Toenail Fungus

Medically, toenail fungus is known as onychomycosis. It can affect one or more number of toenails. There are many different types of fungus that grow and survive well in the damp and dark environment of your shoes. When you wear them for long hours, they start entering into the toenails through cuts and breaks of the nails and causes infection. Basically, these microorganisms feed themselves on the protein substance keratin that forms the hard surface of nails. It is an easily transmissible disease and spreads from one person to another while sharing locker rooms, showers, etc with an infected person.

Symptoms

A toenail fungus can be identified with a distorted and discolored toenails. However, in the initial stage, the symptoms are slightly different. During this time, you can notice a whitish yellow spot at the tip of the toenail. Discoloration and thickening of the nails suggest that the infection has spread deeper into the nails. On a closer look at the nails, you will find debris under the nails that emit a foul smell. When the infection turns severe, the affected nails crumble at the edges and becomes extremely painful. Finally, it will fall off.

Treatment

Toenail fungus is treated with oral as well as topical medicines. Terbinafine and Itraconazole are two of the most widely used medications and they work really well. The medicines promote growth of a fresh, new nail. Usually, these antifungal medicines have to be continued for 6 to 12 weeks. Then there are antifungal lacquers and creams which need to be applied topically at the site of infection. Those with urea content is highly effective in this condition. Sometimes, doctor may file the nail to shorten it so that the size of the infected part decreases. In general, with this kind of treatment it will take almost 4 months or more before the infection is eradicated completely. In those cases, where the infection is found to be serious and is causing a lot of pain, the option of laser treatment is availed. Here, the infection is first treated with acid and then it is exposed to a high intensity laser radiation. Laser treatment for toenail fungus is often referred to as photodynamic therapy.

Home Remedies

There are side effects associated with the long term use of antifungal medicines. Besides, they can interfere with other medicines that are being used for treating other health conditions. All those people prefer home treatment. Here are a few simple home remedies:

Toenail fungus vinegar treatment is considered as one of the best treatment by many people. The acidic properties of vinegar stops any further growth of the fungus and provide relief from its symptoms. You can choose either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar for this treatment. Mix up one part of it with two parts of warm water and soak the feet into it for an hour. Then rinse off the feet with warm water.

Another substance whose acidic component kills the fungus effectively is concentrated lime juice. Soak a cotton ball into fresh lemon juice and rub it all over the toenail and the surrounding areas. This should be done once a day to obtain best results.

The best part of tea tree oil treatment is that it can penetrate to all those areas of the infected nail where other oils cannot reach out easily. To begin with, clean up the nail thoroughly. Then soak a cotton ball in undiluted tea tree oil and place it over the nail so that it diffuses into every nook and corner of the nail bed. Ideally, it should be carried out once in the morning and once before going to bed.

Toenail fungus can be prevented with the help of a few preventive measures. When you have to wear shoes for long hours, select and well-fitted comfortable shoes and clean socks. Before wearing the shoes check if it is thoroughly dry or not. If it is not dry wear another pair of dry shoes. Keep your toenails in a well-trimmed condition. After you wash your feet, do not forget to dry them thoroughly with special attention to the areas around the toenails.