Onychomycosis and its treatment
Dr.Kut | Apr 30, 2010 | Comments 0
Onychomycosis is the term given to a fungal infection of the toenail. This infection is what is commonly called as the thick toenail or the yellow toenail. This infection of the toenail sometimes even effects the finger nails and it is quite a common condition seen in about 6 to 8% of the population. The symptoms of this condition include the nail becoming thick, yellow or cloudy. In some cases the nail can become extremely brittle and can even break. Sometimes it is seen that the nail separates from the bed in onychomycosis. Usually people do not complain of any pain although in a few rare cases the nail can look very unpleasant and can even emit a not so pleasant odor.
There are many options for onychomycosis treatment and these include keeping your foot clean and dry and also certain kinds of foot baths. Since bacteria or moulds can thrive in warm, moist conditions it is better to keep your foot clean and dry at all times. If you must wear socks all the times then make sure you change them frequently. Trim your toenails regularly and make sure you cut them as close to the skin as possible without injuring the skin. This increases the air flow to the skin beneath the toenail which will again keep the nail fresh and clean.
Another good onychomycosis treatment is the vinegar foot bath. Here the affected foot has to be immersed in a tub full of vinegar which is known to have anti-fungal properties. Care should be taken to see that the entire foot or effected area is immersed in the bath for half an hour and this should be done twice a day till the infection recedes.
There can be many causes of onychomycosis which include age, hereditary factors, indulging in sports or other physical activity, excessive sweating around the foot area and others. Superficial onychomycosis is the condition of the nail fungal infection which only affects the nail and not the skin beneath it. This is easier to treat and ward off as the nail will grow and fall off. The skin area underneath the nail remains unaffected here.
Most people suffer from subungual onychomycosis which is the fungal infection of the nail but which starts under the nail. The term subungual literally means ‘under the nail’. This infection is found under the toenail and it basically affects only the nail. Distal subungual onychomycosis is the condition of the fungal infection of the toe nail which starts underneath the nail at the tip of the toe or the finger. The term distal here refers to “distant”, meaning the infection is away from the root of the nail.
Most people think that there can be only one type of fungal infection affecting the nail but there are different types of fungal infection of the nails and they have different symptoms and treatment. Some of them are lateral onychomycosis in which the infection spreads laterally towards the side of the foot. Whatever be the kind of fungal infection of the nail, care should be exercised to treat it as effectively as possible.
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Filed Under: Infection • Skin, Hair and Nails
