Foot fungus - ways of infection, symptoms, prevention, treatment with medicinal and folk remedies

Fungal infections are common, they are diagnosed in adults and children. Fungus of the foot( or mycosis) is considered the most common form of such diseases, it has specific symptoms and is treated with several types of medications. According to medical statistics, every fifth person in the world is a carrier of pathogenic microbes. To avoid the appearance of the disease, you need to know about the causes of its appearance and observe the prevention.

What is a fungus

The defeat of fungal microorganisms of nail plates or skin on the feet is called mycosis. This disease is very often diagnosed in people of different ages, it occupies one of the leading positions in the world. This fact is explained simply, the human susceptibility to fungi is high, microorganisms of this type are almost everywhere and they are very resistant to the influence of therapeutic agents. To quickly and reliably eliminate the fungus on the feet, you need to choose the right optimal method of systemic therapy with your doctor.

Symptoms of

Regardless of the form of mycosis of the foot, there are a number of characteristic common symptoms of the disease:

• on the skin, affected by a fungus, shine appears, scales are formed;
• there is itching, pain and burning;
• disease covers not only the surface of the foot, but also the nails( they become cloudy, thicken);
• folds between the fingers change color, become wet or flaky;
• after the lesion of the skin by the fungus in the areas of greatest stress and between the fingers may appear cracks;
• there is dryness of the skin, its cracking, severe peeling;
• for mycosis is characterized by the appearance of skin hyperemia( severe reddening), its thickening.

The first signs on the feet of

To timely start treatment of the infection and prevent complications, it is necessary to know the main signs of the fungus on the feet of the initial stage of the disease:

1. Skin peeling on the foot. The fungus "eats" keratin, as well as other protein compounds. In the process of development, microorganisms almost completely destroy the protective part of the skin.
2. The appearance of an unpleasant odor is another symptom of a fungal infection. The disease leads to disruption of the functioning of the sebaceous glands, which leads to excessive sweating of the feet or their drying out.
3. Mycosis destroys the skin, so the human body activates the emergency regeneration process. As a result, there is discomfort, itching, scabies. This symptom is often provoked by other types of candidiasis.
4. Fungus leads to a discoloration of the skin. The disease destroys the fibers containing keratin, so the skin may look abnormal, it acquires a cyanotic, greenish or purple hue.

Causes of

Infection with a fungal infection occurs by direct contact with it. The disease can easily be picked up in places of public use: a sauna or a sauna, a locker room in the gymnasium, a swimming pool and so on( especially if you take someone else's shoes or go barefoot).Sometimes the fungus gets on the skin when using incorrectly disinfected pedicure tools. Often, the disease is caused by such types of pathogens:

• Trichophyton Mentagrophytes( Trichophyton mentagrofite): foot epidermophyty;
• Trichophyton interdigitale( Trichophyton interdigital): develops between the toes, extends to the entire foot);
• Trichophyton Rubrum( Trichophyton rubrum): rubrophytic skin;
• Candida albicans( Candida albicans): Candidiasis.

There are a number of factors that significantly increase the chances of contracting mycosis:

1. Wearing tight, uncomfortable, low-quality footwear that constantly traumatises feet.
2. Strong sweating of feet or long walking in wet shoes( moisture promotes active development of fungal infection).
3. Severe forms of immunodeficiency.
4. Pathologies that lead to changes in normal circulation in the legs( varicose veins, diabetes mellitus, thrombophlebitis and similar diseases).

Types of fungi on the legs

There are four varieties of mycosis. To understand what to treat the foot fungus, you need to look at the symptoms of each type of infection:

1. Squamous mycosis is characterized by blurred clinical signs. The main "signal" of this type of disease is the peeling of the skin between the fingers, at the base and at the sides of the foot, on the arches of the heels or feet.
2. Squamous-hyperkeratotic fungus can be recognized from the compacted skin of the feet, strengthening of the furrows, scaling in the skin folds. Still there are foci of hyperkeratosis, cracks on the foot, painful sensations, itching and discomfort.
3. Dyshidrotic( vesicular) fungal infection. The main sign: bubbles appear with a clear liquid. When the disease progresses, the blisters burst, causing erosion, peeling, flaking of the skin. There is also severe itching, swelling, burning, sometimes even an increase in body temperature.
4. Intertriginozny mycosis affects the folds on the skin of the feet. The disease leads to the appearance of cracks, peeling, redness of the membranes between the fingers. This form of the disease can be recognized by peeling layers of the skin, yet it is accompanied by itching, burning, severe discomfort.

Than

is dangerous. When the fungal skin disease is ignored, it is not treated properly, then such complications may appear:

• dermatitis;
• allergy;
• asthma attacks;
• frequent infectious and viral diseases;
• weakened immunity;
• may manifest conjunctivitis;
• eczema;
• urticaria;
• fungus can get into internal organs by blood, causing serious health problems.

Diagnosis

The correct diagnosis can be made solely by a physician, he also prescribes drugs for effective treatment. The truth at usual visual inspection not always it turns out at once to define whether the infection is a fungus and what microorganism it provoked. For this reason, dermatologists can send a patient for the delivery of tests:

1. Study of scraping or nail particles with a microscope. The fungus is placed in a special nutrient medium, the harmful organisms actively multiply in it. After this, you can determine which pathogen of mycosis has settled in the body.
2. Histological analysis is used in rare cases when the initial study did not reveal pathogenic microorganisms. Fragments of nail plates are studied for the exact presence of fungus in humans.

Treatment of foot fungus

Before you can get rid of the foot fungus with the help of therapeutic techniques, you should consult a doctor. The specialist will prescribe the optimal method of treatment, will write out the necessary medications. To combat fungal lesion of the foot, complex therapy is used:

1. Elimination and avoidance of all factors that can activate the development of mycosis.
2. Use of a group of anti-inflammatory drugs.
3. The use of antifungal agents, which cleans the body of harmful microorganisms. Such drugs are available in the form of tablets, gels, ointments, lacquers.

Medication for foot fungus

Medicines for internal use( tablets, capsules, granules) restore the functioning of the immune system of a sick person and help to destroy mycosis from the inside. Often doctors prescribe the following drugs for antifungal therapy:

1. Drug in pellets Stop Biopag is actively used for foot fungus. As part of the therapeutic agent there is a substance guanidine, which effectively eliminates spores, helps cure the fungus at the advanced stage. Treatment is 1-2 weeks.
2. Effective remedy for foot fungus. Fluconazole. Tablets-antimycotics perfectly block the procedure of reproduction of fungal microorganisms, not allowing them to develop and aggravate the disease. The therapeutic scheme largely depends on the variety of fungal infection.
3. The medicine Griseofulvin is also often prescribed by a doctor. Antifungal tablets give a fungistatic effect, killing pathogens at the very beginning of their development. The duration of the treatment course is indicated by a dermatologist.

Ointment

Antifungal therapy should eliminate the infection not only from the inside, but also from the outside, so doctors recommend using special local drugs. In pharmacies, you can find various creams, ointments, gels, which fight well against the external manifestations of mycosis. Before applying any medicine, it is necessary to clean the foot with warm soapy water or herbal decoction. Painful skin areas are lubricated with a thin layer, the preparation is rubbed with light movements. Popular and effective anti-fungal preparations:

1. Lamisil cream. As part of the drug active substance terbinafine, which helps to remove molds, dermatophytes. The drug with a powerful fungicidal effect not only fights well with infection on the feet and nails, but also protects the nail plates from onychomycosis, strengthens them. The cream is used for treatment and preventive purposes.
2. A bactericidal ointment called Levomecol is a popular option for the treatment of fungal infection. It effectively removes mycosis from the nails, stop. It is used in the treatment of ringworm and red lichen. When the affected areas are lubricated, the ointment starts active regeneration of tissues, heals microcracks, removes inflammation, restores the normal operation of the sebaceous glands.
3. Inexpensive cream Nizoral based on ketoconazole also refers to popular medicines against fungus. It effectively fights against dermatophytes, dimorphic and yeast pathogenic organisms, and eumycetes.

Folk remedies

To strengthen and consolidate the therapeutic effect, dermatologists advise you to use traditional medicine recipes against mycosis of the foot. Natural components gently affect the skin, remove the unpleasant symptoms of the disease( itching, redness, peeling, unpleasant odor).Here are some effective folk remedies that have positive feedback:

1. Warm baths with salt and soda. Wash feet in water with soap and wipe well. Make salubrious solution: 1 tablespoon of soda and salt diluted in a sufficient amount of water. Dip into it legs, soak for about 15 minutes. After the procedure, rinse the feet with warm water.
2. Another good drug against the development of the fungus is iodine solution( 5%).With the help of cotton swabs or sticks, they are treated with legs twice a day.
3. A manganese compact also fights well with the pathogenic flora. Before going to sleep, the feet should be well roasted and wrapped with gauze, which was previously moistened in a medical solution.
4. Acetic soap. Combine in one bowl vodka( 40 ml), vinegar( 40 ml), glycerin( 1 tablespoon) or 3 yolks. Stir the ingredients. In the evening, gauze is wetted in the medicinal liquid, applied to the skin( provided that there are no open wounds).After 15 minutes, a fresh fresh compress is done.

Treatment of the fungus of the left-handed form

Sometimes pathogenic microorganisms develop very quickly and actively, so the course of medicines does not always cope with the problem. There are several effective ways to treat advanced forms of mycosis:

1. Surgery. The nail plate affected by the fungus is eliminated by means of a medical scalpel. At the same time, partial removal of soft tissues occurs, so after the procedure the patient will need a long rehabilitation period. Additionally, a course of medications in the form of tablets is prescribed.
2. A modern method of treatment is the use of a laser. Fungal spores on the feet are heated to a temperature that destroys them. The operation with the help of laser technology does not take much time, is carried out once a month until complete recovery. The technique is not cheap at a price, but it is highly effective.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of infection with mycosis or to avoid recurrence of the disease, you should follow simple rules:

1. Before visiting public places( baths, saunas, swimming pools, etc.), you need to lubricate your feet with an antifungal ointment or cream.
2. Wear only your shoes, which should be comfortable and quality.
3. Do not walk in wet or dry shoes, to dry it in a timely manner.
4. If the family has a person infected with a fungal infection, then the use of common home footwear should be avoided.
5. Disinfect the bathroom after each bath.
6. Handle shoes with special means against pathogenic fungi.
7. In time to treat copious sweating of feet.

Photo of Foot Fungus

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