One fifth of the European population suffers from mycosis on the legs.
These are data from a study carried out in all European countries. The fungus on the feet most often begins with interdigital folds, for the following reasons:
- vascular diseases of the legs (21%);
- obesity (17%);
- leg pathology: narrow interdigital spaces, diabetic foot, flat foot (15%);
- trauma to skin, nails and fingers from tight shoes, sports injuries, edged pedicures.
Favorite place of appearance of mycosis of the legs - the narrowest spaces between the 3, 4, 5 fingers. From there, the fungus affects all the interdigital folds, the skin of the plant with lateral edges, the back of the foot, the nails.
How to recognize mycosis of the foot? Symptoms of toe fungus
- A crack or funnel appears between the toes, the edges of which are covered with whitish or greenish scaly (scaly) skin;
- The crack may be oozing with exudate;
- A circular diaper rash appears with peeling skin under and between the fingers (intertriginous symptoms);
- With the flow erased between the toes, the cracks are barely noticeable, but the flaking takes on a floury character (the skin appears dusted with flour, these are your affected scales). Symptoms are especially common in children;
- There is a slight itch between the fingers, but there is no great discomfort.
In an erased "dormant" state, the fungus between the toes can linger indefinitely, hiding symptoms. But the processes will grow. Gradually, the skin looks more and more dry, rough, rough, scaly, acquires a dirty yellowish gray color, horns until calcified, cracks in especially rough places.
Simultaneously or sequentially, the stage of onychomycosis occurs: nail lesions that change color, thicken, exfoliate and crumble. They reach that end in the later stages, when symptoms clearly indicate a long-term neglect of health.
The second path of development of the fungus between the toes is rarer (about 8%). This is a "wet", vesicular or exudative fungus, in which there are burst vesicular vesicles and ulceration after them. This wet mycosis between the toes affects people with severe stress, with long walks, with bad shoes, tight, without ventilation, with inadequate fungal therapy, with self-treatment with antifungal and corticosteroids.
If you sabotage the treatment of the fungus between the toes, 80-100% of patients will be affected by toenails, 20% on the hands. The look is sad and repulsive, the nail looks like crumbled powder or laundry soap. It can also take on the appearance of a "vulture claw" or grow out. And an ingrown toenail is also a painful treatment.
How to cure interdigital fungi?
Even if all these symptoms appear after many years, you should start treating the fungus between the toes immediately, because it is a highly contagious and untreatable infection.
We went to the dermatologist. Before treating, the fingers are scraped and examined by microscopy, culture, or DNA analysis. Microscopy reveals mycelial filaments or spores.
Systemic treatment consists of taking tablets or capsules with antifungal agents. Those accumulate in the horn tissues, enter through the blood and destroy the fungus for many weeks after taking the drug.
The downside is that systemic drugs are moderately hepatotoxic (they have a negative effect on a weak liver) and therefore the treatment cannot be applied to people with a diseased liver, pregnant women, lactating women, young and old. The type of drug depends on the nature of the pathogen. If the symptoms are not clear and the type is not established, a treatment with a broad-spectrum drug is prescribed. The use of systemic drugs remains a risk; in advanced stages, they need to be treated for a long time.
You can also deal with local medications that are applied to injuries. These drugs often have a wide range of effects and kill both fungi and bacteria. Treatment is long and intense, so you should inform your doctor immediately if your funds are limited.
Home therapy and prevention of fungal infections. It is useless to treat the fungus yourself. The information allows us to talk about their exceptional survivability and high recurring potential.
Prevention is an effective remedy.
- Check family members for fungal symptoms. Domestic contamination is common. Everyone needs to be treated;
- Do not wear someone else's shoes, socks, pedicure set, do not wipe with an ordinary towel;
- Not all fungi die even at 100 degrees Celsius, but an important part, yes, so wash bedding and bathroom linen at 90 degrees;
- Disinfect shoes with antifungal spray once a month, bathroom surfaces once a week;
- In public places, do not go barefoot and do the pedicure in well-sanitized salons;
- For the prevention of fungus, you can use antifungal ointment, which is applied to clean, dry feet;
- Don't put your shoes on until your feet are dry.
Dermatologists also advise doing a pedicure at least once a month and a half, removing dead tissue. It is in them that the fungus loves to settle. Better to be careful than to cure later.
In the clinic, you can undergo an examination and a consultation with a dermatovenerologist.