With a fungal infection of the nail plates, or onychomycosis, you should contact a dermatologist or mycologist. The first doctor specializes in any skin problem. Its competence includes allergic, bacterial, viral and fungal lesions of the epidermis. A mycologist is an unskilled specialist. He understands all types of fungi, treats mycotic lesions of any location, carries out research work and collects statistical information.
When you need medical help
A person becomes infected with a fungus when its spores enter the skin or nails. You can "catch" pathogenic microorganisms in public places (sauna, swimming pool, beauty salon), from members of your own family, in a shoe store. Fungi are very fond of humid and warm environments. They are able to breed in shoes. Most often, this happens if a person suffers from sweating feet, ignores this fact or neglects the rules of personal hygiene.
When in contact with fungi, a person is not always infected. This is preceded by a decrease in immunity. Normally, the body successfully copes with the onslaught of billions of microbes daily. If defenses are exhausted, you can expect trouble.
Onychomycosis is a serious infectious disease. With it, a person is in contact with pathogenic fungi for a long time. Mycotoxins with toxic properties enter your body. It also negatively affects the immune system. Get rid of nail fungus as soon as possible. The longer a person coexists with an infection, the harder and longer the treatment. Initiated onychomycosis is difficult to cure, becomes chronic, recurrent, requires the use of prophylactic agents throughout life.
It is necessary to contact doctors when the first signs of mycosis of the nails occur, namely:
- if they are covered with small spots, dots, stripes, pale inclusions;
- if the color of the nail plate has changed - it has become yellow, brown, grayish or greenish;
- if the plaque grows, improper clipping of the nails creates an "entry" gate for infection;
- if the nails exfoliate - a sign of the progress of onychomycosis;
- if a person suffers from ringworm - the fungus easily spreads to the skin nails;
- if among family members there are people with onychomycosis;
- if the nails have lost their shine, they become opaque, heterogeneous.
Direct reasons to visit a doctor are itching, sweating, dry skin on the feet. Excessive sweating and unpleasant foot odor can speak of a developing fungus.
who to go first
Having decided to consult a doctor, you should first make an appointment with a dermatologist. There are skin specialists in all paid and free hospitals. You can freely schedule an appointment with a dermatologist at the skin care center at your place of residence.
The dermatologist will carry out a visual examination - he will identify signs of fungal development, examine the skin for other symptoms of mycotic lesions of the body. As a rule, the doctor prescribes tests (nail or skin scraping) that confirm or disprove a fungal disease.
If the specialist's suspicions are confirmed, additional tests may be prescribed - a general and biochemical study of blood, urine and liver tests. Additional information is needed to identify the cause of the infection, to detect all possible comorbidities. Blood and liver disorders impose restrictions on the use of certain medications.
A referral to a consultation with a mycologist is issued in advanced cases - if all the toenails are damaged by onychomycosis, the process of onycholysis (destruction of the plaques) has begun, some nails are already missing, the patient has already been unsuccessfully medicated. A narrow-profile specialist will prescribe additional tests to identify the type of pathogen. Specific medications will be most effective for a particular type of fungus.
General principles for the elimination of onychomycosis
For the treatment of nail fungus, specialists prescribe several drugs at the same time. Between them:
- systemic antifungal agents;
- pharmaceutical forms that act locally;
- vitamin preparations;
- immunostimulants.
The physician individually assesses the patient's lifestyle and hygiene culture. If necessary, he gives the appropriate recommendations needed to shorten the duration of therapy.
Medical treatment must be carried out with great scrupulousness. The patient must take the drugs orally at the time, following exactly the treatment terms recommended by the doctor. Local remedies are used until the problem is completely eliminated. As a rule, use is continued for 1-2 months after the symptoms of onychomycosis have disappeared. The following are prescribed as topical preparations:
- varnishes;
- gels;
- ointments;
- solutions.
As auxiliary methods, water and salt baths are recommended, the removal of plaques with the help of special softening ointments, surgical assistance is occasionally required.
Immunostimulants and vitamins are selected according to the results of biochemical analyses. In some cases, nail fungus is the first sign of serious diseases of Organs internal organs or the hematopoietic system.
Don't throw away your doctor's phone right after your first appointment. The success of onychomycosis therapy depends on controlling the healing process. Medical consultations and tests will be repeated several times during the therapeutic course (up to 1 year). They will have to be taken again immediately after the growth of the altered nail plate, one month after full recovery. In order not to complicate the treatment process, the patient should refuse decorative varnish, nail extensions.