Nail fungus is a serious medical and social problem.
The pathogen is stable in the external environment and is transmitted from person to person quite easily.
If you detect the disease in time, you can protect yourself, your family members and others from 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 mushrooms.
And many of them can cause nail diseases.
The general name for this unpleasant sore is onychomycosis.
Depending on the fungus that 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.
- Favus.
- 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 on the body, even minor at first glance, it is better to consult a doctor.
This may help identify the onset of illness and stop the spread of infection.
Athlete's foot
Interestingly, when the disease appears on the nails, the first and fifth toes are most often affected.
Why the fungus chooses them is unknown.
First of all, 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 plaque.
- Dense growths (hyperkeratosis) develop underneath.
- Canary-colored spots or stripes appear in the thickness of the nail.
The nail form itself lasts quite a long time - several weeks or even months.
The free edge is gradually destroyed.
It becomes corroded, uneven.
Another characteristic of athlete's foot is that the disease develops only on the feet.
The same picture that toenail fungus looks like on the 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 (leukonychia) appear in its thickness.
At first they are separated from each other, but gradually merge into one place.
During the typical course of the disease, the border at the base of the nail remains unchanged.
Hypertrophic rubrophytosis of the nails proceeds differently.
The disc initially becomes dull and loses its shine.
It thickens due to growths (hyperkeratosis) underneath.
The nail takes the shape of a beak and crumbles easily.
And this doesn't just apply to the free edge.
The long-term course of the disease gives the nails a resemblance to bird claws - onychogryphosis.
The atrophic form is also particular.
The nail becomes dull and takes on a dirty gray 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.
Trichophytosis
This fungus causes disease across the entire surface of the skin.
Onychomycosis develops in only half of patients and the fingernails are affected.
The initial appearance of nail fungus with 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 becomes gray.
Over time, the nail becomes fragile and crumbles.
In some cases, it can even detach itself from its bed.
The process is long and can take several years.
Favus
A synonym for this pathology is scabies.
Children rarely get sick.
The disease has a long and chronic course.
The causative agents are several 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 collapse.
In its thickness, we can observe a single yellow spot: the scutula.
Gradually it acquires a dirty color.
Nail death occurs several months after the onset of the disease.
The process is generally accompanied by other manifestations in the hair and skin.
Candidiasis
Yeast, the causative agent of this infection, normally lives on the human body and on mucous membranes.
Activation of the infection leads to the appearance of systemic lesions, which can also spread to the nails.
The reasons for this may be
- I. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics.
- II.Immunodeficiency states.
- III.Take hormonal medications.
- IV.Treatment with cytostatics.
- V. Hypovitaminosis.
The hands and feet are affected with the same frequency.
Visually, it is difficult to confuse what toenail fungus looks like in the initial stage of a yeast infection with other diseases.
The nail plate acquires a brown color and becomes bumpy from scratches and depressions.
Whitish spots appear on its surface and in its thickness.
They are loose and can be easily removed from the nail (if located superficially).
The nail itself delaminates and pulls away from the nail bed.
Along its edges, at the cuticle level, layers of cheese also appear.
It becomes red and inflamed.
Interdigital spaces are also affected.