They don’t die from this disease, but it can make life very unpleasant. We are dealing with a disease of the nails, which causes pain, restrictions on certain types of work and, in general, a decrease in the quality of life. In this article, you will read about onychomycosis, treatment and its prevention.
There are several forms of the disease. In the first, most common, disease-causing fungus migrates from the sole of the foot to the nail, penetrating into it through the hyponychium. Inflammation that occurs in these areas provokes the classic manifestations of this kind of disease - a yellow nail.
In the second form, the pathogen penetrates directly onto the nail plate, so the white lesion is not very deep.
In the third variety, the fungus comes to the nail through the nail roller, but this is least likely. In this case, part of the nail plate near the base of the nail is deeply affected.
When the entire nail is affected, total onychomycosis is diagnosed. The treatment in this case is not very different from the treatment in the previously mentioned.
Sometimes onychomycosis is caused by candida, but this happens, as a rule, in people with immune problems or chronic inflammatory diseases of the nail. In such cases, candida is only a secondary cause.
The disease is quite widespread - about half of all cases of nail diseases are cases of onychomycosis. Older people are more likely to suffer than adults. Adults are bigger than children.
How to treat onychomycosis? The specific scheme depends on the variety of the disease, the number of affected nails and the severity of the disorders. If the pathogen penetrated the nail from the sole or through the nail roller, local treatment will not be limited. Total onychomycosis treatment also requires systemic. Only in the case of superficial onychomycosis can simpler measures help. So, how to cure onychomycosis?
Ideally, the doctor combines general treatment and local, because if you restrict yourself to local, the disease can return and intensify. The unpleasant disease of onychomycosis, treatment, however, is not very painful. But self-medication will not help you - if you could spread the cream yourself, then drugs for general treatment are not so accessible and the doctor should prescribe the dose. Do not look for folk remedies, immediately contact a certified doctor. Of course, this disease is not life threatening, but you will prolong your suffering, and you may lose money on dubious means.
Means for surface exposure (amorolfin, bifonazole) are unable to penetrate deep enough to destroy the pathogen, which is why they are used only if the nail plate is slightly damaged or if the patient does not tolerate general treatment. But this is a very, very rare case.
The cyclopirox medicine penetrates deeply, but also cannot help separately, therefore, the doctor must select the funds and take into account the situation of each individual patient. This drug, however, is extremely effective in preventing relapse and is usually used after systemic treatment.
Systemic treatment means taking funds through the mouth, they have an effect on the whole body. These are drugs such as itroconazole and terbinafine (lamisil). These drugs replaced the previously used ones, since they have more effectiveness and less side effects, and also cure faster than after treatment with first-generation drugs. There is also the latest drug fluconazole. However, the most effective is teribinafine, it can reduce the severity of the disease after a few days, bringing relief.
The best prevention is banal hygiene. It is especially important not to wear someone else’s shoes and to use rubber slippers in public showers, as well as thoroughly wash the floor before you step on it, even in slippers. Onychomycosis treatment involves a long (sometimes more than a year until complete recovery), so why be treated if you can not get sick?