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Onychomycosis

Onychomycosis

Onychomycosis is a broad term for many different kinds of fungal infection. Our nails are necessary parts of our body and protect the sensitive tissue beneath them from harm. Onychomycosis makes our nails look bad and become brittle with development of the disease. Treatment can be long and difficult but ultimately effective.

Symptoms

  • The nail begins to discolor, usually to opaque white or yellow
  • This usually begins at the tip of the nail and works its way down
  • The nail begins to thicken and become unattractive
  • As the nail thickens, it can develop darker yellow and brown spots
  • The nail becomes brittle and begins to crumble or flake off
  • Ultimately the nail may pull away from the nail bed and partially or entirely fall off.
  • These symptoms cause people embarrassment in public because of the appearance of their nails
  • Their ability to walk or feel things may be hampered by pain or discomfort because of the disease

Causes and potential hazards

Onychomycosis is an infection that anyone and everyone can contract. It is seen most commonly as people age and it affects far more of the elderly population than the younger population, beginning around 40. Seeing it in kids is fairly rare, while people who are towards the end of life seem to suffer from it frequently. These people also tend to suffer from diseases that assist the fungus growth, like diabetes and poor circulation.

The easiest way to reduce the possibility of contracting a nail fungus infection is to take good care of your nails. The healthier they are, the easier it is for them to resist infection.

Treating and Healing From this Disease

The hardest part for most people about this disease is that it takes so long to cure it. Many people get frustrated and quit, determined to endure it, before they can eradicate the fungus causing the infection.

The best way to treat a nail fungus infection is to apply an antifungal to the infected areal. There are many available treatments, topical and oral, standard medicine and alternative medicine, to choose from. The sooner this infection is caught, the easier it is to cure as once the fungus has embedded itself underneath the nail it becomes much harder to get at.

If the infection has become severe, oral antifungal medication may become a necessity, or even surgical removal of the nail.

The best solution to the whole problem is to keep your nails clean and healthy to prevent infection and if you are already infected, work to cure the infection as well.