Sun, sea, beautiful beach. . . In summer, you can rest fully and your skin is covered in tan. But what is this unpleasant crack in the leg between the toes? Why do my nails turn yellow? Take a closer look. Maybe this is not only a defect in appearance?
First signs of fungus
Parasitic fungi deposited on the skin can poison anyone's life. In particular, the deposition of fungi on the skin and nails of the feet can cause a lot of trouble and sorrow. The main concern of ladies who are victims of this type of fungus is the external aspects of the problem, namely, cracked, peeling skin, and yellowing of nails. However, according to doctors, aesthetic issues are far from the main issue.
This is a serious disease that requires long-term treatment. The disease first occurs on the skin of the feet and is more common in the folds between the fingers. Peeling between the fingers, accompanied by burning pain and itching. Then bubbles appear, which burst, forming ulcers and cracks. If you don't start treatment right away, the fungus will spread to your nails. Once in the nail plate, it will continue to grow and reproduce. Although the speed is slow, the fungus will gradually peel off the nails and gradually fill up the nails and penetrate into the nail bed. Over time, the affected area will not only grab the nails on the feet, but also on the hands. Fortunately, there are even very few internal organ failures.
which performedToenail fungusIt depends on the type of infection and the degree and depth of the fungus. After being moved to the nail plate, dermatophytes usually form yellow dots or longitudinal stripes on the side of the toenails. In some cases, the disease can be guessed by the bright yellow streaks or spots in the center of the nail plate. The nails on the nails are also "decorated" into similar stripes, but in a lighter color-white or gray.
Yeast thins the nail plate from the side, but turns yellow behind the nail bed. Usually, the disease starts with nail folds, usually on the hands. The roller thickened, swelled and turned red, silver scales appeared on the edges, and the nail skin gradually disappeared. Bacterial infection can participate in the process, in which case it may even become suppurative. The nutrition of the drum area is disturbed, and as a result, horizontal grooves appear. . . . . . .
Mold can cause onychomycosis only in the context of an already existing nail dystrophy, which is caused by other diseases. In this case, the color of the nail plate will also change, which can be yellow, green, blue, brown or even black, but the nail lesions are still superficial. However, you should not diagnose yourself, especially because nail damage can be caused by multiple fungi at once. In addition, fungus is a common cause of serious nail problems, but not the only cause.
See a doctor immediately!
If you find signs of fungus, don't expect everything to go away on its own. The longer the fungus lives on the nails, the more difficult it is to treat and the greater the harm to the entire body. Prolonged onychomycosis can cause allergic reactions, weaken the immune system and lead to aggravation of chronic diseases. Therefore, the most correct thing to doubt first is to consult a dermatologist or dermatologist. The doctor will not only perform an examination to evaluate the thickness and structure of the nail, but also perform tissue scraping for analysis. Only in this way can he determine the presence of the fungus, the type of fungus, and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
At the same time, the doctor will consider the generality of the process, the form of the lesion, the presence of accompanying diseases, the growth rate of the nails, etc. In our age, there are general and local effective drug treatments. In the initial form of the disease, when the area of nail lesions is insignificant, you can limit yourself to topical treatment-apply a wide-ranging antifungal (antifungal) ointment, cream or solution on the nail bed twice a dayform.
Before using the medicine, special preparations for the nails are required. First, wash your face with soap and soda water: fill a basin with half of hot water (40-50 degrees Celsius) and dissolve 1 tablespoon of water in it. l. Soda water and 50 grams of laundry soap. Soak the foot or finger to be treated in the solution for 10-15 minutes. After that, use nail clippers to treat the softened cuticle on the nail and file it with a file. Treatment time-until healthy unchanging nails regain growth.
important! Do not use the same manicure accessories for sick and healthy nails.
Topical drugs include clotrimazole-based drugs. Use a dispenser to apply them to the affected nails and place them under a waterproof plaster for one day. The next day after washing with soap and water, use a file to remove the affected area of the nail. Repeat the process until the affected area of the plate is completely removed, and then rub the medicine into the nail bed. Like other medicines, the treatment continues until the nail is healthy.
In the initial form of the lesion, a special antifungal varnish can be used for topical treatment, and the nails are painted 1-2 times a week. Nail treatment takes about 6-8 months, and toenails take about a year. Manicure can also be applied to antifungal varnish.
If local treatment is no longer helpful, or the nail plate is completely affected by fungus, regular antifungal drugs (also called systemic) can be prescribed. These drugs are taken orally. They can be used in combination with anti-fungal varnishes. However, it is very important to make sure that you do not have the contraindications of general antifungal drugs. For example, kidney and liver diseases. Children are usually contraindicated with systemic drugs, and in addition, they have serious limitations when used with certain other drugs. For example, some of them are incompatible with hormonal contraceptives. If you are breastfeeding your baby, you must wait a while while using these medicines.
Pregnancy also means the prohibition of systemic antifungal drugs. Therefore, women receiving women of childbearing age need to use contraceptives throughout the treatment process. In some cases, you must remove the nail plate and then undergo treatment. After that, although the initial surface may not be flat, new nails will still grow. No matter what kind of treatment the doctor prescribes, you will become a disinfectant in a moment. The doctor will write a prescription, according to which the pharmacy will prepare the necessary solutions for you.
Before the course starts, they will have to dispose of all available shoes, all socks, gloves, etc. , and then once a month, until healthy nails grow back, they need to dispose of the clothes and shoes that must be worn during work. treatment. This is not difficult: wipe the inner surface of the shoes with a cotton swab dipped in liquid medicine, and put the same cotton swab in gloves, socks, stockings, etc. Keep all these things in a dense plastic bag overnight, then fully dry and ventilate for 2-3 days.
Therefore, due to persistent treatment, the external manifestations of the disease disappeared, and eventually healthy nails can grow. But this is not all, now the control test will be performed at the end of the treatment, 2 weeks later and 2 months later. The fungus is gone? Therefore, everything is in order, and the only question is how to avoid getting sick again.
Risk Group
In medical practice, fungal infections of nails are represented by the term onychomycosis, where "onychomycosis" refers to nails, and "mycosis" refers to fungal infections. This disease is not as rare as it seems. Onychomycosis is common in all countries in the world, and its share in all nail diseases reaches 40%. The main cause of the disease is dermatophytes (fungal parasites of the skin, hair and nails). However, there are other unfortunate culprits-various yeasts and molds. Both men and women became victims of onychomycosis and achieved the same success.
With age, the risk of illness increases. For example, after 70 years, people will suffer from onychomycosis every second. Fortunately, the frequency of children suffering from onychomycosis is much lower because the process of tissue regeneration and replacement of old bone with new and old bone is very rapid. Even baby nails grow faster than adult nails, but fungus grows very slowly. However, it is impossible to completely exclude children from risk groups. Children usually get the infection from their parents, and it is strange that the infection is through shoes: the baby is spreading around the mother's shoes, and the baby is at risk of being infected by the mother's fungus. Intact, healthy nails are hardly affected by fungal infections, but for example, thinning of nails due to injuries can easily become prey for fungi.
The state of the whole organism plays an important role. If the vascular tone of the legs is disturbed by, for example, heart failure or varicose veins, the risk of disease will increase. The same can be said about diseases of the endocrine system. Diabetes is a good reason to be wary of nail conditions, because in this case, fungal failure can become particularly serious.
Flat feet and tight shoes can cause skin and nail injuries. Stockings and socks made of synthetic fibers and shoes have poor ventilation, which will produce a too wet microclimate on the skin of the feet. Frequent hand contact with household detergents and cleaning products can damage your nails. All of these increase the risk of illness, but sometimes the danger lies in your special care of your appearance: false nails can create favorable conditions for the development of onychomycosis on your hands.
prevention
To avoid trouble, you must be careful. Visiting swimming pools, bathrooms, gyms and even sunbathing beaches can be troublesome. The pathogen of onychomycosis has significant resistance to external factors. The spores of the fungus can withstand drying, heating to 100 degrees Celsius and freezing to minus 60 degrees Celsius. They are able to resist the "attack" of disinfectants commonly used in public places and therefore constitute a constant threat. For our health. On the beach, the fungus can survive for several months. And, it seems, if you are not on the beach, can you still walk barefoot? This is just unnecessary-there are slippers to visit the beach and swimming pool. But the most common (up to 65% of cases) infections occur in family circles. After all, you may be infected through direct contact with the sick person, through the shoes and clothes he wears, and household items (whether it is in the bathroom carpet, ordinary towels, nail clippers, etc. ). The tablets are infected by fungus. They stick to wet feet easily. Therefore, if a family member has such a harmful "treasure", they need to be particularly vigilant.
The bathtub must be thoroughly disinfected with any detergent and rinsed with hot water, because loose nails or skin fragments will remain on the surface.
Towels or sponges should be treated regularly in a 5% chloramine solution (soaked for at least one hour). The used linen should be boiled with washing powder for 20-30 minutes, or placed in a 5% chloramine solution for 1 hour, because it is sold in pharmacies without a prescription.
Abrasions and abrasions related to sweating or dry skin greatly facilitate the work of infection. To cope with excessive sweating and diaper rash on the feet, it will helpBoric acid and talc. . .
It is very useful to treat the legs with a dry solution.
To avoid excessive dryness of the skin, special ointments, vitamin-containing creams and other similar products can be used. Use face cream to prevent corn.
Following simple rules can save you from disease:
- Walking on the beach in slippers only;
- When visiting the bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool, please use airtight rubber slippers to prevent splashing;
- After washing, dry your feet, especially the folds between your fingers, and treat it with a preventive anti-fungal cream or special powder.
- Don't wear other people's shoes;
- Change socks and stockings every day.