Signs And Symptoms Of Foot Fungus
Itchy skin is an early sign of foot fungus, or scaly, peeling skin, or tiny blisters on the skin that will pop at times, says Sundling. The skin tends to break out in the shape of a moccasin, or the area of the foot that a moccasin would cover. You dont see foot fungus on the top of the foot very often. Its common to get a fungal infection between the toes as well, she adds.
Surgical Treatments Last Resort If Problem Persists
- Nail fungus infections may also be treated by chemically or surgically removing the nail.
- A urea compound is commonly used to treat overly thick nails. This type of treatment should only be performed by a licensed and trained foot doctor.
- The surgical removal of the nail is only effective with additional therapy. This type of procedure is usually in addition to the use of oral anti-fungal medications.
- Your foot specialist may opt to provide a combination of topical, oral, and surgical therapies to effectively treat the fungal infection.
What Is Toenail Fungus
Toenail fungus is a fungal infection called onychomycosis. Tinea unguium is another name for it.
Its an overgrowth of fungi that are often found on your body together with other bacteria. You can get the fungi from someone else too, like at a nail salon if the tools arent properly sterilized. Its the same fungi that cause ringworm, jock itch, or athletes foot.
The problematic infection happens when the fungi get in through the cracks in your toenails and start to overpopulate in, on, or under the nail. It just loves warm, moist environments and often finds that in your toenail, especially when you wear shoes. And its even happier if youre active and sweat in your sports shoes.
Onychomycosis can infect your fingernails too but thats less common since your hands arent confined to a warm, moist environment like your feet are.
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When To See A Doctor
In most cases, toenail fungus is considered a cosmetic problem. Still, it may cause serious complications for some people.
If you have diabetes, toenail fungus may lead to foot ulcers or other foot problems. According to a 2012 study, chronic toenail fungus is a significant risk factor for bacterial cellulitis of the leg.
You shouldnt use home remedies for toenail fungus if you have diabetes or a weakened immune system. Contact your doctor for the appropriate course of action.
Which Is The Best At
Are you dealing with fungal toenail infection? Im sure you tried several methods to treat it, like the majority of us, and for sure, most of the treatments were inefficient. A fungal nail infection, also known as onychomycosis or tinea unguium, grows very fast and spread underneath the nail leading to swelling and pain around the nail. Often the fungus causes the nail to break completely. The fungus is difficult to eradicate, but not impossible. Since the 1960s, the laser has been used to treat various medical conditions. Recently, lasers are being used to treat toenail fungus.
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Preventions After Laser Treatment For Toenail
If you wish to stay safe in the future too and want to secure your money, then keep yourself safe from further future fungal infections.
Here is what you can do to keep yourself safe.
- Wet feet can cause toenail fungus, you must dry your feet with towel or tissue papers after a wash. Moisture can invite the fungus present on your skin. You must have noticed that when we stay in bath for a prolonged period, the skin of our nails swells, and this is when the fungus tries to sweep in.
- Change your socks if you experience a lot of sweat on your feet. You must prefer wearing synthetic socks over cotton socks in such cases.
- Do not wear tight shoes, always wear shoes with a breathable material.
- Always use the anti-fungal spray in summer, it would not cost you much.
- Do not try to cover your nail with nail polish once it gets infected. It will worsen it.
- Do not cut your skin around your nails as it is the natural protective barrier.
Complications Of Fungal Toenails
Fungal toenail infection is treatable and manageable and strict observance of care plan should successfully treat the infection. There are instances however, where fungal toenail treatment becomes difficult and persistent due to the following reasons:
Unfortunately, fungal toenail infection, like other infections, does not go away on its own. Consult with your podiatrist for any type of foot concerns for treatment options and correct professional diagnosis of your foot condition.
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Acupuncture For Toenail Fungus
Most people have heard about Chinese acupuncture. The main principal behind it is to treat organ and meridian dysfunction within the body. In Chinese medicine, it is believed that there are meridians of energy throughout the body that connect organs. When these become blocked, sickness and other ailments can take hold.
The acupuncture needles help to free up this energy. Balance is restored back to the body, and infections are more easily healed. Acupuncture is designed to restore strength to the immune system. This allows the body to better heal itself from infection and sickness.
Acupuncture has been proven effective for some ailments. But toenail fungus does not typically get very good results. The nature of the infection makes it difficult. Because your body is fighting a fungus, it is unlikely that acupuncture alone will allow your body to heal from it.
Alternative Cures For Toenail Fungus
Although laser toenail fungus removal is an effective treatment for some patients, it is not the only option in the fight against onychomycosis. In addition to costly laser methods, there are several at-home remedies you can try to help clear up your toenail fungal infection. Just be sure to speak with a doctor before trying to rid your infection on your own, especially if you do not see improvement within a couple of weeks of administering natural treatments.
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Articles having medical content shall serve exclusively for the purpose of general information. Such articles are not suitable for any diagnosis and treatment of individual illnesses and medical indications. In particular, they cannot substitute for the examination, advice, or treatment by a licensed physician or pharmacist. No replies to any individual questions shall be effected through the articles.
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Softening And Scraping Away The Nail
As it can take a long time for antifungal medication to work, some people may prefer to use a treatment that involves softening and removing infected parts of nail over a few weeks.
Treatment kits are available from pharmacies that contain a 40% urea paste, plasters and a scraping device. The paste softens the infected parts of the nail, allowing them to be scraped away so they can be gradually replaced with healthy nail.
To use the treatment:
- wash the affected area and dry it thoroughly
- carefully apply the paste to the infected nails
- cover the nails with plasters and leave them for 24 hours
- wash the paste off the next day and scrape away the softened parts of the nail
- repeat this process each day for 2 to 3 weeks
Once no more infected parts of the nail can be removed, ask your pharmacist for antifungal nail paint to prevent re-infection as the nail regrows over the next few months.
Why Don’t Topical Antifungals Work Better
Unfortunately, currently available topical agents, such as amorolfine 5% and ciclopirox 8%, have low efficacy , . This low efficacy can mainly be attributed to the inability of the drug to penetrate through the nail plate to the nail bed where the infection resides . Thickened nails, extensive involvement of the entire nail, lateral disease, and yellow spikes contribute to a poor response to topical treatment . Figure 1 shows an example of distal subungual onychomycosis, trimmed to demonstrate nail thickening.
Further complicating the scenario is the fact that certain antifungals will bind to the nail plate and thus may not be available at the site of infection, which is the nail bed. For example, terbinafine has been shown to accumulate rapidly in the nail, reaching a maximum of 0.39 mg/g and persisting up to 2 months following the end of treatment . In this regard, Ryder et al. developed an in vitro nail model that showed that the cidal action of terbinafine, when tested against an established dermatophyte infection in the presence of human nail, was in fact less effective than in conventional microdilution assays where no nail powder is present .
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How Do Dermatologists Treat A Fungal Nail Infection
Treatment usually begins with your dermatologist trimming your infected nail, cutting back each infected nail to the place where it attaches to your finger or toe. Your dermatologist may also scrape away debris under the nail. This helps get rid of some fungus.
To completely get rid of the infection, most people also need one or more of the following treatments:
Medicine you apply to the nail: If you have a mild infection, a medicine that you apply to your nails may get rid of the infection. This treatment helps keep new fungus out while the nails grow. Fingernails typically grow out in four to six months. Toenails take longer, usually takes 12 to 18 months.
Probably the most difficult part of this treatment is remembering to use it as often as prescribed. Some treatments must be applied every day. Others you apply once a week. To get the best results, its essential that you apply these medicines exactly as directed.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the following medicines that you apply to the nail to treat nail fungus:
Side effects from these medicines are generally mild. Possible side effects include redness and swelling, an ingrown toenail, and stinging or burning when you apply the medicine. In clinical trials, none of these side effects caused patients to stop using the treatment.
Antifungal pills, however, can cause side effects. Your dermatologist will watch you closely. Youll also need to have blood tests every month to check for problems.
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Sarah is a freelance writer with a focus on health and wellness. She has written for publications like Women’s Health, Healthline, and Parents. She taught creative writing for five years, and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Southern Connecticut State University.
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Verywell Health / Peter Ardito
Toenail fungus is a common fungal condition that often starts after a rash on the foot spreads to the nails. When mild, it looks like white and yellow spots growing under the nail beds. If left untreated, the fungus can grow severely by hardening the nails and spreading to other toes.
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Nail Removal For Fungus
Nail removal for fungus is a treatment option that many people consider. Toenail fungus is often stubborn and can persist through different treatment attempts. If youve had the fungus for a long time and feel like you have tried everything to cure it, you may be looking into removing the toenail completely. This is usually a last-ditch attempt to cure fungus when other treatment options have failed. Nail removal for fungus involves a surgery where the entire nail is removed from the nail bed so that a new, healthy nail can grow.
What Is The Outcome For Someone Who Has Nail Fungus
With treatment, many people can get rid of nail fungus. Even when the fungus clears, your nail may look unhealthy until the infected nail grows out. A fingernail grows out in 4 to 6 months and a toenail in 12 to 18 months.
To clear the fungus, its important to:
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Use the treatment exactly as prescribed
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Apply the medicine for as long as prescribed
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Keep all follow-up appointments with your dermatologist
Nail fungus can be stubborn. If you had a severe infection, its possible to clear the infection. A healthy looking nail, however, may be unrealistic, but you can expect the nail to look better and feel more comfortable.
Even with clearing, nail fungus can return. Youll find steps to reduce your risk in Tips: 12 ways to prevent another nail infection.
ImageGetty Images
ReferenceGold LFS and Rosen T. Onychomycosis: Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies. Dermatology News . March 2016:2-15.
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What Is A Fungal Toenail
A fungal toenail infection or onychomycosis is where a fungal organism enters and infects the toenail complex. It can be caused by different types of fungal organisms but the most common is Trichophyton rubrum present in over 90% of all cases. Other dermatophytes can cause fungal toenail infections Trichophyton interdigitale, Trichophyton mentagrophytes or Tichophyton tonsuran). Yeasts and nondermatophyte moulds can also cause fungal toenail infections.
These are the four main types of a fungal toenail infection:
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What Are Risk Factors Of Nail Fungus?
The factors which could increase your risk of getting nail fungus include:
- Getting older, owing to low blood flow, more time of fungi exposure, and slow growing toe or fingernails
- Being male, particularly if your family has a history of nail fungal infections
- Perspiring heavily
- Working in a moist or humid environment or having a job in which your hands are usually wet, like housekeeping or bartending.
- Wearing shoes or socks hindering ventilation and not absorb perspiration
- Walking on barefoot in the damp communal places, like gyms, shower rooms and swimming pools
- Living with nail fungus sufferers
- Suffering athletes foot
- Suffering from a nail injury or a minor skin or skin condition like psoriasis
- Having circulation problems, diabetes, weakened immunity, or children with down syndrome
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Put A Stop To Painful Toenails
How long have you been managing that dodgy toenail? A month? A year? More, maybe?
At first, a slight yellowing of the nail and ridges that thickened the surface didnt feel like the most urgent issue in your week. You figured it would grow out on its own soon enough. And yet its still there now, months later, getting more painful to touch every passing day.
Time to get it fixed. Not only are they a painful nuisance that can lead to difficulty walking, fungal nail infections can easily spread to other toes other peoples, as well as your own.
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What Should You Do For The Best Outcome
Regardless of the recommended course of treatment for fungal nails, one thing always tends to ring true:
The sooner you come for help with fungal toenails, the better your chances of treatment successand the faster you can see results!
Letting the fungus continue to grow and thrive within your toenails will only increase the challenge of fighting it.
You dont even have to wait until your nails are looking that bad to come to see us. In the earliest stages of a fungal infection, you may only see some white streaks or dark discoloration under your nail. It can be easy to pass these off as simple nicks and bumps on the nail, but keep track of them. If they change shape or grow over time, its worth having us take a look. Catching a fungal infection this early can save you plenty of time.
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What Is Laser Treatment For Toenail Fungus
If you have a toenail fungus and it seems like you have tried everything, but it just wont go away, then laser treatment may be what you need to finally get rid of it once and for all. At Silverado Aesthetic Clinic in Calgary we offer this effective treatment to help you eradicate the fungus and promote healthy toenail growth.
How does laser treatment for toenail fungus work?
Laser treatment for nail fungus uses the energy from a powerful beam of light to penetrate through the nail and other tissues in your toe to simultaneously kill the fungus that is growing there and promote healthy new growth of the nail. Laser treatment for toenail fungus has many benefits over other types of therapies, including:
- Effectiveness many other treatments simply dont work that well or fail to fully eliminate the fungus
- Safety there are no side effects or medications involved, and it is FDA-approved
- Non-invasive there is no downtime, and treatment is quick, painless, and easy
What can I expect from this treatment?
During your treatment, after you get seated comfortably, we will pass the laser device over the affected toe to heat the fungi causing the infection, which causes them to die off. Many patients see improvements after just one laser fungus removal treatment, but you will typically need to come back for approximately 3 visits spaced a month apart to achieve the best results.
How Does Laser Fungus Treatment Operate
Laser toenail fungus removal operates by creating heat in areas of fungus. This happens through the concentration of light. The heat then works to destroy fungal infections.
There are different types of lasers used for fungus removal. They usually vary by strength. No matter the type of laser treatment you opt into though, all of them utilize the same basic functionality. Leverage heat, kill fungal infections.
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