Hardly a man has this disease, like the fungus of the nail. Someone familiar with the diagnosis of advertising means pharmacological, and someone had discovered the disease in the first person, leaving the office of a dermatologist or by only the its to diagnose.
Definition
The medical term onychomycosis (lat. onychomycosis) in Latin means fungus of the nail, and serves on the denomination of the disease is an infectious fungal. This is the most widespread in the world, the defeat of the nail plate and to the front of her soft tissue: according to the statistics of the world health organization (WHO) fungal infections of the foot suffers from approximately 27% of the people, and this figure is almost double the amount of fungus in the nails on the fingers of the hands.
Types of fungal diseases of the nails
Onychomycosis classify the appearance of the affected areas. Because a symptom of the classification acts as seems to be fungus on the nails, it differs in three types, depending on the clinical manifestations:
- atrophic, or onycholitic – in which the nail plate is affected in a significant way, up to the degree of rejection from the nail bed;
- hypertrophic view, in which he lost the natural shine nail changes its color (white, sparkling, or, on the contrary, it darkens) and the property (tangible thickens) with the advent of a different type of deformations and collapses on the edges;
- normotroficheskie – view, is characterized by its smaller degree of defeats, in which the nail plate thickens, remaining glossy and smooth, but the exterior is transformed through the presence on it of spots, stripes, and other noticeable changes in its natural transparency and colour.
There is another classification, according to which the fungus on the nails divided into categories according to the specific place defeat:
- total, in which the pathogenic process involved the whole nail plate;
- distal – form defeat only on the free edge of the nail, extends above the fingertip;
- proximal, in which collapses the edge of the plate, out from under the nails of the cushion (opposite the free edge of the nail!);
- side form of defeat, to the sides of the nail plate.
What is the pathology
Common among the population of fungal diseases of the nails have a external similarities with other skin diseases are not fungal. Depending on the stage of the disease, the nails begin to look healthy, because they lose their natural sheen and transparency.
Smooth and regular, become thick and deformed, and are covered with various color (usually white or dirty yellow) flowering. Fabric is soft, destructible parasite keratin layer is also involved in inflammatory reactions, swelling.
If we consider the picture of the destruction of the nail plate in the dynamic perspective of the disease, its can be divided into three stages:
- The first step is almost no sign of even slight fogging, spots or streaks on the vinyl.
- On the so-called the express phase, the rapid evolution of the initial, all the symptoms of onychomycosis becomes apparent.
- In the execution stage is the limit of the degeneration of the nail, may be the appearance of bad smells decomposition of the tissues.
The symptoms of nail fungus
The symptoms of athlete's foot corresponds to the conditional history of developing pathogenic process, the speed of which depends on the particular type of pathogen, and the individual characteristics of the state of health of the sick.
So how to identify the fungus on the nails before visiting an office of a dermatologist? Look closely to the characteristic symptoms, maintainer fungal infection of the nails of the fingers:
- The first nail drives lose a glossy sheen, becoming dull and rough.
- Transparent and pink, the nail changes color, becoming whitish, grey or dirty yellow.
- The plate thickness increases.
- On the surface of the organ appear to be defects in the form of stripes, waves, irregularities, curves, etc.
- The nail is fragile, it begins to stratify and crumble.
- Fingers due to the accumulation of inflammatory processes begin to emit an unpleasant odor.
In the end, completely destroyed exposed nail onycholysis, that is peeling, exposing pringtime bed.
Causes onychomycosis
The disease is one of the manifestations of athlete's foot, represents a defeat in this case, the nail plate micro-organisms-by the dermatophyte fungus, one (or more!) of the three genres:
- Microsporum (species canis);
- Trichophyton (types rubrum – 90% of all fungal infections, mentagrophytes, interdigitale, and tonsurans) – the most often encountered pathogens of fungal infections;
- Epidermophyton (view floccosum).
Representatives of all three genera, united in the name of collective "foot nail fungus", when it is ingested, colonize (i.e. localized) death of a derivative of the epidermis of the skin:
- the nails;
- hair.
The reason for this selectivity habitat micro-parasites lies in their nutrition: all the representatives as a source of energy using fibrillar protein keratin, destroying with this, nails and hair.
Methods of infection
All types of pathogens, pathogens transmitted by contact
- the physical contact — from an infected person to a healthy;
- through the things that come into contact with pierced parts of the body (shoes, items for personal care, etc.).
The contact with the nails or the skin, and is become the habitat of the parasite, allows live representatives of the fungi to enter into healthy areas of the body.
In this case, the causative agent onychomycosis has managed to achieve the infiltration of human tissue, it requires conditions such as:
- damage to the integrity of the skin (dermatitis, rashes caused by the diaper, vascular and skin diseases, abrasions, wounds, etc);
- weakening of the immune system;
- the presence of concomitant diseases (genodermatosis, and hemolytic disease, immune and endocrine disorders);
- welcome to cytotoxic and hormonal drugs, but also antibiotics.
In relation to the above, the penetration of the parasite in the body of a healthy person does not in all cases causes the clinical manifestations of the disease, or only very weakly pronounced forms of the disease.
Because of certain individual conditions, which include and a strong immune protection, the man, while remaining outwardly healthy, becomes a carrier of a parasite, to infect other people.
How to recognize the disease
Because of the similarity mycotic defeats with mechanical deformations and the symptoms of other diseases of the nail plate, on the basis of the clinical diagnosis is not just the external signs — such as seems to be the fungus of the nail, and again and improve their results of micro-studies.
For the laboratory are used particles of soil struck the nail, producing by scraping the nail fungus special tools.
A particular type of parasite that is registered with the help of two more convenient search:
- culture, by the insertion of a biological sample of the affected tissue in an appropriate environment of rearing;
- molecular-biological method or the so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
More accurate and informative diagnosis DNA is not yet widespread enough.
In response to the question: "how to recognize nail fungus in the home, dermatologists recommend, however, to consult a specialist for carrying out complete, and in necessary cases, and differential diagnosis.
How dangerous is nail fungus
Simple nail fungus symptoms has, however unpalatable, but traditional for fungal infections: stratification of the nail, the pain, etc.
But in some cases, a mycotic can participate in, for example, a bacterial infection, or the disease may run off marked, with the appearance of blisters, ulcerations, weeping land surrounding soft tissues.
Happens, drug therapy, long-stalked outpatient treatment (more than 16 weeks!), it is not inefficient, and the disease progresses.
How dangerous is nail fungus, in the long term is not susceptible of treatment? In an inflammatory process that involves the organs, and their system, and so may need emergency hospitalisation at the hospital of the patient.
Methods of treatment nail fungus
In the early stages of the disease, official medicine adheres to conservative with the appointment of pharmacological treatment.
Anti-mycotic drugs intended to destroy the fungus under the nail, contain a substance capable of actively oppress the vital functions, and its variety of timbres. To obtain an effective therapy can be used drug in different forms, at times assigned in a complete way:
- pills to take orally (through the gastrointestinal tract, usually with water), is prescribed in the absence of the desired effect from the external medicines;
- ointments, pastes and gels, for local external use, apply the medication directly on the affected parasite part of the body;
- aerosol;
- solution (resorcinol, boric acid, brilliant green, etc.) and the suspension, for applications that soaked through the towel on the affected area, or the use of the drug in the form of medicinal baths.
Drugs for topical use, usually twice a day, until resolution of the clinical manifestations. In case of a significant keratoses in order to facilitate the penetration of dosage form deep keratin instruction produced a partial detachment of the. If the signs of nail fungus are witness to the accession of secondary bacterial infection, patients recommended combination of antibiotics.
Important! If the appeal to the Anti-mycotic tools for the control of possible functional disorders necessarily produce biochemistry of the liver (analysis of blood serum for the presence of bilirubin, in the presence of the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase gamma glutamyltransferase, etc.
If the patient, the physician, for example, the fungus of the nail of the thumb, suddenly appear in inflammatory processes of acute and/or severe itching, the use of tools:
- antihistaminicas (swelling and inflammation);
- desensitize (reduce the sensitivity).
Therapy through the use of pharmaceutical means, usually, is the sealing of the road and takes a long period of time of not less than three months!
The duration of treatment explains the introduction of the pathogen in the structure of the nail, in relation to the required time for updating, with the progressive substantial cutting of the affected areas. In the case where the disease is in a phase in which the drug treatment does not give positive results (total module), or the patient – the person of the senile age, have resorted to drastic methods, by removing surgically ruined parasite the nail.
Prevention
The best treatment is prevention measures, because preventing disease is much easier than before to solve the nail fungus, and then get rid of it. Good ways to prevent infection is the strict observance of the rules of personal hygiene, in particular in public areas, threatening the danger of potential contacts with people of athlete's foot, but also prevention:
- the primary, as the removal of abnormal dryness of the skin, scratches, minor injuries and hyperhidrosis, and in the case of pop-up – timely treatment, for example, aluminium hydrochloride 15% with ditilinom glycol 1% with the increased sweating of the feet;
- secondary disinfection solutions special objects that come in contact with an outbreak of mycosis (shoes, towels, etc.).
Positioning of the faithful information, from what appears to be fungus on the nails, it is possible to protect themselves and their loved ones from infection, and in the case of illness, timely and appropriate methods of treatment are able to speed up the recovery.