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 helpful for everyone to learn how to get rid of toenail fungus. Let's find out what drugs can be used in the treatment process and how traditional medicine can help.
Most often, a fungal nail infection develops in old age. However, the disease can develop in a young and strong person. Less commonly, onychomycosis occurs in children. Anyone is at risk of getting an infection, so the question of how to get rid of nail fungus is relevant to everyone.
Symptoms
In order to start treatment in a timely manner, you need to know how it manifests itself. The insidious thing about this disease is that it develops gradually. In the early stages, when you can quickly get rid of nail fungus, most people just don't pay attention to the first signs.
In fact, few people will be alarmed if a spot appears at 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 - you need to start treatment at the earliest stage. If the affected area already exceeds a third of the nail plate area, the treatment will take a long time.
So, the main sign of the disease is a discoloration of the nail plate. Most often, this change is noticeable at the corner of the toenail on 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 observed, most women encounter this type of onychomycosis. The fact is that women often do manicures, and not high-quality disinfection of the instrument and nail injuries are predisposing factors for the development of the disease.
Advice!Of course, a manicure itself is not harmful, and it is not necessary to refuse this hygienic procedure. You just need to make sure that the master carefully sterilizes the instruments or uses individual files and forceps.
If there is no treatment, the stain will start to increase in size. Also, the structure of the nail will begin to change. The plate becomes thicker, cracks may appear in it, the plate will begin to collapse.
Often, onychomycosis occurs simultaneously with mycosis of the skin of the feet. In this case, the skin of the affected areas becomes red, inflamed, and painful cracks appear. 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, therefore, it is at this advanced stage that most patients go to the doctor or begin to try to heal themselves.
Advice!Self-medication for diseases caused by nail fungus is very dangerous, since the patient himself cannot determine the type of pathogen. Therefore, the measures taken by him may prove ineffective.
If there is no treatment or it is ineffective, the disease will progress. The nail plate will start to peel off. At this stage, a bacterial infection often joins, which provokes the development of a purulent process. If the disease begins 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 onychomycosis forever. This disease very often relapses. Especially if the patient did not complete the treatment, interrupting the course as soon as the visible symptoms of the disease have passed.
To exclude the development of a relapse, you should continue treatment until laboratory tests confirm the absence of infection.
Advice!It is recommended to perform the control tests twice with an interval of two weeks. If both tests are negative, then the disease is considered completely cured.
The main principles of the treatment of fungal diseases are:
- regularity;
- A complex approach.
Not a single drug, not even the most effective, will help from 1 time. The duration of the course of treatment is determined individually, its duration is influenced by:
- the type of pathogen (molds form a lesion on the surface of the nail, making it easier to cure this type of onychomycosis than a disease caused by yeasts 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 you need to use less effective, but safer means.
Also, you need to remember that not a single drug, even the most modern and effective, will help if the patient does not follow the following rules:
- Good hygiene is important. You will have to disinfect all your shoes, and it is best to replace the socks and slippers with new ones. You will need to disinfect the bathtub regularly, as well as the manicure tools that are used to treat diseased 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 lead a healthy lifestyle. Observe the mode of work and rest, be in the fresh air, make sure you get enough sleep, try to avoid stress. All of these measures will help maintain the immune system.
- Choose the right footwear. Avoid tight models, choose shoes and boots made of breathable materials. Now there are even artificial materials that can provide normal air exchange, for example, eco-leather has such properties.
Advice!It is convenient to use special sprays to disinfect shoes, but you can also use home remedies. For example, vinegar.
Pharmacy products
There are many medications available to fight fungal diseases. They differ in the form of release and the active ingredient. It is impossible to recommend one remedy that will help everyone, without exception. A doctor must 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 medications, that is, capsules or tablets. The doctor determines the need for the use of tablets. As a general rule, they are prescribed at an advanced stage or in case an internal remedy does not work;
- taking multivitamin complexes and means for the general strengthening of the body.
Topical agents
To cure nail fungus, it is necessary to use drugs that are applied directly to the diseased nail. The doctor must prescribe drugs, the patient's task is to use them correctly.
First of all, you need to prepare your nail. The nail plate, unlike the skin, absorbs medicinal substances worse, making it more difficult to treat onychomycosis than cutaneous mycosis. Nail preparation is as follows:
- You should soften the nail with a warm bath. Soda, vinegar, sea salt, herbal decoctions are added to the water (of course, you need to add a remedy, and not all at the same time);
- the duration of the bath is about 20 minutes, during which time the nails will have time to soften enough;
- after that you need to process the nails: cut them as short as possible, process with a file, removing loose, exfoliating layers in the affected areas.
After such treatment, the use of topical agents will be more beneficial. Its active substances will be able to penetrate deeper, directly to the focus of the fungal infection.
Local agents are applied 1-2 times a day. The solution is applied with a dropper (as a rule, a bottle is equipped with it) or a pipette. It should drip not on the horizontal surface of the nail, but on its outer edge.
Creams are applied to the entire surface of the plate, lightly rubbed. Healing varnishes are one of the most convenient remedies for the treatment of onychomycosis. It is not necessary to apply them 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 varnishes, since it is allowed to apply decorative varnish over the layer of the medicinal coating.
Additional measures
To speed up the healing process, in the process of getting rid of nail fungus, it is recommended to perform a hardware pedicure (manicure) or use a laser treatment. During the procedure, the affected part of the nail is carefully removed.
When performing a hardware pedicure, the removal is carried out mechanically, that is, the nail is cut with special cutters. After completing the 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 performs a treatment, as the laser beam can kill the fungus.
Home methods
Some people are quite successful in getting rid of a yeast infection using simple and inexpensive remedies to treat 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 combination 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 make applications by applying pieces of cotton soaked in vinegar on the sore nails for a quarter of an hour.
Garlic
The most common garlic effectively fights fungal diseases. You can simply lubricate the sore spots with fresh juice or make compresses. To perform the procedure, you need to prepare garlic porridge, place it between two layers of gauze and apply the resulting lotion to the affected area for an hour.
Celandine
Celandine juice effectively destroys fungal infection. The affected areas are stained 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 nail fungus after testing. Treatment is prescribed taking into account the type of pathogen. It is best to use a set of remedies, you can combine the use of medicines and folk remedies.