Fungal diseases of the skin and nails belong to the group of human infectious diseases caused by pathogenic fungi. Fungal infections (yeast infections) are different. There are very severe forms of infections with a high death rate. However, few people suffer from it. Nail fungus is not one of them and it is impossible to die from it directly. But fungal infection of the skin and nails is one of the most common fungal diseases. It is a contagious disease that is transmitted from person to person.
What does nail fungus look like?
Many people do not pay attention to changes in the nail plates, very often viewing these changes as a consequence of trauma or age characteristics. Fungal nail diseases have many different manifestations. But as a rule, changes in nails with a fungal disease have three main manifestations: changes in the color of the nail plate, its thickening, crumbling or destruction.
Mushroom or not fungus?
So, you may notice changes in the skin or the nail plates. It remains to be seen whether it is a fungus or not.
There are many non-fungal diseases of the skin and nails - several hundred names. However, according to statistics, every second nail disease is fungal. That is, if your nails are changed, the risk of getting nail fungus is 50%, regardless of the manifestations and factors. But what about diseases of the skin of the feet? They obey the same laws of probability. That is, most of the lesions on the skin of the feet are fungal. Remember that untreated fungus on the skin of the feet will sooner or later turn into nail fungus. And it is not that easy to get rid of nail fungus. Don't be fooled. If you think you have a skin or nail disease, contact your mycologist!
Despite the fact that most nail changes turn out to be fungus, another nature of these changes needs to be taken into account. Here it is necessary to emphasize, first of all, the chronic trauma of the nails. Changes in the nails can occur with some common skin diseases, internal infectious diseases, damage to the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular systems, various types of poisoning, as well as dystrophy. Finally, nail changes can be congenital. These nail changes look like fungal infections on the outside, but they are not. Treatment with antifungal drugs for non-fungal nail diseases, of course, will not be successful. This is another reason to see a mycologist and not try to treat yourself for any nail change.
Can you recognize nail fungus yourself?
No you can not! And not a single professional doctor, no matter how experienced, will undertake the treatment of a fungal disease without confirming the diagnosis in the laboratory, even with the most typical signs of yeast infection on the legs. Laboratory confirmation is a prerequisite for any fungal disease. Simply put, if the lab finds a fungus in a skin flake or piece of nail taken for analysis, then it is a fungal disease.
Dilemma: to treat or not to treat a fungus?
Some people have doubts about the usefulness of treatment for nail fungus. Many argue as follows: Does the treatment of a fungal disease require money? Requires. How long will it take to be treated? Maybe for a long time. So, really, why bother getting treatment for a yeast infection? Is it all the same that the nails are changed, because they can finally be hidden. . .
Is this game worth the candle? Why do you need yeast infection treatment? Let's try to understand this problem. . . Once started, the fungal infection won't go anywhere until the fungus is destroyed. Fungi are very stubborn and can survive for months in fallen skin scales. So what can you expect from the fungus lurking in the nails? First of all, the cells of the fungus enter the skin, attach themselves, multiply and spread there, and then, under favorable conditions, are introduced into the nail. Over time, the fungus affects all parts of the nail and spreads to other nails or to the skin. Nail fungus is a hotbed and source of infection for other parts of the body. Even if all the foci of the fungus on the skin of the feet or trunk are healed, reinfection will come from the remaining foci of infection in the nails.
Fungal nail diseases affect the quality of life. Research by the National Academy of Mycology has shown that the presence of nail fungus or foot fungus dramatically reduces quality of life - a set of indicators characterizing a person's emotional, mental and social well-being. It turned out that the quality of life with fungal nail disease decreases on average by 50-55% of the total value typical of a healthy person. At the same time, patients noted not only the physical inconveniences associated with the thickening or destruction of the nails, but also had various negative experiences, fears and emotions. It was found that nail fungus significantly limits the activity of a person, interfering with his rest, sports, communication with others. In addition, feelings of discomfort and shame for the condition of their nails sometimes prevented them from seeing a doctor in time. The longer the disease lasted, the more severe the nail fungus became and the more the quality of life deteriorated.
In addition to reducing the quality of life, mushrooms cause certain health problems. The first and main health problem, caused by the presence of nail fungus, is the fungus itself - a chronic infectious disease that regularly destroys the nails and threatens to spread to people around them, especially limbs. patient's family. . By the way, the presence of a relative with a fungus is noted by at least 1/3 of patients with nail damage. According to medical statistics and epidemiological studies, in Russia, the presence of fungal nail disease can be expected in almost one in five adults. At the same time, the incidence over the past 10 years has increased by 2, 5 times. A further increase in incidence is expected. At the same time, the probability of the presence of a fungus increases with age: about 2 times every 10 years of life.
Untreated nail fungus and foot fungus are considered a gateway for other infectious diseases - for example, bacterial erysipelas. Fungal infection of the nails greatly complicates the course of diabetes mellitus and can lead to serious complications.
Allergy of the human body with a fungal infection is possible - the formation of hypersensitivity to the fungus as an allergen, that is, fungal allergy. The development or aggravation of the course of such diseases as bronchial asthma, allergic dermatitis, various rashes and reactions is possible.
In very rare cases, as a rule, against the background of immunodeficiency, untreated nail fungus has led to the development of deep yeast infection - the germination or penetration of the fungus with blood into internal organs, thisthat caused the death. Fortunately, most modern nail fungus patients do not have such results. But even if you completely exclude their possibility, you cannot leave fungal nail disease untreated. It is impossible not to treat scabies, head lice and other infectious diseases. If you suspect nail fungus, we advise you to see a doctor as soon as possible.
So when we think about it this way, the fungus in someone's nail may have come forward a few fractions of a millimeter. It's his job, a small business, so to speak. The fungus does this all the time, day in and day out. Days add up to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. Over the years, the disease worsens if the fungus is not treated. In one of the latest studies, it was shown that every 5 years the severity of onychomycosis increases by several points on a special scale. This means that the new nails are affected by the fungus, and in each of them the affected area and the degree of thickening develop. This means that the negative impact of the yeast infection on health and quality of life will be stronger. This is a proven fact. But that's not all. The more severe the fungal nail infection, the more difficult it is to treat. If in the early stages of infection, antifungal varnish or nail solution can help, then after a few years, antifungal pills cannot be removed. The longer the disease lasts, the longer it will take to take them (and the longer to buy them). And after ten to twenty years, as a rule, only the removal of the nail plate, as well as such funds, will be useful.
See your doctor as soon as possible. Every year, you delay the fungus, extend the required period of treatment and observation, add large doses of drugs, carry out the necessary treatment of the nails. Don't make a big mistake - don't take systemic drugs yourself! If the fungal nail diseases did not cause the above-mentioned changes, then, in fact, the treatment of the fungus would simply become a matter of attitude towards its appearance. Then we would put healthy nails on the same list with white teeth, fair skin, and no bad smell. And the question of the cost of the fungus treatment would look like this: are you willing to donate money to get your uneaten, unthickened, unwanted nails back? However, the question is not the only one. Are you willing to pay to protect your family from athlete's foot? Do you want to regain your old quality of life? Are you able to stop the spread of infection today?