Nail fungus can also affect those people who lead a completely normal and healthy lifestyle. Most mushrooms spread in saunas, swimming pools and beaches. But, since the disease is not new, it can always be overcome with the help of folk remedies. According to statistics, people who lead a healthy lifestyle very often suffer from fungal diseases. Periodically, they visit places of active public recreation, where they are attacked by the virus. The main distributors of this disease are gyms, swimming pools and saunas.
Causes of toenail fungus
It should be noted right away that nail fungus (in medicine, onychomycosis) is a fairly stable type of infection. This disease affects the entire nail as a whole, destroying it and gradually moving to the skin. The causative agent is a common fungal infection, which is transmitted quite easily between people. Onychomycosis can affect the legs in a wide variety of areas. For example, you can wipe your feet once with a stranger's towel and fix this unpleasant virus on your body. That is why it is necessary to observe all the rules of personal hygiene when visiting public places of active recreation and sports. The unpleasantness of the disease lies in the fact that it is not limited to the destruction of the nails, but gradually passes to the skin. Treating a skin fungus is fundamentally different from treating a nail fungus. In any case, if you find a fungus in yourself, immediately visit a mycologist. Only he can determine how to remove the fungus from your body. Nail fungus is often caused by fungal organisms called dermatophytes. The favorite place of these organisms is the toes. The fact is that people are used to wearing relatively tight shoes, which creates the ideal conditions for the existence and prosperity of the fungus (lack of light, heat and humidity). Also, the circulation in the feet is much worse than in other parts of the body, so it is very difficult for our body's immune system to detect and destroy such bacteria. It also increases the risk of getting a fungal infection:
- When working in the heat;
- In the presence of psoriasis;
- When wearing uncomfortable shoes with poor airflow;
- In case of nail damage;
- With diabetes;
- When walking barefoot in various public places (bathrooms, swimming pools, gyms);
- With a weakened immune system, you can catch toenail fungus;
Nail fungus symptoms
The main signs of nail fungus on the legs:
- Deformed shape of the nail;
- The affected nail gradually acquires a darker color;
- The nail exfoliates and becomes too brittle;
Also, the affected nails often exfoliate from the nail bed. In medicine, this deviation is called onycholysis. Pain in the fingertips and a characteristic odor are the first symptoms of onycholysis. If a person with a fungal infection is not provided timely assistance, the disease will persist and subsequently progress and develop. After discovering the primary signs of the disease, a person must visit a qualified doctor to determine how to treat nail fungus.
How to recognize and identify nail fungus?
Many are interested in the question of how to still identify the fungus at home. To do this, you need to take a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and dilute it in water until a purple color appears. You need to lower your legs in this solution and keep them there for a while. In the presence of a fungus, brown areas will necessarily appear on the nails, which will indicate the presence of a fungal infection on the human body. After the procedure, the legs must be treated with a fifteen percent solution of hydrogen peroxide. At the slightest suspicion, you should immediately consult a doctor.
We treat nail fungus with drugs
Separate groups of researchers are confident that at the moment the most effective means of fighting foot fungus are preparations containing terbinafine. The action of the funds is aimed not only at the destruction of the fungus, but also at the renewal of the nail and skin. In total, the treatment time is about two to three months, but the final result of the treatment will only be visible after the new nail has grown. The same drugs can treat the fungus on the hands. The course of treatment is similar. You also need to remember that the fungus can come back if the feet are often in a hot, humid environment. The danger of the disease lies in the fact that the virus itself is unusually tenacious, and besides, it quickly develops immunity to the components that make up the active ingredients. Therefore, if the infection is not treated the first time, subsequent treatment with the same drug will be impossible. The same is true for disease recurrence. In this case, you will have to choose a new medicine and fundamentally different active ingredients.
We get rid of the fungus with the help of proven folk remedies
- Places affected by a fungal infection should be lubricated with a twenty percent solution of propolis. For maximum effect, you can clean them with onion pulp. To do this, you must first crush a few medium-sized onions and apply the resulting mixture to the damaged areas of the skin and nail.
- Mix alcohol and garlic pulp in equal proportions, diluting everything with a small amount of pure distilled water. The resulting mixture must be applied to the damaged areas.
- Garlic compresses are no less effective. It is these compresses that address those types of fungal diseases that are poorly treatable with drugs. In addition to compresses, garlic should be taken orally.
- Patients should definitely drink garlic tinctures and garlic tea - they are great for fungal nail diseases. The result is visible in five or six days.
- Another proven remedy is wine vinegar. Affected feet should be thoroughly washed and dipped in a bowl of wine vinegar. After that, you need to put on your vinegar-soaked socks and go to bed with them.
- Since ancient times, nail fungus has been treated with a fairly simple but effective method - running in the morning through the dew. A half-hour run in the morning dew relieves not only a fungal infection of the feet, but also corns, rashes, calluses, and other things. After the end of the run, the legs do not have to be clean anyway, they must dry out. To enhance the night effect, it is necessary to rub the legs with a piece of raw potato and massage the infected areas. You can use this method for no more than a month. But the first results will be visible in a few weeks.
- Crush the mint leaves with table salt and place the resulting mixture between the toes for an hour. The treatment should be carried out until the complete disappearance of the nail fungus.
- Often folk methods include the use of celandine and milkweed. A bunch of milkweed is taken and poured with three liters of clean boiled water. The mixture is infused for several hours and must be wrapped in a blanket. After the decoction is infused, you need to lower your legs and hold it for thirty or forty minutes once every two days. Euphorbia has a softening effect, which will help cut nails. Similarly, you need to prepare celandine, and it is also used.
- Lilac flowers have proven themselves, which do a great job with nail fungus. About ten grams of lilac flowers are added to a glass of alcohol and left to infuse for two weeks. The dye is used to lubricate infected areas of the skin and nails.
- Another method involves the use of cocklebur leaves. From them you need to squeeze the juice and apply it to the skin and nails.
- Last but not least, a remedy for fighting fungi includes a huge number of different herbs. It is necessary to mix horsetail grass, blackberry leaves, verbena, marigold flowers and willow bark in equal proportions. From this mixture you need to take only ten grams and pour a glass of water. Put everything on the stove and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let it brew for three or four hours. With the finished broth, you need to make lotions and put compresses. To enhance the effect, one tablespoon three to four times a day can be taken orally.