Should You Be Worried
In the shortest way possible, the answer is no. There is nothing too scary about fungi if you are a healthy person. However, people with really weak immune systems or poor blood flow to the feet can have infections more often than the others. Even people who have had diabetes for a longer period of time could get nail fungi and will cure it harder.
Prevention Of Nail Fungus
Always try to prevent it before it happens, because every prevention is better than the treatment itself. Try to do the following to avoid having those ugly fungi all over your nails:
- Keep your hygiene at a decent level. That includes a good care of your feet.
- Treat the athletes foot if you have it. In case this happens, it is better to act than to regret.
- You should be wearing specific types of socks, called the absorbent socks. They can help your feet to stay dry.
- Last but not least, which does not apply on all, is to control your blood sugar if you have diabetes.
What Is The Most Effective Treatment For Toenail Fungus
The most effective toenail fungus treatment for you will largely depend on your symptoms and situation. Your provider will consider several factors before recommending a treatment plan thats customized to you.
Overall, oral antifungal medications may offer the most treatment potential. Pairing oral drugs with topical antifungal medication may make treatment more effective.
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Start A Program Of Treatment When You Have Mild Toenail Fungus
This is the stage where you should start a fungal treatment. You wont have any pain at this point, only a toenail that is starting to change. The yellowing and discoloration, and the toenail starting to get thicker are symptoms of mild toenail fungus.
Treating it now will ensure that it doesnt get so bad as to cause you any pain. When your nail fungus is mild, you can easily treat it with any treatment, although a tea tree oil foot soak is highly recommended.
Foot soaks can get into your skin and nail at the same time. They will also soften the nail, letting you file off the extra layers of nail. As more layers come off, the treatment will work faster. You can make the experience more pleasant with a quality foot spa machine. Many people use them to improve circulation and reduce stress after a busy/hectic day.
Biography Sculpture Gel Polish
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Types Of Toenail Fungal Infections
Toenail infections; affect about 14 percent of the population at any given time, according to a;study published in June 2014 in;PloS Pathogens. The most common symptoms of a toenail fungal infection include discoloration of the nail, debris under the nail, irregularity of the white part of the nail, nail thickening, and pain, says Sheth.
Toenail fungal infections can usually be categorized into one of the following five subtypes:
Distal Subungual Onychomycosis;This is the most common form of toenail fungal infection, usually occurring in the portion of the nail closer to the tip and on the underside of the nail. The nail may become thick, yellow, or brittle.
Endonyx Onychomycosis;People who have endonyx onychomycosis have fungus growing between the layers of the toenails. With this type of fungus, toenails usually have a milky white color and may be pitted or split. They usually dont thicken or separate from the nail bed.
Proximal White Subungual Onychomycosis;This is a relatively uncommon form of toenail fungus, seen most often in people with weakened immune systems due to conditions such as HIV. The fungus enters the toenail through the cuticle and affects the part of the nail closer to the base, turning it a whitish color.
Reducing Your Risk Of Toenail Fungus
Preventing athletes foot is important because it is often the source of toenail fungus infections. If athletes foot develops, treating it promptly can help prevent toenail fungus infections. Other ways to lower your risk of developing toenail fungus include:
- Alternating the shoes you wear each day to allow them to completely dry between each wear
- Choosing socks made of cotton and other natural fibers and changing damp socks often
- Exposing your feet to air and wearing properly fitting shoes with adequate ventilation
- Keeping your toenails trimmed and not sharing nail clippers and tools with others
- Not going barefoot in public spaces by wearing shower shoes, flip flops or swim shoes
- Washing your feet and completely drying them, paying special attention to the area between the toes
If you are at risk of fungal toenail infections, talk with your doctor. You may need to use an antifungal foot powder to keep your feet dry. If you use a nail salon, check to make sure it has the proper state licensure and sterilizes nail tools after each use. You can also bring your own nail instruments.
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What Are The Causes Of Toenail Fungus
Essentially, there are three types of fungus that can cause toenails to become infected: yeast, mold, and dermatophyte. A yeast toenail infection is usually white, a mold infection is generally a dull brown, and a dermatophyte infection is generally yellow. These various causes have different treatment options, so its important to find out exactly what kind of toenail fungus you have before taking any severe measures to treat it.
Treating Fungal Nail Infection
Treatment may not be necessary in mild cases of fungal nail infection. For more severe or troublesome cases, antifungal medication may be recommended.
A fungal nail infection is unlikely to get better without treatment, but if you’re not bothered by it you might decide it’s not worth treating because treatment can take a long time, may cause side effects, and isn’t always effective.
Whether or not you decide to have treatment, you should still follow the self-help advice below to help stop the condition getting worse or spreading to others.
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Black Nail Fungus Pictures
Here is another picture of Black Toenail Fungus in the early stage.;This is an early sign of an infected nail fungus. Usually, the nail will be blackened with time. The first solution is to cut the black nails. This is a fact and has been tested by some people, and they said that;the fungus;becomes unsustainable after they cut it.
The black color usually appears on the sidelines of the nails so we must be rigorous and vigilant when decided;to cut it.
When the infection is left untreated, it will spread around the edges, or perimeter, of the nail itself. The nail may start to look powdery or even begin to show signs of crumbling. This will often start the painful course of aggravation.
Here is an advanced stage picture of thumbnail infected with black nail fungus. As you can see the whole nail is turned black and broken in the middle.
A Pharmacist Can Help With Fungal Nail Infections
Speak to a pharmacist if the look of your nail bothers you or it’s painful.
They may suggest:
- antifungal nail cream it can take up to 12 months to cure the infection and does not always work
- nail-softening cream it’s used for 2 weeks to soften the nail so the infected part can be scraped off
The infection is cured when you see healthy nail growing back at the base.
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What Causes Toenail Fungus
A fungus infection occurs when there is an overgrowth of fungi on, under or in the nail. As mentioned above, fungi thrive in moist, warm environments, making toenails an ideal host for it to thrive. Toenail fungus can also result from yeast or mold but this is less common. One of the most common causes of toenail fungus is cracks within the nail. This allows an opening for fungus, which is all around us, to make its way into the nail. Furthermore, because your skin cracks as you age, age can be a risk factor for this foot condition as well. Remember, fungus is everywhere, from showers and gyms to locker rooms and swimming pools. You can also get a nail fungus from a nail salon, so make sure any salon you visit practices a high level of sterilization on all their nail tools.;
What Is The Treatment For Fungal Nails
Oral antifungal therapy has a high cure rate, depending on the medication. It can take nine to 12 months to see if it has worked or not, because that is how long it takes for the nail to grow out. Even when therapy works, the fungus may come back. Currently, an oral antifungal therapy is considered the best treatment for toenail fungus because of higher cure rates and shorter treatment duration compared to topical therapy.
Prescription oral medications that are effective against nail fungus include the following:
There are several innovative treatments that are still being tested:
- Laser therapy or uses application of light-activated agents onto the nail followed by shining light of a proper wavelength on the nail.
- Use of electrical current to help absorption of topical antifungal medications into the nail: This is also called iontophoresis.
- Use of a special nail lacquer that changes the micro-climate of the nail to make it inhospitable for the fungus to grow: If this works, it may be an inexpensive way to treat this problem in the future.
One way to definitively get rid of toenail fungus is by surgery. Surgical treatment of onychomycosis involves nail removal. However, this often only provides temporary relief, and recurrence is common unless additional antifungal medication is simultaneously used. However, surgical removal may be warranted when the affected nail is associated with other factors such as trauma and or infection.
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What Causes Nail Fungus
The most common fungi involved in fungal nail infections are Trichophyton rubrum and Tricyphyton mentagraphyte. These fungi like warm, moist environments, such as shoes. Public areas like gym locker rooms, shower rooms and swimming pools are common areas of exposure to fungi. The feet have less blood circulation, making it harder for your immune system to fight off the fungi your feet are exposed to. Learn more about the causes, preventative measures and how to get rid of toenail fungus by visiting our FAQ page.
How Do Health Care Professionals Diagnose A Fungal Nail Infection
Fungal nail infection can be identified by its appearance. However, other conditions and infections can cause problems in the nails that look like fungal nail infection. Fungal nail infection must be confirmed by laboratory tests before beginning treatment, because treatment is long, expensive, and does have some risks.
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How Should I Treat Nail Fungus
Podiatrists are experts at recognizing toenail fungus, so if you have any concerns about the condition forming they are the best professionals to consult. The best treatment for toenail fungus is the laser treatment, our laser is FDA approved to cure toenail fungus and typically requires only one treatment to be effective. This laser also has no side effects or downtime. Patients may resume regular activity right after the treatment is performed.; To schedule a consultation with our nail doctor for the laser treatment in our Dallas, Tx clinic, give us a call at 1- 672-0625.
How Do Doctors Diagnose Toenail Fungus
In most cases, doctors can diagnose toenail fungus by examining your nails. Sometimes, doctors take a nail clipping or scrape some nail debris to send to a lab. The lab will examine the sample and identify the specific organism causing the infection. This may be necessary to tell the difference between toenail fungus and skin conditions, such as , that can look similar.
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Causes Of Toenail Fungus
Your toenails are frequently being exposed to the pathogen that causes fungal infections.
In fact, fungus and bacteria can be found almost anywhere, from public pools and locker rooms to the inside of your own shoes warm, damp, and dark places are the perfect environment for fungus to thrive. And when it finds a home in which to fester, the fungus begins to damage the keratin in the nail and, in severe cases, even cause debilitating pain.
However, fungal toenails can also develop in other ways in some cases, the fungus is contracted after an initial injury to the nail bed. Something as simple as a stubbed toe or an ingrown toenail can make the area more susceptible to the development of this condition.
In other cases, toenail fungus is the result of other underlying conditions that may contribute to a person developing infections in general. A good example of this is;diabetes; if you are living with diabetes, then you are already at a higher risk of infection, so when fungi comes into the picture, it is likely to take hold of the nail quite quickly.
Symptoms Of Toenail Fungus
Symptoms of toenail fungus infection include skinny nails, fragile feet or easy chip. They can cause irregular colors on our toenails, yellow, brown or black. Usually, yellow or brown discoloration of the nails means a fungus attack and becomes very thick and overgrown. You can find traces of smelly under the nail.
The rapid infection of nail fungus should be treated immediately. If the infection is not treated early enough, the nails may become dull and yellow.
As the infection;becomes worse, the nails lose their shape and begin to grow thicker. At this point, the nail can begin to grow out of the nail bed. Toenail fungus infection on foot can only begin as a white or yellow discoloration on the nail surface.
Although toenail fungus infection is considered as an unpleasant cosmetic problem that can undermine the patients confidence. It is also possible that the infection compromises the victims immune system. Which is more prone to disease and slightly incapable of recovering from the disease.
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When Should I See A Bethesda Or Springfield Podiatrist
If you have a condition that compromises your immune system, home treatments and remedies may not be a viable option to begin with, so its important to see a podiatrist;right away to avoid complications and minimize risks. For healthy individuals, home treatments may help to get rid of the fungus, but they are never a guarantee.
If you find that you have stubborn toenail fungus that wont go away with home treatments or you need to see a podiatrist because you have diabetes or another condition, Dr. Paul Ross can help! Please dont hesitate to give us a call at .
The Podiatry Centers located in Bethesda, Maryland and Springfield, Virginia treat all medical and surgical foot and ankle conditions. Licensed Podiatrist, Dr. Paul Ross can help bring you foot and ankle pain relief.
Our Bethesda, Maryland and Springfield, Virginia Podiatry offices offer the most effective and state-of-the-art, quality podiatry care services with a smile to patients in our local community, including: Woodbridge VA, Fairfax VA, Annandale VA, Arlington VA, Alexandria VA, Burke VA, Gaithersburg MD, Potomac MD, Silver Spring MD, Rockville MD and Chevy Chase MD.
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Types Of Toenail Fungus Treatment That Work
You may be surprised at how many different treatments are available.;These include;creams, liquids, gels, and foot soaks. There are prescriptions and complete systems that will kill the fungus and heal the nail.
Which one should you choose? If you dont want to take a lot of time, then creams and;liquids may be the;best option. A particularly good option is Xenna Nonyx nail gel. No product works for everyone, but the overwhelming majority of sufferers have enjoyed good results with this formula.
Foot Soaks for Nail Fungus
Using a foot soak is also a good treatment and can help you to relax a little, as well. Using a complete;treatment is one of the best things that you can use to treat toenail fungus. This is because there are different parts of the system that can restore the health of;your nail. It will kill the fungus on and under your nail, as well as the surrounding skin.
One of the best treatments, when you have toenail fungus that hurts, is Purely Northwest Toenail Fungus System. Weve already recommended the use of tea tree oil , but this is a 3-part system thats getting results for people whove had infections for years.
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Signs And Symptoms Of A Fungal Nail Infection
A fungal nail infection may not cause any obvious symptoms at first.
As it progresses, the infection can cause:
- discolouration of the nail it may turn;white, black, yellow or green
- thickening and distortion of the nail it may become an unusual shape or texture and be;difficult to trim
- pain or discomfort particularly when using or placing pressure on the affected toe or finger
- brittle or crumbly nails pieces may break off and come away completely
Sometimes the skin nearby may also become infected and be itchy and cracked or red and swollen.
