Onychomycosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic fungi. The problem is relevant to many, as the disease is extremely common and highly contagious. Therefore, it will be useful for everyone to learn how to get rid of toenail fungus. Let's find out which drugs can be used in the treatment process and how traditional medicine can help.
Most often, a fungal infection of the nails develops in old age. However, the disease can very well develop in a young and full of strength person. Less commonly, nail fungus occurs in children. Any person is at risk of getting an infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is relevant to everyone.
Symptoms
To start treatment in a timely manner, you need to know how it manifests itself. The pitfall of this disease is that it develops gradually. In the early stages, when you can quickly get rid of nail fungus, most people simply don't pay attention to the first signs.
In fact, few people are alarmed if a speck appears in the corner of the nail. And only then, when the disease affects most of the nail and the plaque begins to collapse, do people begin treatment.
Meanwhile, there is only one answer to the question of how to quickly get rid of the fungus - it is necessary to start treatment at the initial stage. If the affected area already exceeds one third of the area of the nail plate, the treatment will take a long time.
So, the main sign of the disease is a discoloration of the nail plate. Most often, such a change is noted in the corner of the nail of the big toe. Much less often, the stain appears on the inner edge of the nail or on the other finger.
Even less often the appearance of nail fungus on the hands is noted, most often women encounter this type of onychomycosis. The fact is that women often do not too high-quality manicure and disinfection of the tool, and nail injuries are predisposing factors for the development of the disease.
Advice!Of course, a manicure in itself is not harmful and it is not necessary to refuse this hygienic procedure. You should just make sure that the master thoroughly sterilizes the tools or uses individual files and wire cutters.
If there is no treatment, the stain will begin to grow in size. Also, the structure of the nail will begin to change. The plate becomes thicker, cracks may appear, the plate will begin to collapse.
Often, onychomycosis occurs simultaneously with mycosis of the skin of the feet. In this case, the skin in the affected areas turns red, becomes inflamed, and painful cracks appear on it. The disease is accompanied by the appearance of an unpleasant odor from 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 go to the doctor or begin to try to heal themselves.
Advice!Self-medication for fungal nail diseases is very dangerous, since the patient himself cannot determine the type of pathogen. Therefore, the measures he takes may prove ineffective.
If there is no treatment or it is ineffective, the disease will progress. The nail plate will begin to flake off. At this stage, a bacterial infection often joins, causing the development of a purulent process. If the disease has begun severely, complete removal of the diseased nail will be advisable. Therefore, it is better not to bring the matter to the operation, but to start treatment in a timely manner.
Basic principles
It is necessary to remember that it is not easy to get rid of nail fungus forever. This disease very often gives relapses. Especially if the patient has not completed the treatment, stopping the course as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease have passed.
To exclude the development of a relapse, it is necessary to continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Advice!Control tests are recommended to be run twice with an interval of two weeks. If both tests are negative, the disease is considered completely cured.
The main principles of the treatment of fungal diseases are:
- regularity;
- A complex approach.
Not a single one, even the most effective medicine will help from 1 time. The duration of the course of treatment is determined individually, its duration is affected by:
- the type of pathogen (molds form a lesion on the surface of the nail, 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 may take 3-5 weeks, but if the onychomycosis is actively progressing, it will take several months or even more than a year to be treated;
- the patient's state of health, many effective antifungal drugs have an impressive list of contraindications, so it is necessary to use less effective, but safer means.
In addition, it is necessary to remember that not a single medicine, even the most modern and effective, will help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- Good hygiene is important. You will need to disinfect all your shoes and it is best to replace your socks and slippers with new ones. You will need to regularly disinfect the bathtub and the manicure tools used to treat sick nails.
- Follow your diet. It is necessary to minimize the amount of sugar in the diet, give up alcohol and very fatty foods. But fermented dairy products, cereals and vegetables, on the contrary, will be useful.
- Try to live a healthy lifestyle. Observe the modes of work and rest, be outdoors, make sure you get enough sleep, try to avoid stress. All of these measures will help support the immune system.
- Choose the right footwear. Avoid tight models, choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials. Now there are also artificial materials that can provide normal air exchange, for example, faux leather has such properties.
Advice!It is convenient to use special sprays for disinfecting shoes, 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 helps everyone, without exception. A doctor should prescribe a treatment for a nail fungus. Most often, the following scheme is recommended:
- Application of topical 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 drugs, that is, capsules or tablets. The need for the use of tablets is determined by the doctor. As a rule, they are prescribed at an advanced stage or in the event that a local remedy does not work;
- taking multivitamin complexes and means for general strengthening of the body.
Topical agents
To cure nail fungus, it is necessary to use medicines that are applied directly to the diseased nail. The doctor should prescribe drugs, the patient's task is to use them correctly.
First of all, you need to prepare the nail. The nail plate, unlike the skin, absorbs medicinal substances worse, so it is more difficult to treat onychomycosis than skin mycosis. The preparation of the nail is as follows:
- you should make the nail softer by using a warm bath. Soda, vinegar, sea salt, decoctions of herbs are added to the water (of course, it is necessary to add a remedy, and not all at the same time);
- the duration of the bath is about 20 minutes, during which the nails will have time to soften enough;
- after that, it is necessary to process the nails: cut them as short as possible, process them with a file, removing loose and exfoliating layers in the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of topical agents will be more beneficial. Their active ingredients will be able to penetrate deeper, directly to the center of the fungal infection.
Local agents are applied 1-2 times a day. The solution is applied using a dropper (as a rule, a bottle is equipped with it) or a pipette. You need to drip not on the horizontal surface of the nail, but on its outer edge.
Creams are applied to the entire surface of the dish, rubbed lightly. Healing paints are one of the most affordable remedies for the treatment of onychomycosis. They don't have to be applied daily, but twice a week. However, this remedy only helps in the early stages of the disease.
Advice!Women especially like the use of medicinal paints, as it is allowed to apply decorative paint on the layer of the medicinal coating.
Additional measures
To speed up the healing process, in the process of eliminating nail fungus, it is recommended to perform hardware pedicure (manicure) or use laser treatment. During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, the removal is done mechanically, that is, the nail is cut with special nippers. After completion of treatment, a medicinal antifungal agent is applied to the surface. The laser procedure not only allows you to remove the affected part of the nail, but also carries out the treatment, as the laser beam is capable of killing the fungus.
Homemade methods
Some people manage to get rid of a fungal infection by using simple and inexpensive remedies to cure 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 conjunction with medications. The essence of the method is that the acidic environment has a detrimental effect on fungi.
The simplest treatment option is to add vinegar to the trays. For two liters of warm water, take a glass of vinegar (9%). It is recommended to take such a bath every night before applying topical medications. You can also apply by applying vinegar-soaked cotton swabs to sore nails for a quarter of an hour.
Garlic
The most common garlic effectively fights against fungal diseases. You can simply lubricate the sore spots with fresh juice or make compresses. To carry out the procedure, you need to prepare garlic gruel, put it between two layers of gauze and apply the resulting lotion to the affected area for an hour.
celandine
Celandine juice effectively destroys the fungal infection. Affected areas are smeared with fresh juice. In winter, for this purpose, you can use a tincture of celandine, and a decoction of this herb is suitable for baths.
So, only a specialist will be able to answer the question of how to get rid of the fungus on the nails after tests. Treatment is prescribed taking into account the type of pathogen. It is better to use a number of remedies, it is possible to combine the use of medicines and home remedies.