Foot and nail fungus is an infectious disease caused by various types of fungi.Infection occurs quickly and treatment of the disease takes months, sometimes years.Treatment of the disease is prescribed by the doctor after determining the type of fungal pathogen.Onychomycosis and mycosis often accompany each other, as the infection spreads from the nails to the skin of the foot or vice versa.
The causes, symptoms and treatment of fungus are a hot topic of interest to many.The prevalence of the disease is high, the disease affects young people, the elderly and children.The disease can be treated if the treatment regimen is correctly determined.Therefore, you need to know how the pathology develops and how you can cure it.
What is onychomycosis and mycosis, causes and symptoms
Mycosis is the general name for an infection;Onychomycosis is an infection of the nail plate.To treat foot and nail fungus, drugs from the same groups are used.This applies to tablets, topical agents and solutions for injection.For successful therapy, the rules for using each drug must be strictly followed.There should be no interruptions in treatment, since fungal colonies multiply at an accelerated rate without the influence of medications, and they are as numerous as before the start of the procedures.
The reasons for the appearance of the fungus are the same:
- Infection from a sick person in public places, swimming pools, baths and reservoirs.
- Using someone else's or uncomfortable shoes or contaminated hygiene items.
- Failure to follow the rules to keep feet dry.
- Untimely treatment of sweating.
- Traumatic damage to the skin of the feet and nail corneas.
- Incorrect use of medications, including antibiotics.
Doctors include disorders in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic processes, hormonal disruptions, pathologies of blood flow in the vessels of the extremities, diabetes mellitus and obesity as systemic causes of fungal infections.
The symptoms of foot and toenail fungus are hard to ignore because they cause a lot of discomfort.Among them, the most common are:
- itching of the skin of the feet, between the toes;
- peeling of the dermis;
- the appearance of injuries and other damage;
- nails lose their healthy color, become discolored, then turn gray;
- the plaque thickens, takes on a loose appearance and crumbles;
- the deformation continues until the cornea is destroyed and the infection enters the nail bed.
The symptoms gradually increase, but the itching begins from the first days of the introduction of the pathogen.
It's important!Medications for foot and nail fungus should be used immediately when signs of the disease appear.Delay in treatment makes treatment difficult and leads to dangerous consequences, including damage to internal organs.
Skin and nail fungus have age-related features - onychomycosis in children occurs in rare cases;adults suffer from it.Foot fungus occurs in all age groups.
What you need to know about the principles of treatment of the disease
For complete recovery from a fungal infection, the patient must adapt to long-term treatment, which should be carried out after diagnosis and as prescribed by a doctor.Pharmacies sell a lot of antifungal drugs, but choosing them yourself without consulting a dermatologist or infectious disease specialist means wasting your money and harming your health.
For some people, treatment of foot fungus with ointment is effective, others need to combine the use of external and oral medications, and in case of severe stage and developed complications, injections are prescribed in combination with other methods.
Expert advice.The main requirement for complex therapy is the use of effective multifunctional drugs for the treatment of foot and nail fungus and prevention of the disease.Since spore viability contributes to disease recurrence.
Prevention can be done by disinfecting shoes with chloramine or formaldehyde.The mushrooms die after half an hour of exposure to these substances.
About types of antifungal drugs
The pharmacy has developed categories of medications for topical use, which are sold in pharmacies and available to customers without a prescription.These include:
- creams, ointments, gels;
- solutions, serums;
- sprays, varnishes;
- plasters.
They have a general effect, have a minimum of side effects and can be used by adults and children.The key to a successful fight against mycosis is regular use and compliance with the procedure.After a visit to the doctor, you will know the procedure for handling, how many times to apply the medicine, in what quantity, and you will be cured of the disease.Typically, healing with local remedies occurs within 4-6 months.
If the infection is advanced, local treatment of the fungus on the nail plates does not matter.A combination is needed: external medications and tablets.It is carried out under the supervision of a doctor, as it causes significant side effects.
About creams, ointments and solutions
How to treat foot and nail fungus, what topical preparations, according to reviews of users and specialists, effectively treat colonies of microorganisms?The following list will help answer this question.
- An economically priced salicylic acid cream, which is applied 3 to 4 times a day to affected areas of the skin and cornea.If you perform the procedure at night, wait until the product is absorbed, then put on socks.
- Ointment containing undecic acid.The method of application is the same as in the first case.
- Formaldehyde for sweaty feet, which kills the microorganisms responsible for spreading infections.Available as a solution.
- Boric acid + resorcinol - used as a means for removing nails affected by fungus, containing boric acid, which has antiseptic and drying properties.Apply to the skin where there is a fungal infection.The drug is used as a component of complex therapy for the disease.
Specialized products to remove affected nails
So that the cornea comes off painlessly, specially designed preparations are used.
According to the characteristics of doctors, a medicine based on urea, isopropyl alcohol and polyvinyl alcohol is not a medicine intended for the treatment of fungal infections.With its help, you can remove the affected plaque without resorting to surgical methods.This alternative allows you to remove the diseased nail at home.
This effective drug promotes convergence of the cornea and restoration of the bed.It is saturated with stearic acid, propylene glycol, urea, triethanols and tea tree oil.The procedure goes as follows:
- the nail is steamed in a bath with a softening agent based on water, soda and soap;
- solution concentration - 1 teaspoon per liter of water.components;
- the foot is dried with a towel, then the nail fold is protected with a bandage;
- The product is applied in a generous layer without touching the surrounding tissues, and covered with a dressing on top.
After 4 days, the bandage is removed, the remains of the plaque are scraped off.If it was not possible to remove the plate at once, the manipulations are repeated.
Another drug acts in the same way as the previous drug, but its composition is different - it contains the components PEG-40: hydrogenated castor oil, urea, beeswax and wax in emulsion, glycerin;acidic components - salicylic, stearic, as well as methylisothiazolinone, propylene glycol, mint, lavender and other esters.
How to treat onychomycosis with varnishes
Antifungal nail polish is the most commonly used product under cosmetic coatings.The advantage is the concealment of the defect with simultaneous treatment, without negative impact on the body.In this way it is recommended to get rid of the early stages of the disease.Well-known brands of varnish medications are:
- Amorolfine.The principle of healing is to destroy the membrane of fungal cells.Apply twice a week.
- Rye enzymatic filtrate - in the form of serum, perfectly saturates diseased tissues from plaque to the bed itself.You can use it more often than varnish and carry out the procedures daily, which speeds up the healing process.
The duration of varnish treatment can be up to one year.You can then use the products as a preventative measure.
Good to know!External medications and varnishes will not help with complicated forms of mycosis.A comprehensive treatment algorithm is effective against advanced fungi.
Tablets
Treatment of foot and nail fungus with drugs in tablet form is indicated for the third stage of the disease, the appearance of complications and infection penetrating the mucous membranes and other organs.The condition for the use of the ointment and tablet complex is the development of inflammatory processes and bacterial infections against the background of fungal colonies.
A group of antimiotics is considered an effective and inexpensive drug for the treatment of fungi.These are effective remedies, but you cannot buy them without a prescription because they have side effects.Therefore, you should agree on a treatment regimen with your doctor.
- Fluconazole.A topical remedy to combat foot and nail fungus at different stages.
- Ketoconazole is sold without a prescription in all pharmacies and is intended to eliminate skin infections.
- Preparations based on itraconazole are expensive drugs that act against fungal infections of the feet, nails and fungi of the mucous membranes.
- Terbinafine preparations are advanced fungus remedies;they contain the active ingredient terbinafine (in the form of tablets or ointments), which kills many types of colonies, destroying fungi at the cellular level.
Common topical medications
An effective remedy for foot and nail fungus is salicylic ointment, which relieves inflammation and itching, thereby alleviating the patient's condition.In the same row is sulfur ointment - it prevents the spread of infection;both ointments cost a penny, but perfectly eliminate the symptoms of foot diseases.
Castellani's liquid penetrates the corneal tissue of damaged nails and kills colonies of the pathogen.Use with caution;if it comes into contact with the skin, it causes burns.
Antifungal drops and sprays help fight the disease.
Clotrimazole is used for infections that have affected the skin of the feet and penetration of the infection into the mucous membranes.Available in the form of cream, ointment, suppositories.
It is allowed to treat a fungal infection with the veterinary drug Creolin.It is used to treat infected areas, and after a while the product is washed off.It has an unpleasant odor, but acts against colonies of fungi, mites and other microorganisms.
The easiest way is to treat diseased areas with iodine.Its antiseptic property is known to everyone;the solution kills harmful micro-organisms, particularly being effective against fungal spores.
How to treat with home remedies
You already know how to treat foot and nail fungus, what drugs are sold in pharmacies.Against the disease, baths based on oils, propolis, decoctions, infusions and other independently prepared components are used as additional methods.
Oil therapy
A good effect to reduce the risk of developing an infection that you have just contracted is the use of natural oils.Prepare a mixture of equal parts tea tree oil and lavender.Add two parts of olive oil to the mixture, lubricate the nails and affected areas of the feet with the resulting product overnight.
Foot baths
- Lemon juice plus Listerine, apple cider vinegar.Mix all the ingredients in equal parts and add to the bath water.The concentration for 1 liter is three spoons of the composition.A daily procedure lasting 15 minutes will speed up the treatment process and restore the cells of the dermis and cornea.
- Soda baths are prepared according to the recipe: a tablespoon of soda plus 20 g of shaved laundry soap.Keep your feet in the bath for 40 minutes, during which the solution penetrates the cells of the skin of the foot and the nail plate.
- Pink potassium permanganate baths.The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes.
- Salt and vinegar at a concentration of 100 g + 4 spoons for 4 liters of water.The salt can be table salt or sea salt.
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% - applied for 2 minutes, then a paste consisting of water and peroxide is applied to the nail, which is washed off after the whistling stops.
Folk remedies
They are effective in relieving the symptoms of itching and irritation of the skin of the feet as well as around the painful nail.Provide treatment support with pharmaceuticals.Independent folk treatment, without medication, is not effective against mycoses.
To eliminate the risk of spreading infection, celandine juice is used.Lubricate problem areas, do not wash off the product.It is allowed to perform several of these manipulations per day.
Wrap the cut garlic on the affected area, keep it on the nail overnight and on the skin for 10 minutes.
Rub kombucha, melted propolis, or oak bark infusion onto problem areas.
To restore skin tissue and nail plates, prepare baths from decoctions of medicinal herbs.To do this, use chamomile, thyme, nettle, calendula.
Conclusion.A wide range of pharmaceutical drugs and the possibility of combining treatment with local, oral and folk remedies help to ensure complete cure of foot and nail fungus.It's a long process, so be patient and learn how to properly use the tips presented in the article.If you listen to the recommendations, the unpleasant problem will be eliminated.