Onychomycosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic fungi.The problem is important for many people, as the disease is extremely common and highly contagious.Therefore, learning how to get rid of toenail fungus will be beneficial for everyone.Let's understand which medications can be used in the treatment process and how traditional medicine can help.
Most often, fungal nail infections develop in old age.However, the disease can develop in a young and healthy person.Onychomycosis is less common in children.Every person is at risk of encountering an infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is important for everyone.
Symptoms
To start treatment at the right time, you need to know how it manifests itself.The trick of this disease is that it develops gradually.In the early stages, when you can get rid of nail fungus quite quickly, most people simply do not pay attention to the appearance of the first signs.
Indeed, few people will be alarmed if a dot appears at the corner of the nail.And only then, when the disease affects most of the nail and the plate begins to collapse, people start treatment.
Meanwhile, there is only one answer to the question of how to get rid of fungus quickly - you need to start treatment at the earliest stage.If the affected area already exceeds a third of the surface of the nail plate, then the treatment will require a long time.
So, the main sign of the disease is a change in the color of the nail plate.Most often, such a change is observed in the corner of the nail on the thumb.Much less often, the spot appears on the inner edge of the nail or on the other finger.
The appearance of nail fungus on the hands is even less common;more often, women experience this type of onychomycosis.The fact is that ladies often do manicures, and poor disinfection of instruments and nail injuries are predisposing factors for the development of the disease.
Tips!Of course, manicure itself is not harmful and there is no need to refuse this hygienic procedure.You just need to make sure the technician carefully sterilizes the instruments or uses individual files and clips.
If there is no treatment, the spot will begin to increase in size.In addition, the structure of the nail will begin to change.The plaque becomes thicker, cracks may appear on it and the plaque begins to collapse.
Often, onychomycosis appears simultaneously with mycosis of the skin of the feet.In this case, the skin in the affected area becomes red, inflamed and painful cracks appear on it.The disease is accompanied by the appearance of an unpleasant smell from the feet.
At this stage, it is impossible not to notice the manifestations of the disease, therefore it is at this advanced stage that most patients consult a doctor or begin to try to treat themselves.
Tips!Self-medication for fungal nail diseases is very dangerous, since the patient cannot determine the type of pathogen.Therefore, the measures he takes may be ineffective.
If there is no treatment or it is ineffective, the disease will progress.The nail plate will begin to peel.At this stage, a bacterial infection often occurs, causing the development of a purulent process.If the disease is very advanced, it would be advisable to completely remove the diseased nail.Therefore, it is better not to take the matter to surgery, but to start treatment at the right time.
Basic principles
You must remember that it is not easy to get rid of onychomycosis forever.This disease recurs very often.Especially if the patient did not complete the treatment, stopping the course as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease passed.
To exclude the development of a relapse, you must continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Tips!It is recommended that control tests be done twice with an interval of two weeks.If both tests give a negative result, then the disease is considered completely cured.
The basic principles of treatment of fungal diseases are:
- regularity;
- integrated approach.
No single drug, even the most effective, will help immediately.The duration of treatment is determined individually;its duration is affected by:
- the type of pathogen (fungi form a lesion on the surface of the nail, so it is easier to cure this type of onychomycosis than a disease caused by yeast or dermatophytes);
- degree of damage, at the initial stage, the course of treatment may last 3-5 weeks, but if onychomycosis is actively progressing, then the treatment will last several months or even more than a year;
- the patient's state of health, many effective antifungal drugs have an impressive list of contraindications, so it is necessary to use less effective, but safer agents.
In addition, you should remember that not a single, even the most modern and effective medicine will help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- It is important to maintain hygiene.You will need to disinfect all shoes and it is better to replace socks and slippers with new ones.You will need to regularly disinfect the bathtub, as well as the manicure tools used to treat diseased nails.
- Follow your diet.You should reduce as much as possible the amount of sugar in your diet, give up alcohol and very fatty foods.But fermented milk products, cereals and vegetables, on the contrary, will be useful.
- Try to lead a healthy lifestyle.Follow a work and rest schedule, spend time outside, make sure you get enough sleep and try to avoid stress.All these measures will help support the immune system.
- Choose the right shoes.Avoid tight styles and choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials.Now there are also artificial materials that can ensure normal air exchange;for example, eco-leather has such properties.
Tips!To disinfect shoes, it is convenient to use special sprays, but you can also use home remedies.For example, vinegar.
Pharmacy products
There are many medicines available to fight fungal diseases.They differ in the form of release and the active substance.It is impossible to recommend any medicine that will help everyone without exception.The doctor should prescribe treatment for nail fungus.Most often, the following scheme is recommended:
- Use of local agents.Most often, antifungal drugs are prescribed in the form of a solution or spray, less often the use of creams is recommended;
- Taking systemic medications, that is, capsules or tablets.The need for the use of tablets is determined by the doctor.As a rule, they are prescribed in an advanced stage or in case a local medicine does not give results;
- taking multivitamin complexes and means for general strengthening of the body.
Current products
To cure nail fungus, it is necessary to use medications that are applied directly to the diseased nail.The doctor must prescribe medications;the patient's task is to use them correctly.
First of all, you need to prepare your nail.The nail plate, unlike the skin, absorbs medicinal substances less, therefore the treatment of onychomycosis is more difficult than mycosis of the skin.The preparation of the nails is as follows:
- You should make the nail softer by using a warm bath.Soda, vinegar, sea salt, herbal decoction are added to the water (of course, you need to add one product, and not all at the same time);
- The duration of the bath is about 20 minutes, during which time the nails will have time to soften sufficiently;
- After that, you should treat your nails: cut them as short as possible, leave them, removing the loose and peeled layers in the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of local agents will be more beneficial.Their active substances will be able to penetrate deeper, directly to the source of the fungal infection.
Local agents are applied 1-2 times a day.The solution is applied using a dropper (usually equipped with a bottle) or a pipette.You should drip not on the horizontal surface of the nail, but on its outer edge.
Creams are applied to the entire surface of the plate and rubbed lightly.Medicinal ointments are one of the most suitable means for the treatment of onychomycosis.They should be applied not every day, but twice a week.However, this medicine only helps in the early stages of the disease.
Tips!Women especially like to use medicated varnishes, as they can apply decorative varnish over the medicated dressing layer.
Additional measures
To speed up the healing process, in the process of removing nail fungus, it is recommended to perform a hard pedicure (manicure) or use laser treatment.During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, the removal is performed mechanically, that is, the nail is cut with special cutters.After the treatment is completed, an antifungal drug is applied to the surface.The laser procedure not only removes the affected part of the nail, but also provides treatment, as the laser beam can kill the fungus.
Home methods
Some people are quite successful in getting rid of a fungal infection using simple and inexpensive means to treat the disease.Here is a description of the most effective tools.
vinegar
This is one of the most effective remedies and can be used in combination with drug treatment.The essence of the method is that an acidic environment has a harmful effect on fungi.
The simplest treatment option is to add vinegar to the bath.For two liters of warm water, take a glass of table vinegar (9%).It is recommended to take this bath every evening before applying topical medications.You can also apply by applying pieces of cotton wool soaked in table vinegar to the sore nails for a quarter of an hour.
Garlic
The most common garlic effectively fights fungal diseases.You can simply smear the sore spots with fresh juice or make compresses.To perform the procedure, you need to prepare a garlic paste, put it between two layers of gauze and apply the resulting lotion to the affected area for an hour.
Celandine
Celandine juice effectively destroys fungal infections.The affected areas are lubricated with fresh juice.In winter, you can use celandine tincture for this purpose, and a decoction of this herb is suitable for bathing.
So, only a specialist can answer the question of how to get rid of nail fungus after performing the tests.Treatment is prescribed taking into account the type of pathogen.It is best to use a combination of remedies;you can combine the use of medications and home remedies.