail fungus with medication
Separate groups of researchers are convinced that at present the most effective means of combating foot fungus are preparations containing terbinafine. The action of the funds is aimed not only at the destruction of the fungus, but also at the renewal of the nail and skin. In total, the duration of the treatment is about two to three months, but the final result of the treatment will be visible only after the growth of the new nail. The same drugs can treat the fungus on the hands. The course of treatment is similar. You should also remember that the fungus can come back if the feet are often in a warm and humid environment. The danger of the disease lies in the fact that the virus itself is unusually tenacious, and moreover, it quickly develops immunity to the components that make up the active substances. Therefore, if the infection is not treated the first time, further treatment with the same drug will be impossible. The same is true for disease recurrence. In this case, you will have to choose a new drug and fundamentally different active ingredients.
We get rid of the fungus with the help of proven folk remedies
- Places affected by fungal infection should be lubricated with a twenty percent solution of propolis. For maximum effect, you can wipe them with onion pulp. To do this, you must first crush a few medium-sized onions and apply the resulting mixture to the damaged areas of the skin and nails.
- Mix alcohol and garlic pulp in equal proportions, diluting everything with a small amount of pure distilled water. The resulting mixture should be applied to the damaged areas.
- Garlic compresses are no less effective. It is these compresses that cope with those types of fungal diseases that are poorly treatable with medication. In addition to compresses, garlic should be taken orally.
- Patients should definitely drink garlic tinctures and garlic teas - they are great for fungal nail diseases. The result is visible in five to six days.
- Another proven remedy is wine vinegar. Affected feet should be thoroughly washed and soaked in a bowl of wine vinegar. After that, you need to put on socks soaked in vinegar and go to bed with them.
- Since ancient times, nail fungus has been treated with a fairly simple, but effective method - running in the morning through the dew. A half-hour run in the morning dew not only relieves a fungal infection of the feet, but also corns, rashes, corns and other things. After the end of the run, the legs should not be wiped in any way, they should be dried. To enhance the effect at night, you need to rub your legs with a piece of raw potato and massage the infected areas. You can use this method for up to one month. But the first results will be visible in a few weeks.
- Mash the mint leaves with table salt and place the resulting mixture between your toes for an hour. Treatment should be carried out until the complete disappearance of nail fungus.
- Often folk methods include the use of celandine and milkweed. A small bunch of milkweed is taken and poured with three liters of clean boiled water. The mixture is infused for several hours, and it should be wrapped in a blanket. After the decoction is infused, you need to lower your legs into it and hold it for thirty to forty minutes once every two days. Euphorbia has a softening effect, which will help cut nails. Similarly, you need to prepare celandine, and it is also used.
- Lilac flowers have proven themselves and do an excellent job against nail fungus. About ten grams of lilac flowers should be added to a glass of alcohol and left to infuse for two weeks. The tincture is used to lubricate infected areas of skin and nails.
- Another method is to use cocklebur leaves. From them you need to squeeze the juice and apply it to the skin and nails.
- Finally, a remedy for fungus includes a large number of different herbs. It is necessary to mix horsetail grass, blackberry leaves, verbena, calendula flowers and willow bark in equal proportions. From this mixture you need to take only ten grams and pour a glass of water. Put everything on the fire and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for three to four hours. With the finished broth you need to make lotions and put on compresses. To increase the effect, it can be taken orally one tablespoon three to four times a day.