Mycosis of the toenail plates (onychomycosis of the feet) is an infectious disease that manifests itself as nail damage caused by dermatomycetes, mold or yeast-like fungi.According to statistics, the prevalence of this disease in the population reaches 10%.
The risk of contracting onychomycosis of the legs directly depends on the social and climatic conditions of a person's residence, gender, age, profession and the presence or absence of other diseases.
One way or another, due to its high contagiousness and the ability to significantly worsen the patient's quality of daily life, this pathology requires timely detection and competent and comprehensive treatment.
Symptoms of toenail fungus
Depending on the symptomatic manifestations, there are three types of onychomycosis of the legs:
- hypertrophic;
- normotrophic;
- atrophic.
Hypertrophic nail lesions are characterized by noticeable thickening and deformation of the nail plates, loss of shine and the appearance of a kind of “corrosion” at their edges.The clinical picture of the disease can be supplemented by the appearance of pain and the development of onychogryphosis (pathology in which the nails take on the appearance of bird claws).
With onychomycosis of the normotrophic type, yellow or white stripes and spots appear on the nail plates.At the same time, the nails maintain their configuration, shine and thickness.With atrophic onychomycosis, the nail plate quickly separates from the nail bed, becomes dull and acquires a gray-brown color.The exposed skin area becomes covered with loose hyperkeratotic layers.
Clinical signs of toenail fungus form the basis of another classification of onychomycosis, used mainly by foreign doctors.From this typology, 4 forms of the disease can be distinguished:
- distal (damage to the free edge of the nail);
- proximal (damage to the posterior nail fold);
- lateral (damage to the nail from the sides);
- total (damage to the entire nail plate).
The severity of the manifestations of onychomycosis should be taken into account when developing a therapeutic program.
Treatment of toenail fungus
The diagnosis of "onychomycosis of the legs" is made based on the results of a visual medical examination, PCR test, microscopic and cultural studies.Carrying out the above tests allows us to draw a conclusion not only about the presence of a fungal infection, but also about the type of pathogen.
Now a few words about how to cure toenail fungus in the shortest possible time.The etiotropic treatment program for onychomycosis involves the use of local and systemic drugs.The most effective means for local treatment of fungus on toenail plates are:
- antifungal keratolytic ointments, gels and creams;
- specialized dressings for mechanical removal of affected nails;
- antifungal varnishes based on ciclopirox, amorolfine or mixtures of salicylic, benzoic, lactic acid and resorcinol.
Nowadays, systemic treatment of nail fungus seems to be the most relevant.In recent years, a number of general antimycotic drugs have been developed, capable of increasing the effectiveness of treatment of onychomycosis up to 90%.
Medications for toenail fungus
Varnishes are considered the most effective anti-mycotic varnishes.The main characteristic of the products is their ability to destroy pathogens present in the deeper layers of the nail and penetrate into the nail bed.Antifungal creams and ointments include products containing terbinafine.The listed products are applied daily to the affected nail plates and gently rubbed until completely absorbed.The duration of treatment for onychomycosis with ointments and creams can vary between 2 and 6 weeks.The procedure for using topical antifungal agents should be agreed in advance with a dermatologist.
The selection of systemic drugs is carried out taking into account the severity of the disease and the presence or absence of contraindications to their use in the patient.
Nail fungus prevention
The main measures aimed at preventing the development of onychomycosis of the legs are:
- avoid mechanical trauma to the nail plates;
- refusal to wear rough, tight, ill-fitting shoes;
- careful processing of pedicure tools;
- use of individual shoes when visiting baths, saunas and swimming pools;
- monitor the health status of pets, timely treat identified pathologies;
- excluding cases of use of toiletries, clothing, towels and shoes belonging to other people;
- rapid detection and treatment of diseases;
- carry out activities aimed at strengthening the body's immune forces.
It is important to understand that self-treatment of onychomycosis not only fails to achieve the expected results, but also significantly complicates the course of the disease.Therefore, before using medications or folk remedies for fungus, you should coordinate the treatment program with an experienced dermatologist.