The fungi prefer warm, dark and moist places like the feet. You're more likely to get a fungal nail infection if you: don't keep your feet clean and dry. wear shoes that cause your feet to get hot and sweaty.
If you just finished treating nail fungus, throw away shoes, boots, skates, and other footwear that you wore before you started treatment. Fungus can live in footwear, giving you another infection. If your footwear is expensive or new, you can disinfect them using an ultraviolet (UV) shoe sanitizer or ozone cabinet.
The fastest way to eliminate the infection is through toenail laser treatment. Laser nail therapy specifically targets the microorganisms under your nail while leaving the keratin intact. In just a few treatments, the infection can be entirely eliminated.
You'll know that the medication is working and the toenail fungus is dying when your toenail changes back to its natural color, decreases in thickness, shows healthy new growth, and you see a clear delineation between the infected part of the toenail and your new nail growth.
Your health care provider may prescribe an antifungal cream, such as efinaconazole (Jublia) and tavaborole (Kerydin). You rub this product into your infected nails after soaking. These creams may work better if you first thin the nails.
Nail fungus is not a health risk to most people. But anyone with a compromised immune system, such as a diabetic who contracts nail fungus, is at risk of developing serious complications like foot ulcers.
What Are the Dangers of a Toenail Fungus Infection? The problem with not treating toenail fungus goes beyond continued discomfort and discoloration. If the fungus is allowed to continue growing, it can penetrate the skin under the nail and ultimately infect the toe itself.
Wear dry socks that absorb moisture. Don't go barefoot in public places. Use a spray or powder that fights fungus on your feet and in your shoes.
Causes of Toenail Fungus
Just like with other health conditions that stem from gut-related problems, when you don't have enough good bacteria living within your gut, you wind up developing high levels of yeast and fungus (bad bacteria) in your body that can show up on your skin.
You can get it if your nails are frequently moist or you often wear sweaty socks and shoes. The fungi usually infect a nail by getting into a: Small cut in the skin surrounding your nail. Crack in your nail.
Additionally, biotin deficiency can increase the risk of fungal nail infections and subsequent nail plate discoloration.
Vicks has a little impact on toenails. Vicks Vaporub softens and lightens toenails. This makes it look like the fungus is being treated. Vicks may have some antifungal qualities, but it is unable to penetrate the toenail well enough to cure the infection.
The best type of vinegar to treat toenail fungus is apple cider vinegar, a very acidic and strong solution that destroys toenail fungus at the source. To take full advantage of this, mix one cup of apple cider vinegar with at least 2 cups of water – this will dilute the vinegar so that it won't burn your skin.
If toenail fungus is left untreated, it can spread to the surrounding skin on the foot, causing another condition known as athlete's foot. An athlete's foot is a condition resulting in itchy, red, and cracked skin, which can become very uncomfortable.
Look chalky or cloudy in some spots. Thicken and possibly look misshapen. Separate from your nail bed (leaving space between your nail and the skin underneath). Crack or break in one or more spots.
Filing down the surface of the nail may enable them to penetrate more deeply into the nail or the nail bed. In studies, their cure rate averaged around 35%.
One type, distal subungual onychomycosis, can be a lifelong infection and hard to treat. Another type, white superficial onychomycosis, can be easily treated. Even after treatment, your nails may continue to look irregular in shape and appearance. It can take a year or longer before they return to normal.
Yes, toenail fungus is contagious. Typically toenail fungus spreads through: Direct contact with the infected person. Common household objects, such as towels or clothing.
Yes! The newer prescription topical antifungal medications do penetrate nail polish. You will get the best result if you start applying the medication without nail polish for a while. Then, you can begin wearing nail polish while using the topical medications.
Nail fungus is often stubborn and frustrating. They typically manifest as yellow-brown spots before discoloring, thickening, deforming, and crumbling the toenails. They may disappear and resurface multiple times, causing pain, jaggedness, toenail deformation, or limited mobility.
As the fungus advances, the color may change from yellow to brown. In some cases, a really nasty nail fungus case may even turn black and start to crumble.