Onychomycosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic fungi.The problem is relevant for many, since the disease is extremely common and highly contagious.Therefore, learning how to get rid of toenail fungus will be useful to everyone.Let's find out what 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 full-bodied person.Onychomycosis is less common in children.Anyone is at risk of infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is relevant for everyone.
Symptoms
To start treatment in a timely manner, it is necessary to know how it manifests itself.The insidious thing about this disease is that it develops gradually.In the early stages, when it is possible to get rid of nail fungus quite quickly, most people simply do not pay attention to the appearance of the first signs.
In fact, few people will be alarmed if a stain appears in the corner of the nail.And only then, when the disease affects most of the nail and the plate begins to collapse, people begin treatment.
Meanwhile, to the question of how to quickly get rid of fungus there is only one answer: it is necessary to start treatment as soon as possible.If the affected area already exceeds a third of the nail plate area, treatment will take a long time.
So, the main sign of the disease is a change in the color of the nail plate.Most often, this change is observed in the corner of the nail of the big toe.Much less often, the spot appears on the inner edge of the nail or on the other finger.
The appearance of fungus on the nails of the hands is even less common;Most of the time, women experience this type of onychomycosis.The fact is that women usually do manicures and poor disinfection of instruments and injuries to the nails are predisposing factors to the development of the disease.
Advice!Of course, the manicure itself is not harmful and it is not necessary to refuse this hygiene procedure.You just need to make sure that the technician carefully sterilizes the instruments or uses individual files and tweezers.
If there is no treatment, the stain will begin to increase in size.Additionally, the structure of the nail will begin to change.The plate becomes thicker, cracks may appear and the plate begins to collapse.
Often onychomycosis occurs 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.The disease is accompanied by the appearance of an unpleasant odor on the feet.
At this stage, it is impossible not to notice the manifestations of the disease, so it is at this advanced stage that most patients consult a doctor or begin to try to cure themselves.
Advice!Self-medication for fungal nail diseases is very dangerous, since the patient cannot determine the type of pathogen.Therefore, the measures you take may be ineffective.
If there is no treatment or it is ineffective, the disease will progress.The nail plate will begin to peel off.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 in a timely manner.
Basic principles
It must be remembered that getting rid of onychomycosis forever is not easy.This disease reappears very often.Especially if the patient did not complete the treatment, stopping the course as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease disappeared.
To exclude the development of a relapse, it is necessary to continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Advice!It is recommended to carry out control tests twice with an interval of two weeks.If both tests give a negative result, the disease is considered completely cured.
The basic principles of treating fungal diseases are:
- regularity;
- integrated approach.
No medicine, even the most effective one, will help immediately.The duration of treatment is determined individually;Its duration is influenced by:
- type of pathogen (mold forms a lesion on the nail surface, so it is easier to cure this type of onychomycosis than a disease caused by yeast or dermatophytes);
- the degree of damage, at the initial stage the course of treatment can last 3-5 weeks, but if onychomycosis actively progresses, the treatment will last several months or even more than a year;
- Health status of the patient, many effective antifungal drugs have an impressive list of contraindications, so it is necessary to use less effective, but safer agents.
In addition, it should be remembered that not a single medicine, even the most modern and effective one, will help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- It is important to maintain hygiene.You will need to disinfect all your shoes, and it is best to replace socks and sneakers with new ones.You will need to periodically disinfect the bathtub, as well as the manicure tools used to treat diseased nails.
- Follow your diet.You should reduce the amount of sugar in your diet as much as possible, abandon alcohol and very fatty foods.But, on the contrary, fermented milk products, cereals and vegetables will be useful.
- Try to lead a healthy lifestyle.Follow a work-rest schedule, spend time outdoors, make sure you get enough sleep, and try to avoid stress.All these measures will help strengthen the immune system.
- Choose the right shoes.Avoid tight-fitting models and choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials.Now there are even artificial materials that can ensure normal air exchange;For example, eco-leather has such properties.
Advice!To disinfect footwear it is convenient to use special sprays, but you can also use home remedies.For example, vinegar.
Pharmacy products
There are many medications available to combat fungal diseases.They differ in the form of release and the active ingredient.It is impossible to recommend a remedy that will help everyone without exception.A doctor must prescribe a 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 varnish, less often the use of creams is recommended;
- Taking systemic medications, i.e. capsules or tablets.The need to use tablets is determined by the doctor.As a rule, they are prescribed in an advanced phase or in the event that a local remedy does not produce results;
- taking multivitamin complexes and means for general strengthening of the body.
Topical 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 must prepare your nail.The nail plate, unlike the skin, absorbs medicinal substances less well, so treating onychomycosis is more difficult than cutaneous mycosis.The preparation of the nails is as follows:
- You should soften the nail with a warm bath.Soda, vinegar, sea salt and herbal decoctions are added to the water (of course, it is necessary 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 this, you should treat your nails: cut them as short as possible, file them and remove loose and peeling layers in the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of topical agents will be more useful.Its 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.It should not drip 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.Medicated varnishes are one of the most convenient means of treating onychomycosis.They should be applied not daily, but twice a week.However, this remedy only helps in the early stages of the disease.
Advice!Women especially like to use medicinal varnishes, as they can apply decorative varnish on top of the medicinal coating layer.
Additional measures
To speed up the healing process, in the process of removing nail fungus, it is recommended to perform a hardware pedicure (manicure) or use laser treatment.During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, removal is carried out mechanically, that is, the nail is cut with special cutters.After the treatment is complete, 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 remedies to treat the disease.Here is a description of the most effective means.
Vinegar
This is one of the most effective remedies and can be used in combination with pharmacological treatment.The essence of the method is that an acidic environment has a detrimental effect on fungi.
The simplest treatment option is to add vinegar to baths.For two liters of warm water, take a glass of table vinegar (9%).It is recommended to perform this bath every night before applying topical medications.Applications can also be made by applying pieces of cotton soaked in table vinegar to sore nails for a quarter of an hour.
garlic
The most common garlic effectively fights fungal diseases.You can simply lubricate sore spots with fresh juice or make compresses.To carry out the procedure, it is necessary to prepare a garlic paste, place 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 baths.
So, only a specialist can answer the question of how to get rid of nail fungus after conducting 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.