The prevalence of mycoid diseases has made them recognizable and easy to treat diseases in their early stages. But the signs of foot fungus themselves, indicating the onset of infection, are not familiar to everyone. After all, there are about fifty varieties of mushrooms alone. But there is also a large category of skin diseases: epidermycosis. Therefore, in order to prevent the disease from developing into a state dangerous for the health of the body, it is necessary to study its characteristics.
General signs
Fungal infections of the skin occupy the first place among the conditions affecting the epidermis. Its signs are quite recognizable. The main difficulty in the diagnostic process is establishing the exact type of fungal infection. This is necessary since each of them is resistant to a certain group of antifungal drugs. Therefore, to carry out the treatment, a mandatory visit to the doctor is necessary. Accurate identification of the mycoid group is impossible without special biological research.
The following signs may be a reason to contact a specialist:
- Cracks in the epidermis between the toes. It is this area that is considered most at risk of fungal infection. Additional signs of infection may include excessive dry skin, peeling feet, and pain.
- Noticeable thickening and roughness of the skin layer. Similar symptoms are seen when a dry corn or callus forms. But in some cases, the cause of this change is a fungus.
- Skin destruction, blisters. Such injuries are often diagnosed first on one leg and then appear on the other.
- Redness of the skin, itching or burning sensation. This set of symptoms is considered one of the main signals confirming a fungal infection. The difficulty of diagnosis in this case lies in the fact that each type of mycoid causes such a set of symptoms.
- Change in color of the nail plate.
- The appearance of an unpleasant odor in the infected area.
It is important to detect the first signs of fungus in time, because the disease is very difficult to treat and it is easy to become infected.
Mycoid infection enters the body quite easily, infecting internal organs and systems. This explains the frequent relapses of the disease in the complete absence of external provoking factors.
Medical classification
Mycosis fungoides is classified according to its characteristic features into four main forms.
For each form of foot fungus, the symptoms vary depending on what it is:
- Scaly.
- Dyshidrotic.
- Intertriginous.
- "Classic" onychomycosis.
The scaly or scaly form of the fungal infection is considered one of the first stages of the infection. In this case, skin lesions are first observed on one foot. Over time, a second infection occurs. The main symptom of the scaly form is redness of the skin, which then progresses to keratinization of inflamed tissue areas. Without treatment, the scaly form evolves into a dyshidrotic form.
The dyshidrotic form of mycoid infection has a pronounced feature - the appearance of small bubbles in the affected area. After opening, the blisters become inflamed, forming a focus of stable erosion of the upper layers of the skin. The patient usually feels severe itching; in fairly advanced cases, they give way to pain. The skin begins to peel off and erosions form regularly. This form of the disease can progress to the first scaly form without any system. For this reason, some experts believe that the forms of mycosis fungoides mentioned are two forms of the same type of infection.
The intertriginous form of infectious fungal infection is the most common. Manifestations of the disease include the appearance of cracks on the skin of the feet, visible to the naked eye, and the formation of exfoliated areas of white skin at their edges. For the interdigital area, a characteristic sign of the intertriginous form is the formation of oozing spots and erosion of the epidermis. The patient constantly feels itching in the infected area. Treatment of this form of infection is complex and long, since the disease most often takes a chronic form.
Onychomycosis is an infectious infection whose symptoms require special attention. Depending on the characteristics of the pathology, the type of damage to the nail plate and the type of disease change. There are three main types of onychomycosis:
- Hypertrophic - the nail plate gradually collapses, its color becomes yellowish and characteristic spots appear. Pain in the affected area appears after deformation of the nail.
- Normotrophic - destruction or change in the shape of the nail plate does not occur, spots or lines of yellowish and white color appear on it.
- Atrophy is the most dangerous form for the nail plate, in which it is severely destroyed, deformed and often peels off from the nail bed.
Each form of onychomycosis has its own general treatment regimen. But in order to completely get rid of the infection without consequences for the body and to exclude a relapse, it is recommended to carry out treatment on the recommendation and under the supervision of a doctor.
Treatment methods
In most cases, it is possible to completely get rid of a disease detected in time in no more than a month. This is a very important point of treatment, since itching, tissue damage and other manifestations disappear, the patient sometimes stops treatment, believing that the disease has been defeated. But remnants of the infection can easily trigger a relapse.
Treatment procedures should be stopped only after permission from the doctor and after passing the necessary tests. This is especially true for advanced forms of the disease. The fungus is firmly "fixed" in the body and it can take at least six months to get rid of it. But the external manifestation of the fungus on the feet in the form of various damage to the skin or nails disappears much earlier, creating the illusion of health. By stopping treatment in this case, the patient is almost guaranteed to cause a relapse.
Treatment of the feet against mycoid infection is carried out comprehensively. To get rid of the disease, local antifungal drugs and tablets are used to eliminate the infectious agent that has penetrated inside the body. To relieve itching, pain, brittle nails and accelerate tissue regeneration, certain medications may be prescribed. It is not recommended to combine them independently with the main therapeutic group, so as not to cause an allergic reaction or poisoning of the body due to the simultaneous use of incompatible drugs.
Curing foot fungus at an early stage is quite simple. Usually, two weeks of treatment is enough to eliminate the symptoms of mycoid infection.
Duration of treatment
Combined infection of the skin and nail plate requires rehabilitation treatment lasting one to three months. These terms are considered standard for the most medically effective pharmaceutical products.
Pregnancy requires a mandatory visit to the doctor to choose a method to get rid of mycoid infection. Potent drugs and therapies requiring the use of similar drugs are prescribed only under the supervision of a doctor and in compliance with strict dosages. Many antibacterial tablets that effectively destroy fungi can cause noticeable harm to the fetus. Therefore, whenever possible, during pregnancy, patients are recommended to be treated according to traditional medicine recipes. Many of them make it possible to cope with the disease, but provided that the disease has not reached a complex stage. Only classical medicine can help cope with the advanced form.
Modern drugs allow you to completely restore the health of your legs in two weeks, provided that signs of infection were detected in time.
Preventive measures
Preventing a disease is always easier and safer for health than treating it, even using the most gentle method. In the case of fungal infection, prevention is one of the obligatory norms of life, because it is very easy to become infected. Therefore, to reduce the risk of contracting the disease, it is recommended to follow a few simple rules:
- try to eat well, eating healthy foods as much as possible;
- do not use other people’s belongings and personal hygiene products;
- using basic protective equipment in public places, such as replacement shoes and hygienic antibacterial agents;
- wash your feet and change your socks regularly;
- lead a healthy lifestyle;
- Take regular baths to improve foot health;
- periodically disinfect shoes.
Preventing fungal infections is important not only to prevent them, but also if illness occurs. In this situation, compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards helps to speed up healing and prevent infection of others with the fungus.