Tinea pedis and nail fungus are infectious diseases caused by a variety of fungi.Infections occur quickly, and treatment of the disease takes months, sometimes even years.After determining the type of fungal pathogen, the doctor will prescribe a treatment for the disease.Onychomycosis and mycosis often go together because the infection spreads from the nails to the skin of the feet and vice versa.
The causes, symptoms, and treatment of fungi are popular topics of interest to many people.The disease has a high prevalence, affecting young people, the elderly and children.The disease is treatable with the right medication regimen.Therefore, you need to understand how the pathology develops and how to cure it.
What are Onychomycosis and Fungi, Causes and Symptoms
Mycosis is a general term for infection; onychomycosis is an infection of the nail plate.To treat foot fungus and nail fungus, medications from the same group are used.This applies to tablets, topical preparations and injectable solutions.For successful treatment, the rules for use of each drug must be strictly followed.Treatment should not be interrupted, since the fungal colonies, unaffected by the drug, multiply at an accelerated rate and remain as numerous as before the start of surgery.
The causes of fungi are all the same:
- Infection of patients in public places, swimming pools, baths, and reservoirs.
- Using someone else's shoes or uncomfortable shoes or contaminated hygiene products.
- Failure to follow the rules for keeping your feet dry.
- Sweating is not treated promptly.
- Traumatic damage to the skin of the feet and the cornea of the nails.
- Improper use of medications, especially antibiotics.
Doctors consider disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic processes, hormonal disorders, pathologies of vascular blood flow in the extremities, diabetes and obesity as systemic causes of fungal infections.
Symptoms of foot and nail fungus are hard to ignore because they can cause a lot of discomfort.Among them, the most common are:
- Itchy skin on feet and between toes;
- peeling of the dermis;
- the occurrence of wounds and other injuries;
- Nails lose their healthy color, become discolored, and then turn gray;
- The dish thickens, takes on a loose appearance, and crumbles;
- The deformation continues until the cornea is destroyed and infection enters the nail bed.
Symptoms gradually worsen, but itching begins on the first day the pathogen enters.
This is important!Foot and nail fungus treatments should be used immediately when signs of illness appear.Delays in treatment can make treatment difficult and lead to dangerous consequences, including damage to internal organs.
Mycoses of the skin and nails have age-related characteristics—onychomycosis is rare in children; adults also suffer.Foot fungus occurs in all ages.
What you need to know about the principles of treating the disease
In order to fully recover from fungal infections, patients must undergo long-term treatment, which must be taken after diagnosis and as prescribed by a doctor.There are many antifungal medications available at pharmacies, but choosing one on your own without consulting a dermatologist or infectious disease specialist means wasting money and harming your health.
For some people, treating foot fungus with ointments is effective, others require a combination of topical and oral medications, and if the condition is severe and complications occur, injections may be combined with other methods.
Expert advice.The main requirement of comprehensive therapy is the use of effective multifunctional drugs to treat foot and nail fungus and prevent the disease.Recurrence of the disease can occur due to the viability of the spores.
It can be prevented by disinfecting shoes with chloramine or formaldehyde.Mushrooms die within half an hour of exposure to these substances.
About types of antifungal drugs
Pharmacies have developed a category of topical medications that are sold in pharmacies and available to customers without a prescription.These include:
- Creams, ointments, gels;
- Solution, serum;
- Sprays, varnishes;
- Plaster.
They are generally effective, have minimal side effects, and can be used by both adults and children.The key to successfully fighting fungal diseases is regular use and compliance with the program.After seeing a doctor, you will know the steps, the frequency and dosage of medication, and you will be cured.Recovery usually occurs within 4-6 months with topical treatments.
If the infection has progressed, topical treatment of the fungus on the nail plate is irrelevant.A combination is required - topical medication plus tablets.It is done under the supervision of a doctor because it has significant side effects.
About Creams, Ointments and Solutions
How to treat foot and nail fungus, which topical preparations are effective in dealing with microbial colonies, according to user and expert reviews?The list below will help answer this question.
- An affordable salicylic acid cream that is applied 3-4 times daily to the affected areas of the skin and cornea.If you do the procedure at night, wait for the product to be absorbed and then put on socks.
- Ointment containing undecanoic acid.The application is the same as in the first case.
- Formaldehyde treats sweaty feet and kills microorganisms that cause infection to spread.Available in solution form.
- Boric acid + Resorcinol - used as a means of removing nails affected by fungi, contains boric acid, which has antiseptic and drying properties.Suitable for use on skin with fungal infection.The drug is used as a component of comprehensive therapy for the disease.
Special products for removing affected nails
To achieve painless detachment of the cornea, specially designed preparations are used.
According to the characteristics of the doctor, medicines based on urea, isopropyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol are not medicines for the treatment of fungal infections.With its help, you can remove the affected plate without resorting to surgical methods.This alternative method allows you to eliminate diseased nails at home.
This effective drug promotes convergence of the cornea and restoration of the bed layer.It contains stearic acid, propylene glycol, urea, triethanol, tea tree oil.The process is performed as follows:
- Steam your nails in a bath and add a softener made of water, soda and soap;
- Solution concentration - 1 teaspoon per liter of water.Element;
- Dry your feet with a towel and protect your nail folds with a bandage;
- Apply the product in a thick layer without getting it onto the surrounding tissue, and cover the top with a bandage.
After 4 days, remove the bandage and scrape off the remnants of the plate.If it is not possible to remove the plate in one go, repeat the operation.
Another drug has the same effect as the previous one, but its composition is different - it contains the ingredients PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, urea, beeswax and lotion wax, glycerin; the acid ingredients - salicylic acid, stearic acid, as well as methylisothiazolinone, propylene glycol, peppermint, lavender and other esters.
How to Treat Onychomycosis with Varnish
Antifungal nail polish is the most common product that can be used under a cosmetic coating.The advantage is that defects are hidden and treated at the same time, without any negative impact on the body.In this way, it is recommended to get rid of the initial stages of the disease.Well-known brands of varnish pharmaceutical products are:
- Amorolfine.The cure works by destroying the fungal cell membrane.Apply twice a week.
- Rye enzyme filtrate - in the form of serum, perfectly saturates the diseased tissue of the plate up to the bed.You can use it more often than varnish and perform the procedure daily, speeding up the healing process.
The duration of varnish treatment is up to one year.You can then use these products as a preventive measure.
Good to know!Topical medications and varnishes will not help in complex forms of fungal disease.Comprehensive treatment algorithms are effective against advanced fungi.
Tablet
The use of drugs in the form of tablets for the treatment of foot and nail fungus is indicated in the third stage of the disease, the emergence of complications, and infections that penetrate the mucous membranes and other organs.A condition for the use of the ointment plus tablet complex is the development of inflammatory processes and bacterial infections against the background of fungal colonies.
A group of antipeptide drugs are considered effective and inexpensive treatments for fungi.These are effective treatments, but they cannot be purchased without a prescription because they can have side effects.Therefore, you should discuss a treatment plan with your doctor.
- Fluconazole.Topical therapy used to combat different stages of foot and nail fungus.
- Ketoconazole is available in every drugstore without a prescription and is designed to eliminate skin infections.
- Itraconazole preparation is a high-priced drug that fights fungal diseases of the feet, nails and fungi of the mucous membranes.
- Terbinafine preparations treat advanced fungi; they contain the active ingredient terbinafine (in tablet or ointment form), which kills many types of colonies, destroying the fungus at the cellular level.
Common topical medications
An effective treatment for foot and nail fungus is salicylic acid ointment, which can reduce inflammation and itching, providing relief to patients.In the same row is sulfur ointment - it stops the spread of infection; both cost a penny but perfectly eliminate the symptoms of foot problems.
Castellani's fluid penetrates the corneal tissue on the damaged nail and kills pathogenic colonies.Use with caution; may cause burns if in contact with skin.
Antifungal drops and sprays can help fight this disease.
Clotrimazole is used to treat infections that affect the skin of the feet and infections that penetrate the mucous membranes.Available in cream, ointment, and suppository forms.
The use of the veterinary drug Creolin is allowed to treat fungal infections.It is used to treat infected areas and the product is washed off after a period of time.It has an unpleasant odor but fights against fungi, mites and other microbial colonies.
The simplest method is to treat the affected area with iodine.Its antiseptic properties are well known; the solution kills harmful microorganisms, including being effective against fungal spores.
How to treat with home remedies
You already know how to treat foot and nail fungus and what medications are available in pharmacies.For this disease, baths based on oils, propolis, decoctions, infusions and other independently prepared ingredients are used as additional methods.
oil therapy
Using natural oils can effectively reduce the risk of infection from a fresh infection.Mix equal parts tea tree oil and lavender.Add two parts of olive oil to the mixture and use the resulting product to lubricate the affected areas of nails and feet overnight.
foot bath
- Lemon juice plus Listerine and apple cider vinegar.Mix all ingredients in equal parts and add to bath water.The concentration is three scoops of this composition per 1 liter.The daily 15-minute procedure will help speed up the treatment process and restore dermal and corneal cells.
- Make a soda bath according to the recipe: one tablespoon of soda plus 20 grams of shaving and laundry soap.Let your feet soak in the tub for 40 minutes, during which time the solution penetrates the skin cells of your feet and nail plates.
- Pink potassium permanganate bath.The duration of this process is 20 minutes.
- Salt plus vinegar at a concentration of 100 g + 4 tbsp/4 liters of water.The salt can be table salt or sea salt.
- 3% Hydrogen Peroxide - Apply for 2 minutes, then apply a paste of water and hydrogen peroxide to your nails and wash it off once the fizzing stops.
folk remedies
They can effectively relieve painful itching and irritation on the skin of the feet and around the nails.Use medicines to provide therapeutic support.Independent folk treatments without drugs are not effective against fungal diseases.
To eliminate the risk of spreading infection, use celandine juice.Lubricate problem areas without washing the product off.Multiple such operations are allowed per day.
Wrap the chopped garlic around the affected area and leave it on your nails overnight and then on your skin for 10 minutes.
Apply kombucha, melted propolis, or oak bark infusion to problem areas.
To restore skin tissue and nail plates, you can take a bath with herbal decoctions.For this, use chamomile, thyme, nettles, calendula.
in conclusion.A wide range of medicines, combined with the therapeutic power of local, oral and folk remedies, help ensure complete cure of fungal diseases of the feet and nails.This is a long process, so be patient and learn how to properly use the tips provided in this article.If you follow the advice, unpleasant problems will be eliminated.