What To Do If You Have Nail Fungus

Can A Nail Fungal Infection Be Prevented Or Avoided

Avoid situations that expose you to a fungus. This includes walking barefoot in locker rooms and having wet hands and feet often. This might be a problem for people who work in restaurants or house cleaning. People in a family can get nail fungal infections at the same time. This happens when their immune systems arent able to fight off the infection. Or it could be the infection is spread when using the same towels. It is important to routinely clean your shower, tub, and bathroom to lower risk of fungal infection.

What Happens If Nail Fungus Is Left Untreated

If left untreated, nail fungus can lead to complications. It can become painful and cause permanent damage to your nail. Also, the nails can become thick, rough and unpleasant to look at, or brittle and weak where they crumble and stop growing.

If you have a suppressed immune system or diabetes it can lead to other complications in your body.

In extreme cases, a bacterial skin infection called Cellulitis can also develop.

How Do Dermatologists Diagnose Nail Fungus

To find out if a patient has nail fungus, a dermatologist examines your nails and nearby skin. Its important to check the skin because the fungus can spread. You may already have a skin infection caused by fungus like athletes foot.

To get rid of the infection, you will need to treat all infected areas.

Before giving you the diagnosis, your dermatologist may also take some samples. Collecting a bit of debris from beneath a nail, trimming off part your nail, or scraping off a bit of skin can be very helpful. In a lab, these samples can be examined under a microscope to find out whats causing the problem.

Are you hiding an infected nail with nail polish?

Be sure to ask your dermatologist if you can wear nail polish while treating nail fungus.

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Mayo Clinic Q And A: Treatment For Toenail Fungus Isnt Always Necessary

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am in my late 50s, and a few of my toenails have turned a yellowish color and seem to have thickened. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is there anything I can do to fix this?

ANSWER: What youre likely experiencing is a fungal nail infection. Fungal nail infections are common, especially among older adults. As nail growth slows with age, its easier for fungus to establish in the nail bed. Treatments are available, although they may take some vigilance and are not always necessary.

Toenail fungus usually is caused by a microscopic organism called dermatophyte fungus. It often begins as a white or yellow spot under the tip of your toenail. But as the infection goes deeper, nail fungus may cause your nail to discolor, thicken and crumble at the edge. These fungal infections are more likely to happen in your toenails than in your fingernails because toenails often are confined in a dark, warm, moist environment, where fungi can thrive. Toes also have less blood flow than fingers, making it harder for your bodys immune system to detect and stop the infection. But it is possible for fingernails to be affected.

The older you are, the more likely you are to get toenailfungus. Thats because as you age, your immune system changes. Inaddition, your nails become more brittle and drier over time, creating morecracks where fungus can live.

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Nail Polish And Contaminated Equipment

A 2018 study found evidence that fungi may be able to live and multiply in some nail polishes. It may be a good idea to avoid sharing nail polish.

Contaminated equipment at a nail salon can also expose you to types of fungi that may lead to an infection.

Your fungal infection may not cause any symptoms in the beginning, until it progresses.

As the infection gets worse, you may experience:

Fingernail infections often clear up on their own or with home remedies. Antifungal medications are used for more serious infections.

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What Are The Treatments For Black Toenail

Fungal infections of the toes are relatively treatable at home when caught early. Over-the-counter ointments, creams, and polishes are usually effective. Severe cases may require a prescription antifungal treatment.

If a black toenail is caused by an injury, the resulting spot from broken blood vessels will disappear once your nail grows out.

Black toenail caused by trauma from an injury usually resolves on its own without treatment. However, if your toenail grows out and it still appears black, then the symptoms might be related to another underlying cause.

Toenail discoloration related to diabetes and other health conditions requires treatment for the underlying causes.

How Would I Know If I Have A Nail Infection

Fungus grows in warm, moist places such as under nails. When fungus has a chance to grow in the nail, it can turn into a fungal infection, which is a common problem. Typical signs of a fungal infection include new white or yellow patches and streaks, but nails can also turn brown or green. Youll see lifting of the nail from the skin underneath, and sometimes you will see thickening of the nail. The nail will look bumpy or have ridges with crumbly debris underneath. It may even be so misshapen that it seems to be veering off to the side, or the nail may fall off completely.

If the infection is caused by bacteria instead of a fungus, you may notice redness, swelling, pain or pus in the skin surrounding the nail.

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What To Expect After Treatment

The area exposed by the nail removal should be kept clean. You may cover the area with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and a non-stick bandage. Apply more petroleum jelly and replace the bandage as needed. It should heal within 2 weeks.

Fingernails may take 6 months to grow back, and toenails may take 12 to 18 months to grow back.

What To Avoid For Toenail Fungus

Having a diet full of foods with antifungal properties is only half the approach to managing foot fungal infections. It is also vital that you avoid foods which can promote fungus growth to avoid any counterproductive results from eating antifungal foods. Foods to avoid if you have toenail fungus include sugar and artificial sweeteners, coffee or tea, peanuts, white carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice and white pastas, butter, alcohol, and foods or drinks with a yeast component such as soy sauce, cheese, and mushrooms. Drinks and foods with simple sugars and artificial sweeteners such as soft drinks, cookies, ice cream, and cakes provide fungus with the energy it needs to thrive.

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Tips To Combat Foot Fungus

The best way to combat foot fungus is to reduce your exposure to it. There are simple things you can do to prevent from contracting foot and nail fungus.

Treatment Options For Nail Fungus

Interviewer:

Most of my conversation is usually discussing medical therapy, so things that are available by prescription only. And those come in two main forms, which are topical antifungal medications, and then oral antifungal medications. There are other surgical or procedural options, so you can remove nails as well. And then there’s starting to be more interest in technologies like lasers for nail fungus.

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Keep Fungus Away From Shoes In The First Place

• Clean nail clippers thoroughly in boiling water with a toothbrush. Wipe them dry with rubbing alcohol and follow up with a clean towel.
• Protect your feet around swimming pools and locker rooms by wearing flip-flops and drying feet thoroughly. These locations tend to be breading grounds for foot fungus, so you should take protective measures when in these locations.

Find out more about toenail fungus:

There Is A Wide Range Of Options With Varying Success Rates

Other than keeping your toenails trimmed and perhaps painted, you may not pay much attention to them unless a problem develops. Healthy toenails are pink, shiny and smooth, but a fungal infection can cause them to become discolored, thick, brittle and even painful.

Toenail fungal infection, known as onychomycosis, is a common but challenging condition toenail fungus treatments include a wide range of options with varying success rates.

Causes of toenail fungus

Fungal nail infections are usually caused by fungi called dermatophytes that infect the skin beneath the nail yeast is another common culprit. Toenails are especially vulnerable to infection when your bare feet contact damp surfaces such as showers, swimming pools and locker rooms. If you have athletes foot, the infection can spread to the nails.

Wearing closed shoes such as athletic shoes for extended periods also can contribute to infection if your shoes and/or socks are damp from perspiration or heat. Moreover, if your shoes fit snugly enough to put pressure on your toes, they can damage the nail bed, making it more susceptible to infection.

People with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or circulatory problems, also may be more prone to toenail infections.

Symptoms of toenail fungus

Toenail fungus symptoms can develop slowly over time and may go unnoticed at first. Symptoms can include:

Toenail fungus treatments

When to see a doctor for toenail fungus

Preventing toenail fungus

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Fungal Nail Infection Symptoms

Symptoms are different depending on which type of fungal nail infection you have. They usually start mild and get more serious.

• At first, you may only see a white or yellow spot under your nail. Over time, this spreads and can turn your whole nail white, yellow, green, or black.
• The nail may thicken and could be hard to trim.
• It may start to curl up or down or loosen from the nail bed.
• Your nail could become brittle and crumble when you touch it.
• Your nail may become misshapen.
• You may notice a bad smell.

Itâs easy to ignore fungal nail infections at first, since you may not have any pain. But if you donât treat them, it can hurt to put any pressure on the area. If an infection gets bad enough, it could even become hard to walk.

Foot Hygiene For Lasting Results

Using medications or procedures can vastly improve the appearance of your toenails if you have a fungal infection. However, for lasting results, you need to step up your foot hygiene habits. Remember, there is always a chance of reinfection because the fungus is present everywhere in the environment.

Here are some suggestions:

• Be nicer to your feet by wearing comfortable well-fitting shoes. Dispose of your oldest footwear and use an antifungal power in other footwear.
• Keep your feet clean and dry with daily washing with soap and thorough drying with a clean towel. Wear cotton socks, or none at all if youre in a warm, humid climate.
• Keep your toenails trimmed and regularly disinfect all tools you use to cut, file, or otherwise attend to your feet.
• Never share your footwear with others and wear something on your feet whenever you go to a swimming pool, gym, or another warm place where people walk around barefoot.

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What Is Toenail Fungus

Toenail fungus is an infection that gets in through cracks in your nail or cuts in your skin. It can make your toenail change color or get thicker. It can also hurt. Because toes are often warm and damp, fungus grows well there. Different kinds of fungi and sometimes yeast affect different parts of the nail. Left untreated, an infection could spread to other toenails, skin, or even your fingernails.

Types Of Fungal Nail Infections

There are four main kinds of fungal nail infection. Each looks slightly different:

• Distal or lateral subungual onychomycosis. This is the most common kind. It results from a fungus called a dermatophyte. You can get it in your fingernails or toenails. It starts in the nail bed, underneath the nail. Youâll see a yellowish colored area that spreads from the edges of the nail to the center, and places where it comes apart from the nail bed.
• White superficial onychomycosis. This is less common and only affects the nail surface, mainly on your toenails. It starts as white spots, which become powdery and cause the nail to crumble.
• Proximal subungual onychomycosis. This appears first as white spots in the center of the nail bed at the cuticle. They move outward as the finger or toenail grows. Itâs rare and usually affects people who have immune system problems, like HIV infection.
• Candidal onychomycosis. Yeast causes this infection that usually affects your fingernails. The area around the nails is often swollen and inflamed, and the nails may come off entirely. It tends to happen to nails that have been damaged by an injury or another infection.

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Doctors Weigh Best Treatments

The best treatment for fungal nail infections is a prescription that your dermatologist can prescribe that you take every day for two-to-three months. The pill is not for everyone, since oral antifungals can interact with other medications and can affect the liver.

Fortunately if you dont want to or cant take a pill, there are topical solutions to treat nail fungus. Although topical medications are desirable because of the low risk of side effects and interaction with other medications, they have much longer treatment regimens. Generally, topical medications have a lower clearance rate compared to oral pills.

Newer topical antifungals including Efinaconazole and Tavaborole have better penetration of the nail plate and so they work better compared to older topical medications, says Dr. Ng. She says the topical medications work best if you only have partial nail involvement.

Lasers are approved by the FDA to temporarily increase the amount of clear nail. However, the cure rates are lower than oral medications and topical solutions.

Removing Part Or All Of Your Nail To Treat Nail Fungus Does It Work

The short answer is that no one really knows for sure. There hasnt been much research on removing some or all of the nail to treat fungal nail infection. This treatment isnt used very often, but your doctor might suggest it if your infection is severe or keeps coming back. If you are experiencing recurring nail fungus infestation then this might be a bigger issue with your immune system and your overall general health. You might want to discuss with your doctor doing a cleanse and changing your diet to include more organic live foods and stay away from cooked foods.

What is it?

You can have your nail completely removed or partially removed . This can be done either with minor surgery or with an ointment that softens the nail so that it can be removed easily.

Surgery: Your doctor will first numb the skin around and under your nail with a shot of a local anesthetic. He or she will then use a tool to separate your nail from the surrounding skin and nail bed . Once the nail is removed, your skin underneath should heal in a few weeks.

If you have a fingernail removed, it should grow back in about six months. If you have a toenail removed, it may take 12 to 18 months to grow back.

If you keep getting infections, your doctor might recommend completely removing the nail and then putting a chemical on the thin layer of skin at the base of your nail to stop your nail from growing back.How can it help?

What are the Side Effects

1. Keravita Pro – www.KeravitaPro.com

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How To Trim Toenails With Fungus

This article was co-authored by . Marta Nagorska is a Nail Technician and Nail Art Blogger based in London, UK. She runs the blog, Furious Filer, where she gives tutorials on nail care and advanced nail art. She has been practicing nail art for over 5 years and graduated from Northampton College with distinction with a Nail Technician and Manicurist degree in 2017. She has been awarded the top spot in the OPI Nail Art Competition.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 48,865 times.

Fungal infections can thicken your toenails, making them difficult to trim. You might also be worried about spreading the infection to your other nails during trimming. Fortunately, you can make the trimming process safer and easier by choosing the right tools and softening your nails before you trim them. You can also protect your healthy nails by properly disinfecting your nail care tools after each use.

Preventing Fungal Nail Infection

Studies suggest that in about 1 in 4 cases where the fungal nail infection has been cleared from the nail, the infection returns within three years. One way to help prevent a further bout of nail infection is to treat athlete’s foot as early as possible to stop the infection spreading to the nail. Athlete’s foot is common and may recur from time to time. It is easy to treat with an antifungal cream which you can buy from pharmacies, or obtain on prescription. The first sign of athlete’s foot is itchy and scaling skin between the toes. See the separate leaflet called Athlete’s Foot for more details. Also:

• Try to avoid injury to nails, which may increase the risk of developing a nail infection.
• Wear footwear such as flip-flops in public places, such as communal bathing/shower places, locker rooms, etc.
• Avoid towel sharing.
• Consider replacing old footwear, as this could be contaminated with fungal spores.

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