Fungal nail infections represent a serious medical and social problem.
The pathogen is stable in the external environment and is transmitted quite easily from person to person.
If you detect the disease early, you can protect yourself, your family members and others from infection.
And to understand when you need to consult a qualified doctor, it doesn't hurt to know what nail fungus looks like.
There are many varieties of mushrooms.
And many of them can cause nail diseases.
The general name of this unpleasant plague is onychomycosis.
Depending on which particular fungus led to the development of onychomycosis, the disease is called.
What does nail fungus look like: types of diseases
The most common are:
- Athlete's foot.
- Rubrophytia.
- Ringworm.
- Honeycomb.
- Candidiasis.
The causative agents of each of these diseases affect not only the nails, but also the skin and hair.
Therefore, if changes appear on the body, even mild at first glance, it is better to consult a doctor.
Perhaps this will help identify the onset of the disease and stop the spread of the infection.
Athlete's foot
Interestingly, when the disease manifests itself on the nails, the first and fifth toes are most often affected.
Why the fungus chooses them is not known.
First of all, change the appearance of the nail:
- The pink color gives way to yellowish.
- The surface becomes dull and loses its healthy shine.
- Thickening and tubercles appear on the plate.
- Dense growths (hyperkeratosis) develop under it.
- Canary-colored spots or stripes appear in the thickness of the nail.
The shape of the nail itself lasts a long time: several weeks or even months.
The free edge is gradually destroyed.
It becomes corroded, irregular.
Another feature of athlete's foot is that the disease develops only on the feet.
The same picture of toenail fungus on hands will not be the same.
If so, it's not athlete's foot.
Rubrophytia
In this case onychomycosis is caused by a fungus called red trichophyton.
There are three forms of the disease:
- Normotrophic form.
- Hypertrophic.
- Atrophic variety.
In the normotrophic form of onychomycosis, the nail plate does not collapse for a long time.
White or yellow stripes appear in its thickness (leukonychia).
Initially they are separated from each other, but gradually merge into a single point.
In the typical course of the disease the edge at the base of the nail remains unchanged.
Hypertrophic rubrophytosis of the nail proceeds differently.
The record first becomes boring and loses its shine.
It thickens due to growths (hyperkeratosis) underneath.
The nail takes the shape of a beak and crumbles easily.
And this applies not only to the freeboard.
The long course of the disease gives the nails a resemblance to bird claws: onychogryphosis.
The atrophic form is also special.
The nail becomes dull and turns dirty gray in color.
In a fairly short time, the nail plate becomes thinner and destroyed.
Along the edges, at the nail fold, the nail tissue remains, but it can also disappear.
Ringworm
This fungus causes disease of the entire skin surface.
Onychomycosis develops in only half of patients and the fingernails are affected.
The appearance of the initial stage of nail fungus in trichophytosis does not allow making an accurate diagnosis, since there are similarities with other mycoses.
The surface of the nail plate becomes dull and the color turns gray.
Over time, the nail develops brittleness and crumbles.
In some cases, he may even come off the bed.
The process is long and can take several years.
Favus
A synonym of this pathology is the scab.
Children rarely get sick.
The disease has a long and chronic course.
The causative agents are various fungi of the genus Trichophyton.
First, due to subungual keratosis, the plaque thickens and moves away from the nail bed.
At the same time, it begins to crumble.
In its thickness you can observe a single yellow spot: the scutula.
Gradually it acquires a dirty color.
Death of the nail occurs several months after the onset of the disease.
The process is usually accompanied by other hair and skin manifestations.
Candidiasis
Yeast fungi, the causative agent of this infection, normally live on the human body and mucous membranes.
Activation of the infection leads to the appearance of systemic lesions, which can also spread to the nails.
The reasons for this could be
- I. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics.
- II.States of immunodeficiency.
- III.Taking hormonal drugs.
- IV.Treatment with cytostatics.
- V. Hypovitaminosis.
The hands and feet are affected equally frequently.
Visually, the appearance of toenail fungus in the early stage with a yeast infection is difficult to confuse with other diseases.
The nail plate acquires a brown color and becomes uneven due to stripes and depressions.
Whitish spots appear on its surface and in its thickness.
They are loose and can be easily removed from the nail (if they are located superficially).
The nail itself delaminates, detaching from the nail bed.
Along its edges, in the cuticle area, cheesy layers also appear.
It becomes red and inflamed.
Interdigital spaces are also affected.