Foot fungus: main symptoms and prevention

Paths of infection

Mycosis of the foot – It is a widespread fungal disease caused by parasitic fungi. They can enter our body through microcracks on the foot and between the toes, which are especially susceptible to infection due to excessive sweating. Also, the skin can be damaged mechanically or due to dry skin. Another reason may be frequent and prolonged standing, varicose veins in the legs, pathologies of the endocrine system.

Most often, the disease develops after contact with the patient, through things of common use, for example, a towel, slippers, a brush. Let's not forget to mention saunas, baths, when visiting which people are required to have a personal set of linen and slippers with them, since it is here that infection with mycosis most often occurs. High humidity and temperature create favorable conditions for the reproduction of fungi. Once on the nail, the fungus begins to grow gradually. But this growth is very slow and not immediately noticeable. Simply put, the fungus eats the nail plate, and then spreads to the skin under it. The affected nail plate does not have any specific color or shape, it becomes yellow, green or gray. Nails become weak, exfoliate, break.

Symptomatics

At the very beginning of the development of the disease, small cracks form between the fingers, then peeling begins, itching appears. The nail changes its color, loses its shine and healthy appearance, it is more cloudy, the surface – rough, easily destroyed. Also one of the signs of the pathological process is a thickening of the nail plate. In some cases, the opposite is true: it becomes thin and fragile. Mycosis is accompanied by painful deformation of the plate, and the cuticle most often has signs of inflammation. If these signs are present, trimming the nails becomes a problem as they are too rough and hard. Sticking into the skin part, the nail can cause pain.

If these symptoms are detected, you should immediately make an appointment with a dermatologist, show him the problem, try to find out the place where the contact occurred in order to avoid re-infection. If the specialist – a professional, he will first take a scraping of a certain type of parasite and, based on this, prescribe a course of treatment. If you do not want to visit a doctor, preferring self-treatment, you should remember that mycosis is very difficult to cure on your own, because it is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of the development of the disease.

The peculiarity and danger of the fungus lies in the fact that if even a small amount of the pathogen remains after the course of treatment, do not hesitate, the disease will develop again. In addition, mycosis can spread to different parts of the body.

And let's not forget to mention a few golden rules that can protect your feet from athlete's foot:

- do not wear someone else's shoes;
- do not visit swimming pools, beaches, saunas without personal rubber slippers;
- after bathing, carefully wipe the skin between your fingers;
- do not forget about prevention and apply antifungal to the skin agent (for example, oxiconazole);
- change shoes more often, do not wear one pair of shoes for several days in a row, it does not have time to dry and air out;
- treat shoes with deodorant from the inside.