With severe internal diseases, poor nutrition, as well as with age, the growth of the nail slows down, its structure undergoes changes. Only a doctor can accurately determine the cause of the violation based on the results of tests and microscopic examinations.
But to get an idea of what happens to the nails on the legs or hands, you can use the photo with fungal diseases of different types.
Causes of nail deformation
Molds, yeast-like fungi and dermatophyte fungi cause infectious nail diseases (onychomycosis), which show similar symptoms.
All types of toenail or hand toenail fungi deform the nail plate, change its transparency, shine, color, this variety can be seen in the presented photos.
Changes in the nail occur not only in onychomycosis, but also in trauma, chronic paronychia (inflammation of the nail fold), psoriasis, hand eczema, dermatitis. Before concluding that there is a fungal infection, you need to consider all possible options.
Signs of a fungus infection
The most informative signs of fungal infection are changes in the color of the nail plate, the presence of nail detachment, superficial changes - transverse, longitudinal grooves on the nail plate, point depressions, thickening, destruction of the nail.
The pink color of a healthy nail is determined by the transparency of the nail plate and the blood vessels visible through it. With onychomycosis, the nail loses its transparency, the color becomes brownish, yellow, less often green, black.
Candida fungi and dermatophytes cause onycholysis - the separation of the affected part of the nail. When infected with dermatophytes, onycholysis is observed from the remote edge of the nail, and when infected with Candida, the nail lags behind the nail bed at the base, in the area of the crescent moon.
A symptom of a candidal fungus can be inflammation of the lateral periungual ridges - paronychia. This disease has bacterial forms caused by streptococci and staphylococci, as well as non-infectious ones - eczema, psoriasis, systemic vasculitis.
When the toenails are affected by the fungus Trichophyton rubrum, the plate is affected, as you can see in the photo, the roller is not affected by the infection. The plate becomes yellowish, thickens strongly, the accumulated fungal masses are well distinguished under it.
Nail fungus due to dermatophyte infection
In 95% of all cases of nail fungus, the disease is caused by dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Trichophyton rubrum Infection
Onychomycosis begins when the fungus penetrates under the nail plate from the free edge. Fungal infection is indicated by the appearance of a yellowish spot, an uneven, crumbling surface of the distal (remote) edge of the nail in the area of the spot.
distal-lateral formof Trichophyton rubrum dermatophyte fungus infection is common. In the photo you can see that the stain caused by the introduction of the fungus is located along the lateral periungual nail fold.
The Trichophyton rubrum fungus, as a rule, affects the big toes, causing hyperkeratosis - an accumulation of fungi between the nail plate and the nail bed, which looks like a loose yellowish mass in the photo.
At this stage, the fungus occupies an insignificant part of the nail, as in the presented photo, and with the help of local treatment it is possible to cope with the onychomycosis incipient.
Without treatment, the stain grows, gradually affects the entire edge of the nail, and then moves to the half moon. In the photo, the nail fungus looks like yellowish stripes directed towards the growth zone of the nail plate.
Withthe distal form of the nail fungus, which is often found on the big toes, a yellowish speck of infection appears on the distal edge of the nail, in its central part, as can be seen in the photo.
At the advanced stage of the fungus on the legs, several nails are affected, as in the photo, and the treatment is no longer limited to local remedies and pills. In addition to antifungal drugs, the nail is subjected to hardware cleaning, to remove the nail plate in whole or in part.
Long-term therapy with all known antifungal agents and treatment methods is to be performed on the leg, caused by Trichophyton rubrum, with hyperkeritosis, as can be seen in the photo.
Fungal infection with total nail damage spreads to the entire area of the nail plate, the nail is completely destroyed.
Infection with another representative of dermatophytes, the fungus Trichophyton mentagrophytes, can also lead to a total fungal infection of the nail.
Trichophyton mentagrophytes Infection
With a total defeat of the toenail with Trichophyton mentagrophytes fungi, the nail plate is deformed, the photo shows that it thickens, changes its structure, collapses, yellowish spots appear on its entire surface.
Infection of the nail with this dermatophyte usually causes superficial white onychomycosis of the big toe, less often of the little toe.
This fungus practically does not occur on the nails of the hands, it often causes interdigital dermatophytosis on the legs, as in the photo, and requires simultaneous treatment of the skin of the feet and nails.
A symptom of an infection with nail fungus, usually on the feet, is white spots of various sizes, as in the photo, reminiscent of leukonychia - a disease of the nail plate itself.
But unlike leukonychia, in which white spots are caused by the appearance of air bubbles in the layers of the nail, white spots with a fungal infection are the result of the activity of Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Rarely, superficial white onychomycosis is caused by molds; in AIDS, the causative agent of this type of fungus can be Trichophyton rubrum and affect nails on both feet and hands.
Changes to the nail due to Candida infection
The fungus usually occurs in women, it affects the nails on the working hand, which is more often in contact with water.
For candidal onychomycosis, the proximal form of infection is characteristic, in which the fungus first affects the nail fold of the base of the nail, then penetrates into the growth zone and the nail bed. Then it gradually moves along the nail from the base to the edge, capturing an ever larger area of the nail plate.
The causative agent of the disease in candidal onychomycosis is Candida albicans. This fungus invades toenails and fingernails, spreading from the half moon zone at the base of the nail plate to the free edge, as can be seen in the photo.
A sign of Candida nail infectionalbicans is inflammation of the nail fold (paronychia), separation of the cuticle from the nail plate, pain, discharge of pus when a bacterial infection is attached.
Candida albicans is able to penetrate the nail and from its free edge. In this case, they talk about the distal form of infection, which is combined, as a rule, with cutaneous candidiasis.
Treatment of candida fungus on the nails of the hands and feet with damage to more than half of the area of the nail plate, as in the photo, includes not only the fight against onychomycosis, but also measures to reduce the activity of candida in the natural reservoirs of their storage - the intestines, oral cavity, genital mucosa. . .
Infestation by molds
Molds cause fungus much less frequently than Candida or dermatophytes. The main symptom of toenail infection with mold is, as you can see in the photo, inchanging the color of the nail plate to blue, black, greenish.
Signs of toenail mold can be dark spots, dots on the nail plate, or, as in the photo, a black longitudinal stripe.
Preparations against fungi
Antifungal agents with fluconazole, ketoconazole, terbinafine, itraconazole, griseofulvin are used to treat nail fungus caused by dermatophytes, such as in this photo.
Antifungal agents with terbinafine are effective for dermatophyte infections.
Antifungal agents with voriconazole are highly active against dermatophytes.
Itis used andto treat nail moldon the feet, hands, andagainst candida yeast. The spectrum of action includes molds such as Aspergillum, Fusarium, Penicillium.
Preparations based on itraconazole cope with molds.
Fungus-like nail diseases
A grayish tintsometimes appears on the nailwith eczema. In this case, the nail plate can move away from the nail bed, which is observed with a fungus.
Outwardly very similar to onychomycosismanifestations of psoriasis. With this disease, not onlycolor changes, but alsonail plate thickens.
Point depressions are found on its surface, separation of the nail plate from the nail bed is noted. But there are differences from the fungus: in psoriasis, the detached and healthy parts of the toenail are separated by a pink, eventually yellowing strip.
Bluish colorgets nailwith pseudomonas nail infection. Frequent mechanical rubbing of the nail fold causes the appearance of superficial grooves, waviness of the nail.
White spots of leukonychia, the appearance of which isassociated with metabolic disorders, can also be mistaken for a superficial white fungus with a large area of the spot.
Changes in color, shape of the nail causing injury. Big toes are at greatest risk. The nail with an injury, as well as with a fungus, thickens and darkens.
The difference between the injury and the fungus is that the changes during the injury are noted only on the injured finger, the nails on the other fingers remain unchanged, do not become infected from the diseased finger, as in onychomycosis.
The consequence of trauma can be a partial separation of the nail from the nail bed, the formation of a cavity, which, under unfavorable conditions, is quickly colonized by fungi.
The nail plate can be separated from the nail bed under the influence of light (photoonicholysis), with iron deficiency anemia, hormonal diseases. Splitting, loss of the nail occurs with lichen erythematosus, bullous dermatoses, nail trauma.
But you can finally make sure of the correctness of the conclusion and start treatment only after seeking help from a dermatologist - a specialist in skin diseases, or a mycologist - a doctor who treats fungal diseases.