Nail fungus

There is hardly a person who had never heard of such a pathology, as a nail fungus. Someone familiar with the diagnosis of the advertising of pharmaceutical drugs, and someone found out about the disease firsthand, leaving the dermatologist's office or by diagnosing it yourself.

Definition

The medical term onychomycosis (lat. onychomycosis) is Latin and means nail fungus, and denotes the infectious diseases of a fungal nature. This is the most common in the world, the defeat of the nail plate and the adjoining soft tissues: according to statistics of the world health organization (who), the athlete's foot affects about 27% of people, and this figure is almost twice the number of fungal infections of the nails on the fingers.

Types of fungal infections of nails

Onychomycosis usually classified according to appearance of the affected areas. As a symptom classification performs what looks like fungus on the nails, it differentialsa three types, depending on the clinical manifestations:

• atrophic, or onycholitic – in which the nail plate is affected significantly, to the point of rejection from the nail bed;
• hypertrophic form, which have lost their natural luster the nail changes its color (white or, on the contrary, in the dark) and structure (tangible thickens) with the advent of different kinds of deformations and even breaks at the edges;
• normotroficheskie – the species characterized by the smallest degree of damage, in which the nail plate is not thickened, while remaining shiny and smooth, but still outwardly transformed by the appearance of spots, stripes and other visible changes in its natural transparency and colour.

There is another classification according to which nail fungus is divided into types depending on the lesion:

• total, in which the pathogenic process covered the entire nail plate;
• the distal form lesions only on the free edge of the nail acting on the finger pad;
• proximal that destroys the edge of the plate, leaving the nail shaft (opposite the free edge of the nail!);
• the lateral form of lesions affecting the lateral side of the nail plate.

Looks like pathology

Common among the population of fungal nail diseases have resemblance with other dermatological diseases of a fungal nature. Depending on the stage of the disease, the nails begin to look unhealthy because lose the natural Shine and transparency.

From smooth and flat, they become thick and deformed, and covered with various colors (usually white or dirty yellow) tinge. Soft tissue being destroyed by the parasite keratin layer is also involved in the inflammatory response, swelling.

If you look at the picture of the destruction of the nail plate from the perspective of the dynamics of the disease, it can be divided into three successive stages:

1. At the very first stage, almost no sign, except for light tarnish, dots or stripes on the record.
2. The so-called severe stage, fast-paced at the beginning, all the symptoms of onychomycosis becomes apparent.
3. Advanced stage – that's the ultimate degeneration of the nail, may be supplemented by an odor of decaying tissue.

Symptoms of fungus on the nails

The symptoms of athlete's foot corresponds to the chronology of the development of the pathogenic process, the speed of which depends on the specific type of pathogen and the individual characteristics of the health status of the sick.

So how to determine nail fungus before you visit the dermatologist's office? Look closely at the characteristic symptoms that accompany a fungal infection of the nail plates on my fingers:

1. First, the nail plate lose their glossy sheen, becoming dull and rough.
2. Then from transparent and pink, the nail changes color, becoming whitish, gray or dirty yellow.
3. The plate thickness increases.
4. On the surface of the body defects appear in the form of stripes, waves, bumps, curves, etc.
5. The nail appears brittle, it starts to exfoliate and crumble.
6. Fingers because of the rise of inflammatory processes begin to emit an unpleasant odor.

In the end, completely destroyed the exposed nail onycholysis, i.e. flaking, exposing the pringtime bed.

Causes of onychomycosis

Pathology is one of the manifestations of mycosis, which is a loss in this case, the nail plate micro-organisms-dermatophytes of one (or several!) of the three genera:

• Microsporum (species canis);
• Trichophyton (rubrum species – 90% of all fungal infections, mentagrophytes, interdigitale, and tonsurans) is the most frequent causative agents of fungal infections;
• Epidermophyton (floccosum species).

Representatives of all three genera, United by the collective name of "nail fungus", when ingested, colonise (i.e., localized) keratinized derivative of the epidermis of the skin:

• nails;
• hair.

The reason for the selectivity of habitats for micro-parasites lies in their power: all members as the source of energy used by a fibrillar protein keratin, thus destroying nails and hair.

Methods of infection

All types of disease-causing pathogens transmitted by the contact method:

• physical contact from an infected person to a healthy;
• using things that come in contact with the affected body parts (shoes, personal items, etc.).

Contact with nails or skin, which has become the habitat of the parasite, which enables the living representatives of the fungi to get on the healthy parts of the body.

At the same time that the causative agent of onychomycosis was able to carry out the infiltration in human tissue requires conditions such as:

• damage to skin integrity (dermatitis, diaper rash, vascular and skin diseases, abrasions, wounds, etc.);
• a weakened immune system;
• the presence of concomitant diseases (genodermatosis and hemolytic disease, immune and endocrine disorders);
• receiving cytostatic and hormonal preparations and antibiotics.

In connection with the foregoing, the penetration of the parasite in the body of a healthy person not in all cases, without exception, leads to clinical manifestations of disease or only very weakly expressed forms of pathology.

Due to certain individual conditions, including a strong immune protection, the person being outwardly healthy, becomes a carrier of the parasite, infecting other people.

How to recognize illness

Because of the resemblance of mycotic lesions with mechanical symptoms deformities and other pathologies of the nail plate, based on clinical diagnosis is not only external signs — what is nail fungus — and more and supplementing their results of micro-studies.

For laboratory analyses are used pieces of plots affected nail, producing a scraping for fungus of the nails with special tools.

The specific form of the parasite is revealed by two of the most convenient research:

• culture by placing the biological sample of diseased tissue in a special nutrient medium;
• molecular-biological method or the so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

More accurate DNA diagnosis is still not common.

In answer to the question: "how to recognize nail fungus at home", experienced dermatologists will advise you to consult a specialist for carrying out a comprehensive and in necessary cases, and differential diagnosis.

What is the danger of nail fungus

Uncomplicated nail fungus symptoms has, though unpleasant, but traditional for fungal infections: stratification of the nail, pain, etc.

But in some cases mycotic can join, for example, bacterial infection, or the disease may occur acutely, with the appearance of blisters, ulcers, weeping areas on the adjacent soft tissues.

Sometimes, medical therapy, ongoing long-term outpatient (more than 16 weeks!), not ineffective, and the disease progresses.

How dangerous is nail fungus, long-term treatable? In the inflammatory process involved bodies and their systems, and then may need emergency hospitalization of the patient.

Methods of treatment of fungus on nails

In the early stages of the disease, conventional medicine uses conservative methods through the appointment of medical treatment.

Anti-mycotic drug, designed to destroy the fungus under the nail, contain substances able to inhibit the activity of its various cliches. To achieve effective therapy can be used in various pharmacological forms, sometimes complex assign:

• pills — for taking orally (through the gastrointestinal tract, usually drinking water), administered in the absence of the desired effect of the topical medication;
• ointments, pastes and gels for local, topical use, with the application of the drug directly to the affected part of the parasite body;
• aerosols;
• the solution (resorcinol, boric acid, brilliant green, etc.) and suspension, for applications tool-soaked wipes for the affected area, or the use of the drug in the form of therapeutic baths.

The remedies are usually used twice a day until resolution of clinical manifestations. In the case of significant keratosis to facilitate the penetration of the dosage form into keratin formation is carried out by its partial detachment. If the signs of nail fungus indicate the addition of a secondary bacterial infection, patients recommended combination of antibiotics.

Important! If you resort to systemic Anti-mycotic means to monitor possible functional disorders necessarily produce the biochemical study of the liver (analysis of blood serum for the presence of bilirubin, in the presence of the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, etc.

If the patient, the attending, for example, nail fungus on his thumb, suddenly appear acute inflammation and/or severe itching, resort to means:

• antihistaminicas (swelling and inflammation);
• desensitize (reduce sensitivity).

Therapy through the use of pharmacological agents, as a rule, is a course and takes a long period of time not less than three months!

This duration of treatment is due to the introduction of the pathogen into the structure of the nail, it takes time to update it, consistent with a gradual circumcision affected areas. If the disease is at a stage at which medical treatment does not give positive results (total form) or the patient – the person of the old, resort to radical methods, surgically removing a parasite destroyed the nail.

Prevention

The best treatment is preventive activities, since preventing is much easier than the first to settle the fungus on the nail, and then get rid of it. Good ways to prevent infection advocates strict adherence to the rules of personal hygiene, especially in public places, the imminent danger of potential contact with native speakers of the mycosis, as well as prevention:

• primary, exceptional, abnormal dryness of the skin, abrasions, minor wounds and hyperhidrosis, and in case of their occurrence – prompt treatment, for example, aluminium hydrochloride 15% with ditilinom glycol 1% for excessive sweating of the feet;
• secondary disinfection special solutions items in contact with the source of athlete's foot (shoes, towels, etc.).

Having the correct information, from what appears nail fungus, it is realistic to protect themselves and their family from intrusion, and in the case of the disease timely and appropriate treatment methods can accelerate the recovery.