Fungal nail infections are a serious medical and social problem.
The pathogen is stable in the external environment and is quite easily transmitted from person to person.
If you detect the disease in time, you can protect yourself, your family members and others from infection.
And to understand when to consult a qualified doctor, it won't hurt to know what nail fungus looks like.
There are many types of mushrooms.
And many of them can cause diseases on the nails.
The common name for this annoying sore is onychomycosis.
Depending on which specific fungus leads to the development of onychomycosis, the disease is called.
What does nail fungus look like: types of diseases
The most popular are:
- Athlete's foot.
- Rubrophytia.
- Trichophytosis.
- Favourite.
- Candidiasis.
The causative agents of each of these diseases affect not only the nails, but also the skin and hair.
Therefore, if at first glance there are any changes, even small ones, it is better to see a doctor.
Perhaps this will help determine the onset of the disease and prevent the spread of infection.
athlete's foot
Interestingly, when the disease occurs in the fingernails, the first and fifth toes are most often affected.
Why fungi choose them is unknown.
First of all, the appearance of the nail changes:
- Pink gives way to yellow.
- The surface becomes dull and loses its healthy shine.
- Thick spots and nodules appear on the disc.
- Dense growths (hyperkeratosis) develop under it.
- Canary-colored spots or stripes appear in the thickness of the nail.
The shape of the nail lasts quite a long time - several weeks or even months.
The free edge is gradually destroyed.
It becomes corroded and uneven.
Another characteristic of athlete's foot is that the disease only develops on the feet.
The picture of what toenail fungus looks like on the hands will not be the same.
If so, it's not athlete's foot.
erythrocytosis
In this case, onychomycosis is caused by a fungus called red trichophyton.
There are three forms of the disease:
- Normal form.
- Hypertrophy.
- Like atrophy.
In the normal form of onychomycosis, the nail plate does not flatten for a long time.
White or yellow stripes (leukonychia) appear in its thickness.
At first they were separate, but gradually merged into a single point.
In the typical course of the disease, the border at the base of the nail does not change.
Nail hyperpigmentation progresses differently.
The first record became dull and lost its shine.
It thickens due to growth (hyperkeratosis) underneath.
Nails are shaped like bird beaks and crumble easily.
And this applies not only to the free edge.
The long course of the disease causes the nails to resemble bird claws - onychomycosis.
The form of atrophy is also distinctive.
Nails become dull and dirty gray.
In a fairly short time, the nail plate becomes thinner and destroyed.
Along the edges, in the nail fold, nail tissue remains but may also disappear.
trichophytosis
This fungus causes disease on the entire skin surface.
Onychomycosis develops in only half of patients and the nails are affected.
What does the initial stage of onychomycosis look like with trichophytosis does not allow for an accurate diagnosis because there are similarities with other fungal diseases.
The surface of the nail plate becomes dull and the color becomes gray.
Over time, nails become brittle and break easily.
In some cases, it may even come off the bed.
This process is lengthy and can take several years.
favourite
The synonym for this pathology is scabies.
Children rarely get sick.
The disease has a long-term, chronic course.
The causative agent is a number of fungi belonging to the genus Trichophyton.
First, due to subungual keratosis, the plaque thickens and moves away from the nail bed.
At the same time, it began to crumble.
In its thickness, one can observe a single yellow spot - scales.
Gradually it becomes dirty.
The death of the nail occurs several months after the onset of the disease.
This process is often accompanied by other hair and skin manifestations.
candidiasis
Yeast, the causative agent of this infection, commonly lives on the human body and on mucous membranes.
Activation of 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 status.
- III.Use hormone medications.
- IV.Treatment with cytostatic drugs.
- V. Vitamin deficiency disease.
Hands and feet are affected with equal frequency.
Visually, what toenail fungus looks like in the early stages of a yeast infection is difficult to confuse with other diseases.
The nail plate is brown and becomes bumpy due to stripes and dents.
White spots appear on its surface and thickness.
They are loose and can be easily removed from the nail (if they are superficial).
Nails peel off on their own, peeling off the nail bed.
Along its edge, in the epidermal area, layers of cheese also appear.
It becomes red and inflamed.
Inter-digital spaces are also affected.