Nail fungus, which is a very common disease, is mostly seen in the nails of the fingers and toes. The treatment can take an extremely long time and strong drugs must be used in this process. Although there are many drugs that can be preferred during the treatment phase, some of them have serious side effects, and it is absolutely necessary to manage the treatment process under the supervision of a specialist physician.
What is Nail Fungus?
Nail fungus, known as “onychomycosis” in medicine, is an infectious disease that starts with yellow or white dots that form under the nail tips. As the disease progresses, the nail color changes, becomes thicker and may even break and crumble over time. If there is an uncomfortable and painful disease process, it is absolutely necessary to use medication under the control of a doctor.
Nail fungus can develop in a single nail, or it can occur in several nails or all of the nails. It should be treated as soon as it is noticed. Otherwise, the infection in the nail may spread to other areas of the body. This disease, which is seen in at least 10 percent of the population, is generally much more common in people aged 65 and over.
What Are the Symptoms of Nail Fungus?
There can be many reasons why the nails lose their normal form and look different than they are. In order to determine that the problem is nail fungus, a doctor should be consulted first. By following the common nail fungus symptoms, you can detect the problem beforehand. Nail fungus symptoms include:
- Thickened, dried and fragmented nails,
- Nails with deformity,
- Nail with white or yellow lines,
- Nails that become dull and lose their shine,
- Nails turning dark yellow in color,
- Nail with odor and sometimes discharge.
If you have seen one or more of the common symptoms of nail fungus on your nails, you should definitely see a dermatologist. Otherwise, the infection may progress and cause the nail to protrude from the nail bed. This is an extremely painful condition. Especially diabetic patients should definitely seek help from a specialist.
Cause of Nail Fungus
Fungi that cause disease are microscopic living organisms that do not need sunlight to survive and reproduce. One of these, the dermatophyte fungal species, although normally harmless, can sometimes cause infection. If you have nail fungus and are wondering why, you should question the areas you have been to recently. Because dermatophyte fungal species like to live in humid and warm environments such as showers, baths and swimming pools.
Most forms of fungus that cause nail fungus thrive in a warm, dark and moist environment. For this reason, the inside of shoes that are not cleaned well is an extremely suitable area for the development of fungus. Also, the toes are where there is the least blood flow in the body. Therefore, the immune system cannot fully perform its protective role in this area. In other words, the immune system makes it difficult to find the infection.
If you are an athlete, smoker, spend a lot of time in humid environments, use poor quality shoes that make your feet sweat, and don’t keep your feet clean, if you walk barefoot in shared locker rooms, showers or gyms, you should know that your risk of catching nail fungus is high and you should take precautions immediately.
How Is Nail Fungus Diagnosed?
To diagnose nail fungus, you should consult a dermatologist or podiatrist. In some cases, although the physical examination alone is sufficient, sometimes some parts from under the nail should be taken and examined in the laboratory. Nail fungus is an easy-to-find disease. However, in order to decide on the length of the treatment process and the drug to be used, it is necessary to know the cause of the infection first. Then, the drugs determined according to the doctor’s diagnosis should be used regularly.
What is the Treatment of Nail Fungus?
In order not to get nail fungus and not to go through a long and tiring treatment process afterwards, it is necessary to know how to protect yourself. For this, feet must be kept clean and dry. If you are in the beginning stages of the disease and you feel discomfort, “What is good for nail fungus? You may be wondering the question. You can consult your pharmacist about this, and you can get support from antifungal nail creams or nail softening creams that he or she recommends.
In the case of advanced disease, you may need to use prescription drug combinations. A topical cream is used first in the recommended medication routine for nail fungus removal. Then the nail is cleaned by filing and topical nail polish is applied on it. Nails should be thoroughly cleaned during treatment. This process also reduces pain and suffering. If necessary, antifungal pills may be prescribed last. Such drugs treat the sick areas gradually, preventing other nails from becoming infected. Medication can continue for up to 12 weeks. However, since such drugs have serious side effects, especially in pregnant women, liver patients or people with congestive heart failure, they should be used by these people under the supervision of a doctor.
Recently, with the development of technology, high-energy laser therapy has begun to be applied. There have been studies showing that laser treatments containing carbon dioxide, especially with antifungal nail creams, are effective on nail fungus. However, this form of treatment, which is done only in special cases, can be expensive.
If all treatments are ineffective or if the nail infection is too advanced and causing extreme pain, surgery may be required to completely remove the nail. It is possible for the healthy nail to regrow after a short-term operation, which is usually performed under local anesthesia.