Foot and nail fungus is an infectious disease caused by several types of fungi.Infection occurs quickly and treatment of the disease takes months, sometimes years.Therapy for the disease is prescribed by the doctor after determining the type of fungal pathogen.Onychomycosis and ringworm often accompany each other because the infection spreads from the nails to the skin of the foot or vice versa.
The causes, symptoms and treatment of fungus are a hot topic that interests many.The prevalence of the disease is high, the disease affects young people, the elderly and children.The disease can be treated if the medication regimen is determined correctly.Therefore, you need to know how the pathology develops and how you can cure it.
What is onychomycosis and ringworm, causes and symptoms
Ringworm is the general name for an infection;Onychomycosis is an infection of the nail plate.To treat foot and nail fungus, drugs from the same groups are used.This applies to tablets, topical agents and injectable solutions.For successful therapy, the rules for using each medication must be followed exactly.There should be no interruptions in treatment, as fungal colonies multiply at an accelerated rate, without the influence of medication, and there are as many as before the procedures began.
The reasons for the appearance of the fungus are the same:
- Infection of a sick person in public places, swimming pools, baths and reservoirs.
- Wearing strange or uncomfortable shoes or contaminated hygiene items.
- Failure to follow the rules for keeping feet dry.
- Premature treatment of sweating.
- Traumatic damage to the skin of the feet and the corneas of the nails.
- Incorrect use of medications, especially antibiotics.
Doctors include disorders in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic processes, hormonal disruptions, pathologies of blood flow in the vessels of the extremities, diabetes mellitus and obesity as systemic causes of fungal infections.
The symptoms of foot and nail fungus are difficult to ignore because they cause a lot of discomfort.Among them, the most common are:
- itchy skin on the feet, between the toes;
- peeling of the dermis;
- the appearance of wounds and other damage;
- nails lose their healthy color, become discolored and then turn gray;
- the dish thickens, looks loose and crumbles;
- the deformation continues until the cornea is destroyed and the infection penetrates the nail bed.
Symptoms gradually increase, but itching begins from the first days of the introduction of the pathogen.
This is important!Medications for foot and nail fungus should be used immediately when signs of the disease appear.Delay in therapy makes treatment difficult and causes dangerous consequences, including damage to internal organs.
Mycosis of the skin and nails has age-related features - onychomycosis in children occurs in rare cases;adults suffer from it.Foot fungus occurs in all age groups.
What you need to know about the principles of treating the disease
For complete recovery from a fungal infection, the patient must tune in to long-term treatment, which must be carried out after diagnosis and as prescribed by a doctor.Pharmacies sell a lot of antifungals, but choosing them yourself, without consulting a dermatologist or infectious disease specialist, means wasting your money and harming your health.
For some people, the treatment of foot fungus with ointment is effective, others need to combine the use of external and oral medications, and in case of a severe stage and developed complications, injections are prescribed in combination with other methods.
Expert advice.The main requirement of complex therapy is the use of effective multifunctional drugs for the treatment of foot and nail fungus and the prevention of the disease.The viability of the spores contributes to the recurrence of the disease.
Prevention can be done by disinfecting shoes with chloramine or formaldehyde.Mushrooms die after half an hour of exposure to these substances.
About types of antifungal medications
The Pharmacy has developed categories of medications for topical use, which are sold in pharmacies and are available to customers without a prescription.These include:
- creams, ointments, gels;
- solutions, serums;
- sprays, varnishes;
- plasters.
They have a general effect, have a minimum of side effects and can be used by both adults and children.The key to success in combating ringworm is regular use and adherence to the procedure.After a visit to the doctor, you will know the manipulation procedure, how many times to apply the medicine, in what quantity, and you will recover from the disease.Typically, healing with local remedies occurs within 4-6 months.
If the infection is advanced, local treatment of the fungus on the nail plates is irrelevant.A combination is needed - external medicines plus tablets.It is carried out under the supervision of a doctor, as it has significant side effects.
About creams, ointments and solutions
How to treat foot and nail fungus, which topical preparations, according to user and expert reviews, effectively deal with colonies of microorganisms?The following list will help answer this question.
- An affordable salicylic acid-based cream that is applied 3-4 times a day to the affected areas of the skin and cornea.If you do the procedure at night, wait for the product to absorb and then put on your socks.
- Ointment containing undecic acid.The application method is the same as in the first case.
- Formaldehyde for sweaty feet, which kills microorganisms that cause infections to spread.Available in solution form.
- Boric acid + resorcinol - used as a means for removing nails affected by fungus, containing boric acid, which has antiseptic and drying properties.Apply to the skin in places where there is a fungal infection.The medicine is used as a component of complex therapy for the disease.
Specialized products for removing affected nails
In order for the cornea to come off painlessly, specially designed preparations are used.
According to the characteristics of doctors, a medicine based on urea, isopropyl alcohol and polyvinyl alcohol is not a medicine for the treatment of fungal infections.With its help, you can remove the affected plaque without resorting to surgical methods.This alternative allows you to eliminate the diseased nail at home.
This effective medicine promotes corneal convergence and bed restoration.It is saturated with stearic acid, propylene glycol, urea, triethanol and tea tree oil.The procedure is carried out as follows:
- the nail is steamed in a bath with the addition of a softener made from water, soda and soap;
- solution concentration - 1 teaspoon per liter of water.components;
- the foot is dried with a towel and the nail fold is protected with a bandage;
- The product is applied in a generous layer, without reaching the surrounding tissues, and covered with a bandage on top.
After 4 days, the bandage is removed, the remnants of plaque are scraped off.If it was not possible to remove the plate at once, the manipulations are repeated.
Another medicine acts in the same way as the previous medicine, but its composition is different - it contains the components PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, urea, beeswax and emulsion wax, glycerin;acid components - salicylic, stearic, as well as methylisothiazolinone, propylene glycol, mint, lavender and other esters.
How to treat onychomycosis with varnishes
Antifungal nail polish is the most common product that can be used under cosmetic coatings.The advantage is the concealment of the defect with simultaneous treatment, without a negative impact on the body.In this way, it is recommended to eliminate the initial stages of the disease.Well-known brands of varnish medicines are:
- Amorolfine.The principle of healing is to destroy the fungal cell membrane.Apply twice a week.
- Rye enzymatic filtrate - in the form of a serum, it perfectly saturates the diseased tissue from the plate to the bed.You can use it more frequently than varnish and do the procedures daily, which speeds up the healing process.
The duration of varnish therapy is up to one year.So you can use the products as a preventative measure.
Good to know!External medicines and varnishes do not help with complicated forms of mycosis.A comprehensive treatment algorithm is effective against advanced fungi.
Pills
Treatment of fungus on the feet and nails with tableted medications is indicated for the third stage of the disease, the appearance of complications and the penetration of infection into the mucous membranes and other organs.The condition for using the ointment complex plus tablets is the development of inflammatory processes and bacterial infection against the background of fungal colonies.
A group of antimiotics is considered effective and inexpensive medicine for treating fungus.They are effective medicines, but you cannot buy them without a prescription because they have side effects.Therefore, you must agree on a treatment regimen with your doctor.
- Fluconazole.Topical remedy to combat foot and nail mycosis at different stages.
- Ketoconazole is sold in all pharmacies without a prescription and aims to eliminate skin infections.
- Itraconazole preparations are high-priced medications that act against mycoses of the feet, nails and mucous membrane fungi.
- Terbinafine preparations are remedies for advanced fungi;contain the active ingredient terbinafine (in the form of tablets or ointments), which kills many types of colonies, destroying fungi at the cellular level.
Common Topical Medications
An effective remedy for foot and nail fungus is salicylic ointment, which relieves inflammation and itching, relieving the patient's condition.In the same vein is sulfur ointment - it neutralizes the spread of infection;both ointments cost a penny, but they perfectly eliminate the symptoms of foot diseases.
Castellani liquid permeates the corneal tissue of damaged nails and kills the colonies of the pathogen.Use with caution;if it comes into contact with the skin, it causes burns.
Antifungal drops and sprays help fight the disease.
Clotrimazole is used for infections that have affected the skin of the feet and the penetration of infection into the mucous membranes.Available in the form of cream, ointment, suppositories.
It is permitted to treat a fungal infection with the veterinary medicinal product Creolina.It is used to treat infected areas and after a while the product is washed off.It has an unpleasant odor, but acts against colonies of fungi, mites and other microorganisms.
The easiest way is to treat diseased areas with iodine.Its antiseptic property is known to everyone;the solution kills harmful microorganisms, including being effective against fungal spores.
How to treat with home remedies
You already know how to treat foot and nail fungus, what medicines are sold in pharmacies.Against the disease, baths based on oils, propolis, decoctions, infusions and other independently prepared components are used as additional methods.
Oil therapy
A good effect to reduce the risk of developing an infection you have just contracted is the use of natural oils.Make a mixture of equal parts tea tree oil and lavender.Add two parts of olive oil to the mixture, lubricate your nails and affected areas of your feet with the resulting product overnight.
Footbath
- Lemon juice plus Listerine, apple cider vinegar.Mix all ingredients in equal parts and add to bath water.The concentration per 1 liter is three spoons of the composition.A daily procedure lasting 15 minutes will help speed up the treatment process and restore the cells of the dermis and cornea.
- Soda baths are prepared according to the recipe: a tablespoon of soda plus 20 g of scraped laundry soap.Keep your feet in the bathtub for 40 minutes, during which time the solution penetrates the skin cells of the foot and the nail plate.
- Pink potassium permanganate baths.The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes.
- Salt plus vinegar at a concentration of 100 g + 4 spoons for every 4 liters of water.The salt can be table salt or sea salt.
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% - applied for 2 minutes, then a paste of water plus peroxide is applied to the nail, which is washed off after the squeaking stops.
Folk remedies
They are effective in relieving symptoms of itching, irritation on the skin of the feet and around the painful nail.Provide treatment support with pharmaceutical products.Independent folk treatment without medication is not effective against ringworm.
To eliminate the risk of spreading infection, celandine juice is used.Lubricate problem areas, do not wash off the product.It is allowed to do several such manipulations per day.
Wrap the cut garlic on the affected area, keep it on the nail overnight and on the skin for 10 minutes.
Rub kombucha, melted propolis, or oak bark infusion into problem areas.
To restore skin tissue and nail plates, take baths with decoctions of medicinal herbs.To do this, use chamomile, thyme, nettle, calendula.
Conclusion.A wide range of pharmaceutical drugs, the ability to combine treatment with local, oral and folk remedies help to ensure a complete cure for mycosis of the feet and nails.This is a long process, so be patient and learn how to correctly use the tips presented in the article.If you follow the recommendations, the unpleasant problem will be eliminated.