Maintaining Healthy Nails: How to Prevent Toenail Fungus
Any part of your body can be disposed to fungal infection. Normally, a lot of fungi are living in and out of your body. When these fungi begin to overgrow, they can cause infection. Fungal infections usually develop gradually, so you can not readily identify if there is any abnormality in your nail by the way it looks or feels.
What is Toenail Fungus?
Toenail fungus is an infection which is caused by fungi that gets in through the fissures of your nails or cuts on your skin. The most common fungus that causes infection in the toenails or fingernails is called onychomycosis or tinea unguium.
Causes of Toenail Fungus
An overgrowth of fungi in, under, or on the nail can cause fungal nail infection. Fungi live and …show more content…
If you have weak immune system resulted by medication, diabetes and other conditions, the infection may get serious and may spread beyond your feet. This may cause cellulitis or bacterial skin infection.
How to detect fungal nail infection
Some infections also cause discoloration of the nail or breaking of its tip. They can imitate the symptoms of toenail fungus. Thus, the only way to confirm the presence of fungus is to see your doctor. The procedure will involve scraping of the nail and examining the specimen under a microscope for signs of a fungus. There are times, however, that your doctor will have to send it to a laboratory for analysis and identification.
Treatment
Mild toenail fungus normally does not need treatment because it heals over time. At times, self-care is just what you need and some nonprescription medicines. However, if it already causes you pain and discomfort, you need to have it checked by a doctor. After examination of the nail, your physician may prescribe oral medications like: griseofulvin (Gris-Peg) fluconazole (Diflucan) itraconazole (Sporanox)
terbinafine
Any part of your body can be disposed to fungal infection. Normally, a lot of fungi are living in and out of your body. When these fungi begin to overgrow, they can cause infection. Fungal infections usually develop gradually, so you can not readily identify if there is any abnormality in your nail by the way it looks or feels.
What is Toenail Fungus?
Toenail fungus is an infection which is caused by fungi that gets in through the fissures of your nails or cuts on your skin. The most common fungus that causes infection in the toenails or fingernails is called onychomycosis or tinea unguium.
Causes of Toenail Fungus
An overgrowth of fungi in, under, or on the nail can cause fungal nail infection. Fungi live and …show more content…
If you have weak immune system resulted by medication, diabetes and other conditions, the infection may get serious and may spread beyond your feet. This may cause cellulitis or bacterial skin infection.
How to detect fungal nail infection
Some infections also cause discoloration of the nail or breaking of its tip. They can imitate the symptoms of toenail fungus. Thus, the only way to confirm the presence of fungus is to see your doctor. The procedure will involve scraping of the nail and examining the specimen under a microscope for signs of a fungus. There are times, however, that your doctor will have to send it to a laboratory for analysis and identification.
Treatment
Mild toenail fungus normally does not need treatment because it heals over time. At times, self-care is just what you need and some nonprescription medicines. However, if it already causes you pain and discomfort, you need to have it checked by a doctor. After examination of the nail, your physician may prescribe oral medications like: griseofulvin (Gris-Peg) fluconazole (Diflucan) itraconazole (Sporanox)
terbinafine