Onychomycosis – What is it, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments!
What is Onychomycosis: As already explained in the introduction of this article, Onychomycosis is an infection of the toenail or fingernail caused by fungi.
Fungal nail infections are usually caused by a fungus that belongs to a group called dermatophytes, which can also cause infections of the body hair and skin, as in the case of chilblains (athlete’s foot). Another group of fungi that can also cause mycosis of the toenail are yeasts. In general, yeasts cause hand onychomycosis and dermatophytes cause toenail onychomycosis .
Symptoms of Onychomycosis: Nail mycosis does not usually produce any symptoms other than cosmetic changes to the nails. In more severe cases, however, it can cause pain. In diabetic or immunosuppressed patients, Onychomycosis can serve as a gateway for bacteria, favoring the emergence of secondary infections.
Onychomycosis Treatment:: Toenail fungus isa difficult infection to treat because the nails grow slowly and receive little blood supply. Until the recent past, the drugs used to treat onychomycosis were not very effective and the results were often disappointing. In the last decade, however, treatments for patients with onychomycosis have improved substantially, mainly because of the introduction of more effective oral antifungal medications.
- Recent studies show that oral medications such as Terbinafine and Itraconazole have higher cure rates than Griseofulvin and Ketoconazole, the most commonly used drugs in the past.
- Terbinafine treatment with oral tablets should be done with 1 tablet of 250 mg daily for 6 weeks for onychomycosis of the hands or 12 weeks for onychomycosis of the feet.
- Topical treatment of mycosis with nail polish, such as Ciclopirox, does not usually work alone, but can be used as an adjunct to treatment with terbinafine or oral Itraconazole.
- Once the mycosis of the nail is cured, if the patient is not careful, the reinfection rate can reach 50%. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful with the feet so that the nails do not become colonized by fungi again.
Care for Onychomycosis:
- Clean your feet daily, drying them very well;
- Always use flip-flops in changing rooms, swimming pools and public places and where there may be standing water;
- Do not share footwear;
- Do not cut the cuticles;
- Do not self- treat ;
- Do not postpone/postpone treatments;
- Keep the pet’s skin or fur under surveillance, as it can be a source of contamination;
- Consult the podiatrist as soon as you notice any changes in the nails .