Fungal nail infections are a serious medical and social problem.
The pathogen is stable in the external environment and is easily transmitted from person to person.
If you detect the disease in time, you can protect yourself, your family members and others from the infection.
And to understand when a consultation with a qualified doctor is necessary, it doesn't hurt to know what nail fungus looks like.
There are many varieties of fungi.
And many of them can cause nail diseases.
The general name for this nasty sore is onychomycosis.
Depending on which specific 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.
- Trichophytosis.
- Honeycomb.
- Candidiasis.
The causative agents of each of these diseases affect not only the nails, but also the skin and hair.
Therefore, if any changes appear in the body, even if they are small at first glance, it is best to consult a doctor.
Perhaps this will help identify the onset of the disease and prevent the spread of infection.
athlete's foot
Interestingly, when the disease occurs in the nails, the first and fifth toes are most affected.
It is not known why the fungus chooses them.
Firstly, the appearance of the nail changes:
- The pink color gives way to yellowish.
- The surface becomes dull and loses its healthy shine.
- Thickenings 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 nail shape lasts for a long time - several weeks or even months.
The free edge is gradually destroyed.
It becomes as if corroded, uneven.
Another characteristic of athlete's foot is that the disease only develops in the feet.
The same image that toenail fungus looks like on your hands will not be the same.
If so, it's not athlete's foot.
Rubrophyte
In this case, onychomycosis is caused by a fungus called Trichophyton red.
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 (leukonychia) appear across its thickness.
At first they are separated from each other, but gradually merge into a single point.
In the typical course of the disease, the edge of the base of the nail remains unchanged.
Hypertrophic nail rubrophytosis occurs differently.
The disc first becomes opaque and loses its shine.
It thickens due to growths (hyperkeratosis) underneath.
The nail takes on a beak shape 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 opaque and turns a dirty gray color.
In a short time, the nail plate becomes thinner and destroyed.
Along the edges, in the nail fold, nail tissue remains, but it can also disappear.
Trichophytosis
This fungus causes disease across the entire surface of the skin.
Onychomycosis develops in only half of patients and fingernails are affected.
The appearance of the initial stage of nail fungus with trichophytosis does not allow for an accurate diagnosis, as there are similarities with other mycoses.
The surface of the nail plate becomes dull and the color becomes gray.
Over time, the nail becomes weakened and crumbles.
In some cases, it may even come off the bed.
The process is time-consuming and can take several years.
Honeycomb
A synonym for this pathology is scabies.
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 plate thickens and moves away from the nail bed.
At the same time, it begins to fall apart.
In its thickness, a single yellow spot can be seen - the scutula.
Little by little it acquires a dirty color.
Nail death occurs several months after the onset of the disease.
The process is usually accompanied by other manifestations in the hair and skin.
Candidiasis
Yeast fungi, the causative agent of this infection, normally live in the human body and mucous membranes.
The 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. Immunodeficiency states.
- III.Taking hormonal medications.
- 4. Treatment with cytostatics.
- V. Hypovitaminosis.
Hands and feet are affected equally frequently.
Visually, it is difficult to confuse the appearance of nail fungus in the early stage of a fungal infection with other diseases.
The nail plate acquires a brown color and becomes bumpy 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, peeling away from the nail bed.
Along its edges, in the cuticle region, layers of cheese also appear.
It becomes red and inflamed.
The interdigital spaces are also affected.