Nailrot: Onychomycosis and Its Treatment
Sometimes people call it “toenail rot,” but the correct medical term for a fungal infection of the nails is “onychomycosis”. Nail fungus can make your toe nails and even your fingernails look like they are rotting away when the nails turn an unsightly yellow and become unnaturally thick.
Onychomycosis is not simply a cosmetic problem. It is not inherited. Onychomycosis is contagious. Never ignore a nail fungus infection and hope it will go away on its own. Recent studies show that certain non-prescription nail fungus remedies can be very effective if the early infection is not ignored or covered up.
Fungal infections can occur in the nails of both the fingers and the toes, but toe infections are more common. A nail fungus infection is characterized by thickened, brittle nails that lose their luster and become discolored. “Toe nail rot” is not an accurate description, even though that is what it may appear like to the toe nail fungus patient.
The fungi that cause the infection invade the skin through small cuts or separations between the nail and the nail bed. Infections usually take hold after repeated exposure to warm, moist environments. The fungus can be transmitted in public showers and swimming pools, old shoes with closed toes, or even home showers that are used by other people with fungal infections.
The toenail rot fungus also causes athlete’s foot, which is an infection confined to the skin.
The infection can spread between nails (and from person to person); the longer it goes untreated, the harder it is to eliminate. If you catch a nail rot infection early, you may be able to treat it with a non-prescription nail fungus treatment. If you try a natural nail fungus treatment and it does not work, get professional medical advice to avoid long-term damage to your nails from the fungal infection.
A doctor can prescribe one of several medicines you can take in pill form. Some of the prescriptions your doctor might recommend are itraconazole, fluconazole, or terbinafine. Remember that it takes many weeks of daily treatment to cure a nail fungus infection with oral medication, so do not stop taking the prescribed medicine early just because your nails start to look better and you think your “nail rot” is cured. The appearance of the nail can improve even though the infection is still present. For a permanent “toenail rot” cure, the medicine must be taken long enough to kill all of the fungus.
Oral prescription treatments for nail fungus can have serious side effects, so be sure to discuss your options completely with your doctor before you agree on a course of treatment. Other medical treatments that your doctor might recommend include daily use of an antifungal nail lacquer (ciclopirox), or a topical cream with an active ingredient such as econazole nitrate. In severe “toenail rot” cases, the infected nail may have to be surgically removed to get rid of the infection.
After you have successfully treated your toenail rot, be sure to take precautions against re-exposure to the infection. If you want more information about toenail rot and its treatment, there are a number of informative articles at the Med News You Can Use Nail Fungus Articles Archive.