Fungi or mycoses thrive in warm and humid places. Therefore, the human body is best suited for the life of entire colonies of various fungi. Hygiene, healthy food, sports and strong immunity protect us from parasites, but always?
Possible causes
- Tight, uncomfortable shoes. The constant debate in tight shoes leads to the fact that bacteria multiply rapidly from sweat and dust. They stay on your feet, inside your shoes, on your toes and on the floor you walked on. Thus, the "bouquet" spreads throughout the house and climbs on the "new" clean feet of your household.
- Bad material for shoes, non-ventilated fabric or dermantine. The same effect of "suffocation" of the feet as in the narrow but beautiful shoes.
- Neglect of hygiene in public places. Never go barefoot in the steam bath, pool, showers and sauna. Disposable slippers do not prevent slipping on the tiles, but mainly from the exchange of foreign bacteria.
- Personal belongings. Do not lend socks, towels, tights, shoes, knee-high, manicure set to yourself or someone else. Use your clean nylon sock in the bridge room.
- Immune problems. Weak or temporarily weakened immunity does not cope well with viral and fungal attacks. This includes people diagnosed with diabetes, AIDS, psoriasis, varicose veins, vascular disease and obesity.
- Failure to follow the rules of foot hygiene. Wash them every day with soap, change socks, cut your nails once a week. Wash your shoes every few weeks or more.
- Corns, calluses, cracks, excessive sweating. Improper treatment or lack thereof, neglect of care and hygiene of painful foci.
Signs by stages of development
Often the external manifestations of the fungus are absent, do not cause attention or do not bother the patient. It is important to identify the symptoms as early as possible and see a doctor.
- First stage: blurred or slightly.
- peeling of the skin of the feet, especially between the toes;
- the appearance of blisters on the skin of the fingers, which burst and cause discomfort;
- small wounds or cracks at the site of the blisters;
- unpleasand smell;
- changes in the structure, color and thickness of the nail; yellow spots, whitish streaks, thickening and porosity of the plate.
- Second stage: squamous-hyperkeratotic.
- Third stage: intertriginous.
- Fourth stage: dyshydrotic.
More often, the fungus chooses the thumb, which infects everyone else. Mostly men are sick: they have increased sweating, which puts their feet at high risk of developing the disease.
The feet are itchy, the skin between the toes is covered with white crusts, there is an increasing burning sensation. It becomes impossible to ignore anxiety.
Mycosis penetrates deep into the epidermis: the skin between the fingers becomes inflamed, wet and flaky. Painful wet wounds and cracks remain open. They point and hurt. It becomes almost impossible to walk. The focus of inflammation has clearly defined edges.
The skin of the feet is completely affected. Blisters and blisters cover the feet, bursting with fluid. It is impossible to move, the wounds hurt and itch a lot.
Nail treatment is long - from 1-2 months, if the symptoms appeared in the first stage and a dermatologist helped you in time. Neglected forms, even the strongest therapy cannot be cured quickly.
Therapies
It is possible to decide on treatment only after confirmation of the diagnosis. For example, foot peeling is a typical seasonal dermatitis. Taking it as a fungus on the nails of the big toes and treating it with vinegar at home, the skin will suffer twice. And the improvement will not come.
Traditional methods are good in the early stages or as adjunctive therapy. Doctors warn that home remedies eliminate only external manifestations. Relapse will certainly occur when the immune system is weakened. The drug is suitable for all stages.
Medicines
The doctor conducts treatment with the help of a complex:
- antifungal ointments, foams, creams and tablets;
- decisions and "speakers" of pharmacy preparation;
- immunostimulants and vitamins.
The laser is gaining popularity. The procedure is intended primarily for the plate and no tablets are required. There are contraindications to treatment (pregnancy, lactation, oncology, skin damage), which is why it is not a universal method, and also expensive.
In advanced form, antifungal drugs are changed several times per course due to the addiction of mushrooms to the active ingredient. The affected nails are removed in a hospital. The feet are regularly lifted and cleaned of crusts, flaky skin, if this is not a neglected type (without open wounds).
Household and leisure shoes are either disinfected or discarded. Socks are washed, boiled and ironed at the maximum allowable temperature. During the treatment, distribute all bed linen, clothes that you touch with your feet, as well as shower accessories. Wash them thoroughly after use to avoid re-infection.
ethnoscience
These home remedies are always available to relieve symptoms before your first visit to your doctor.
- Potatoes.
Boil the washed peels and mash them. Pour hot potato broth into a basin and warm your feet. After steaming your legs well, rub the puree into your feet. Soak for a while until the compress cools. Rinse with warm water and grease the hearths with lard (remember to be internal).
- Table vinegar.
Mix in equal parts with water and make an elastic dough. Apply tightly on the nail and fix with plaster. Protect the delicate skin of the finger with a film or plaster so that the acid does not damage the epidermis. Change the compress daily for 4-5 days until the plate is removed.
The second way. Collect 200 ml of vinegar and lower the washed chicken egg. Wait until the acid completely eats the shell and a homogeneous mixture is formed. Apply to sore spots in the morning and evening for a month.
- Iodine.
The affected areas are smeared with a swab soaked in iodine daily. There is a high risk of skin burns and provoking increased flaking, burning and dryness.
- Lemon juice.
A slice of lemon is applied for 8-10 days until the nail separates.
Compresses with corrosive, acidic, burning mixtures should not be used if the skin has wounds and cracks. The neglected form is an open wound, falling into which even water brings sharp pain.
- Garlic.
Folk medicine against all diseases confidently fights bacteria and fungi. Take 50 grams of butter and a clove of crushed garlic, stir and leave to simmer for 24 hours. Apply to sore spots in the evening after washing the feet, the treatment lasts 30 days.
- Salt baths.
The fungus is destroyed with sea salt. Add a tablespoon of salt to a bowl of water in the evening and steam your legs.
- Rowan.
Fresh green leaves are ground to a pulp and a compress is made with polyethylene overnight. The result of the folk remedy will be noticeable in 10 days.
- Hole, chamomile and violet.
The herbs are mixed in equal parts and boiled with boiling water. Gauze with warm infusion is wrapped around the legs. Change the compress while it dries, and apply only at home at rest.
- Propolis.
Apply to the affected areas every day until the symptoms disappear.
- Coffee.
Make black natural coffee and leave to cool. They put the limbs with the fungus in the drink and soar. Do it carefully so that the coffee grounds do not stir. Look for good beans that are not overcooked. This procedure relieves the symptoms and helps the dead skin to separate painlessly.
- Horseradish.
Grate fresh horseradish. All you need for the compress is a teaspoon. Do it at night every time you cut your nails. Continue until a new solid plate grows. Be extremely careful - horseradish stings a lot on the mucous membranes and open wounds.
If you do not have an advanced form, the symptoms have just appeared and the doctor has confirmed the assumptions, then alternative methods sometimes completely help to heal. Also, nail removal methods can become this lifeline when a doctor prescribes surgical removal.