There's hardly a person who's never heard of such a pathology, like a nail fungus. Anyone know the diagnosis of ad, the pharmaceutical drug, someone found out that the disease first-hand, so the dermatologist's office, or diagnose yourself.
Definition
The medical term onychomycosis (lat. onychomycosis) is Latin and means that the nail fungus, and markers of infectious diseases of a fungal nature. This is the most common in the world, the defeat of the nail plate and the adjacent soft tissues: the statistics according to the world health organization (who), the athlete's foot affects the population was 27%, but this number is almost twice as much fungal infections of the nails, of the fingers.
Types of fungal infections on nails
Onychomycosis is usually classified according to the appearance of the affected areas. As a symptom classification performance, which looks like a mushroom, the nails, the differential of three types, depending on the clinical symptoms:
- atrophic, or onycholitic– in which the nail plate is affected significantly, to the point that the rejection of the nail bed;
- hypertrophic form, which they lost natural light with the nail, change of color (white, or, on the contrary, in the dark), the structure (material thickens) with the advent of the various lesions also broken at the edges;
- normotroficheskie – the species is characterized by the smallest degree of damage which the nail plate is not thickened, while the remaining shiny, smooth, but still externally transformed the appearance of spots, streaks and other visible changes in the natural transparency and colour.
There is another classification according to which nail fungus is divided into types depending on the lesion:
- total, in which the pathogenic process covered the entire nail plate;
- the distal form lesions only on the free edge of the nail active the finger pad;
- proximal, which destroys the edge, so the nail shaft (as opposed to the free edge of the nail!);
- the side form involving lesions in the lateral side of the nail plate.
It looks like the pathologist
Common in the population of fungal nail diseases similar to other dermatological diseases of a fungal nature. Depending on the stage of the disease, the nails begin to look unhealthy, because you lose the natural light and transparency.
The smooth, flat, to become thick, deformed, covered with various colors (usually white or dirty yellow), shades of. Soft tissue that was destroyed by the parasite keratin layer is also involved in the inflammatory response, swelling.
If you look at the picture of the destruction of the nail plate from the perspective of the dynamics of the disease, then it can be divided into three consecutive stages:
- In the first stage, there is almost no signal, except for light tarnish, dots or stripes on the record.
- The so-called severe stage, the fast-paced in the beginning, the symptoms of onychomycosis becomes obvious.
- Advanced – this is the perfect degeneration of the nail, can be added to a smell of the rotting tissue.
The symptoms of fungus in the nails
The symptoms of athlete's foot corresponds to the chronology of the development of the pathogenic process, the speed of which depends on the particular type of pathogen and the individual characteristics of the health condition of the patient.
So how to determine nail fungus before you visit the dermatologist's office? Look closely at the typical symptoms that accompany a fungal infection of the nail plates on my fingers:
- First, the nail plate to lose the shiny sheen, becoming a dull, rough.
- And transparent, pink, the nail will change color, becoming whitish, gray or dirty yellow.
- The plate thickness increases.
- The surface of the body defects appear in the form of stripes, waves, bumps, curves, etc.
- The nail seems frail, it starts the nail, and then collapse.
- Fingers, because the increase in the inflammatory processes begin to emit an unpleasant odor.
In the end, completely destroyed the exposed nail onycholysis, i.e. exfoliation, exposing the pringtime in bed.
Causes of onychomycosis
Pathology is one of the manifestations of the fungal infection, which loss, in this case, the nail plate micro-organisms-dermatophytes one (or more!) the three genera:
- Microsporum (species canis);
- Trichophyton (rubrum species, 90% of fungal infections mentagrophytes, inter digitale, as well as tonsurans) is the most common causative agents of fungal infections;
- Epidermophyton (floccosum species).
Representatives of all three genera, United in the common name is "nail fungus", if ingested, colonize (i.e., local) of keratinized derivatives of the skin, the skin:
- the nails;
- the hair.
The reason for this is that the selectivity, habitats, micro-parasites lies in their power: all members as the source of energy used by the fibrillar protein, keratin, that destroys the nails and the hair.
Methods of infection
All types of disease-causing pathogens transmitted by the contact method:
- physical contact with an infected person to a healthy;
- use the things that come in contact with the affected body parts (shoes, personal items, etc.).
Contact your nails or the skin to change the habitat of the parasite, which allows the living representatives of the fungus to healthy parts of the body.
At the same time that the pathogen onychomycosis was able to carry out the infiltration of human tissue requires conditions, such as:
- damage to the skin integrity (dermatitis, diaper rash, vascular, and skin diseases, abrasions, wounds, etc.);
- a weakened immune system;
- the presence of concomitant diseases (genodermatosis, and hemolytic disease of the immune system, and endocrine diseases);
- receiving cytostatic and hormonal preparations and antibiotics.
In connection with the above, the penetration of the parasite in the body of a healthy person not in every case, without exception, leads to the clinical symptoms of the disease, or only very weakly expressed form of the pathology.
Whereas, in certain specific circumstances, including the strong immune protection, the person who is seemingly healthy, there will be a carrier of the parasite infectious to other people.
How to recognize the disease
Because of the similarity in the mycotics lesions with mechanical symptoms, lesions, and other diseases of the nail plate on the basis of the clinical diagnosis is not just the external signs — what is nail fungus, and more, supplemented by the results of the micro-studies.
The laboratory tests used piece of land affected nail, which is a scraping of the fungus in the nail special tools.
The specific form of the parasite is revealed by two convenient research:
- culture by the biological sample of the patient tissue in a special medium;
- a molecular biological method, or the so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
More accurate DNA diagnosis is still not common.
The answer to the question: "how to recognize a nail fungus at home", the experience a dermatologist I advise you to contact the specialist for carrying out a comprehensive, in the necessary cases, and differential diagnosis.
What's the risk of nail fungus
Simple nail fungus symptoms there are, although unpleasant, but the traditional yeast infections: stratification of the nail, pain, etc.
But in some cases the infected people can connect to, for example, bacterial infection, or the disease may occur acutely, to the appearance of blisters, ulcers, weeping areas of the adjacent soft tissues.
Sometimes, medical treatment, continuous, long-term outpatient (more than 16 weeks!), not ineffective, the disease progresses.
How dangerous is nail fungus long-term use? The inflammatory process in the affected organs and systems, and then may need emergency hospitalization of the patient.
Methods of treatment of fungus nails
In the early stages of the disease, conventional medicine uses conservative methods, the appointment of medical treatment.
Anti-infection medicine, which aims to destroy the fungus under the nail, contain substances able to inhibit the activity of the various cliches. In order to achieve effective treatment can be used in different pharmacological forms, sometimes complex order:
- tablet — oral (the gastro-intestinal tract, usually drinking water), which in the absence of the desired effect, the topical medication;
- ointments, pastes, or gels local for use, the drug is applied directly to the affected part of the parasite body;
- aerosols;
- the solution (resorcinol, boric acid, brilliant green, etc.) as well as the suspension applications tool-soaked cloth on the affected area, or the use of the drug in the form of a therapeutic bath.
The remedies usually twice a day until resolution of clinical manifestations. In the case of a significant keratosis to facilitate the penetration of the pharmaceutical form of the keratin formation is carried out by the partial detachment of. If you have symptoms of nail fungus also indicate that a secondary bacterial infection, the patients recommended combination of antibiotics.
Important! If you resort to systemic Anti-infection means to monitor possible functional disorders necessarily the biochemical study of the liver (serum analysis for the presence of bilirubin, the presence of the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-laboratory glutamyl-transferase, etc.
If the patient's part, such as the nail fungus on the thumb, suddenly appears with acute inflammation and/or severe itching, resort to means that:
- antihistaminicas (swelling, inflammation);
- insensitive (sensitivity reduction).
The therapy using pharmacological agents, as a rule, a class lasts for a long time not less than three months!
This is the duration of treatment due to the introduction of the pathogen the structure of the nail, it takes time to update, in accordance with the gradual circumcision affected areas. If the disease the stage at which medical treatment does not give positive results (total form), or the patient – the person of the old, resort to radical methods of surgical removal of a parasite destroyed the nail.
Prevention
The best treatment is preventive activities, whereas prevention is much easier than the first, to settle the fungus on the nail and get rid of it. A good way to prevent infection is supported by strict adherence to the rules of personal hygiene, especially in public places, the imminent danger of possible contact with native speakers of fungal infections as well as prevention:
- primary, exceptional, unusual dryness of the skin, abrasions, minor wounds, increased sweating, and in case of their occurrence – immediate treatment, for example, aluminium hydrochloride 15% ditilinom glycol 1% of excessive sweating in the feet;
- secondary disinfection special solutions elements of the connection to the source, the athlete's foot (shoes, towels, etc.).
That you have the correct information, what looks like nail fungus, it is realistic to protect themselves from family intrusion, and in the case if the disease is timely, appropriate treatment methods can accelerate the healing.