Are nail diseases dangerous on the hands?

Diseases of the nails on the hands, as a rule, are caused by a fungal infection. What symptoms should you pay attention first? How to bring your nails in order? All this is described in detail in this article.

Onychomycosis

A very common disease of the fingernails is onychomycosis. It is caused by fungus-dermatophyte, which penetrates the nail plate and reads it slowly but surely destroy it. Symptoms of the disease are caused by a variety of fungus and the way it got into the nail. The main cause of infection is a crack in the nail plate.

Where can I get infected?

Diseases of the nails in your hands most often lie in wait for you in places of congestion. Gym, swimming pool, sauna, manicurist office, public bath - visiting all these places, you risk catching a fungus, coming into direct contact with other visitors.

How to understand that you have a fungus?

Diseases of the nails on the hands are easy to diagnose by a number of signs. First, the nail plate color changes : nails are covered with yellow and brown spots. Women rarely pay attention to this stage, because the stains are reliably hidden under a layer of varnish. However, the process does not stop there: the nail becomes thicker, then begins to crack and break.

Who is affected by onychomycosis?

The older the person, the more he risks catching the fungus. Diseases of the nails in the hands are well known to people suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular problems. If your immunity is weakened after a long illness, you should be extremely careful: the body will not be able to fight the fungus, and the infection will spread very quickly. Onychomycosis does not just spoil the appearance of the nails: the disease affects all organs negatively, since the fungus has the property of secreting toxins.

Symptoms of fungus

In order to begin treatment of the nail fungus on the hands, one should know its possible symptoms. Doctors distinguish three varieties of onychomycosis, each of which has a number of characteristic features:

1. Normotrophic onychomycosis. The nail thus sharply changes color, becomes yellowish, is covered by white longitudinal strips. The thickness of the nail plate does not change.
2. Hypertrophic onychomycosis. In this case, the nail loses a healthy shine and begins to crumble. At the same time its shape resembles a bird's claw.

3. Atrophic onychomycosis. The nail plate darkens, becomes almost black and after a while completely atrophies. For this type of disease, nail loss is characteristic.

How to treat a fungus?

Diseases of the nails in the hands must be treated. Once you notice any of the above signs, you should immediately contact a specialist. The longer you delay the visit to the doctor, the higher the risk of remaining without fingernails. If the test for the presence of fungus gave a positive result, the doctor will prescribe you special antifungal ointments, which must be rubbed into the nail plate and cuticle. If the disease has gone far, complex methods are used for its treatment: medical creams and antibiotics. However, do not forget to carefully study the instructions for medications - most of them have serious contraindications.

An excellent tool in the fight against fungal diseases of nails is hardware cleaning. Specialist with a special device carefully removes the affected layer of the nail plate and covers it with a therapeutic varnish. Another effective method is the so-called pulse therapy. Its meaning is to take the medicine not permanently, but on an individual schedule. This method has proven itself and gives excellent results.