If a person has fungus on his feet, then the question of how to treat it comes to the fore. Among the many forms of this infection, the fungus that affects the feet is one of the most common. The reason for this is the pathogenic fungal microflora of the species Trichophyton, which in case of increased sweating can affect both the skin of the feet and the nail plates of the toes. The birthplace of the microorganism is Southeast Asia, where nature itself has created ideal conditions for its development: hot and humid climate plus dense population. In recent years it has spread to Europe and America. Currently, more than 20% of the world's population suffers from skin fungus.
Ways of infection
The most common ways of contracting fungal spores are contact. Most often this happens in the conditions of cohabitation or work of a sick and healthy person.
Common ways to transmit the fungus to the skin of the feet and nails are:
- ordinary household items that have direct contact with the skin and toenails (bed linen, socks, shoes, pedicure supplies);
- public baths and showers - as a rule, they are used by people working in dusty and dirty types of production (mines, factories), as well as athletes, servicemen, who often have to sweat;
- sunbeds, sunbeds and bedding on the beaches.
To prevent the fungus, it is necessary to strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene, trying to avoid situations where infection is possible.
The likelihood of infection increases with sweating of the feet, if it is not possible to wash them in time, change socks and shoes and treat them with antiseptics. Therefore, outbreaks of the disease most often occur in the field, when during long transitions from foot sweating favorable conditions are created for the reproduction of the fungus.
In addition to sweaty feet, weak immune status increases the risk of infection. Currently, due to the deteriorating environmental situation in the world and the growing diseases such as diabetes, this factor is among the leading causes of the spread of this pathology.
Symptoms and diagnosis
The signs of foot fungus are widely known.
Between them:
- irritation, redness, severe itching and skin rash;
- exfoliation of flakes from its surface;
- cracks, diaper rash in the interdigital area;
- nail deformity.
Such pathology of the legs causes many problems and causes victims not only physical but also moral discomfort:
- the foot becomes inflamed and swollen;
- an unpleasant odor is emitted from the affected skin, even if there is no sweating of the feet;
- nails change color, exfoliate and crumble.
But the symptoms reach this stage of development gradually if you do not fight the disease. Therefore, at the first signs, you should not look for an effective treatment for foot fungus, but contact a dermatologist - he will have to decide which antifungal agents should be used to defeat the pathogen as quickly as possible. . With the current level of development of pharmacology and compliance with the recommendations of specialists, it is possible to cure foot fungus quickly enough.
Coming to the dermatologist's office with such complaints, patients first of all undergo a diagnostic procedure. It is necessary to clarify the diagnosis, as it directly depends on how to treat the fungus on the feet.
The following methods are used to determine the type of fungal spores:
- Irradiation with a special lamp makes the area of the lesion especially visual, as the skin in this place under its rays stands out against the general background, becoming purple-red.
- Bacterial inoculation based on skin scrapings allows to multiply by placing samples in a nutrient medium in order to externally monitor and clarify the type of pathogen that caused the development of the disease.
- The PCR technique is the most modern method to date, which helps to diagnose with almost one hundred percent certainty, as it is based on DNA analysis of fungi.
After receiving the results of the study, choosing the most effective remedy against the fungus, the doctor offers the patient certain drugs and specifies the scheme of their use. To choose the most effective means of treating the fungus, he takes into account factors such as age, health, comorbidities.
Pharmacological arsenal
However, choosing a super effective and inexpensive remedy for fungus that grows on the feet, among a significant number of elements, is not an easy task. It can be not only an external medicine, but also an oral preparation - if the external forms were powerless. And yet, as a rule, treatment begins with them.
The main active ingredient of the drug is terbinafine - a proven remedy against foot fungus, able to quickly destroy fungal spores. Both the cream and the ointment and the fungus spray are applied directly to the skin of the feet, pre-washed and dried, and the ointment and creamy forms should be rubbed lightly into the affected area. In people who have "caught" mycosis of the foot, the skin often acquires a rough, thick appearance, which is especially characteristic of the feet and heels. The antifungal drug can not penetrate such a "shield", therefore, before starting treatment, the skin should be steamed in a hot soap solution to soften the stratum corneum and remove it with pumice and a special grinding file.
In case of increased dryness of the epidermis, the base of the antifungal agent should be as oily as possible. The ointments to be used in this case meet this requirement. In the area of the interdigital area, where the skin is thinner and more delicate, an anti-fungal spray or suspension is effective.
To combat fungus on the feet or rather toenails, special therapeutic varnishes applied to the nail plate are also used.
Prior to application, it should be treated: the unevenness is polished, the affected areas are removed as much as possible to help the penetration of drugs into the nail tissue.
Sometimes you need to seek the help of a surgeon who completely removes the affected nail plate.
If this is not done, even the most effective remedy for foot fungus will not be able to have a healing effect at the appropriate level.
In the most serious and advanced cases, mycosis of the foot is not only susceptible to external agents, as the harmful waste products of pathogens enter the bloodstream, starting to poison a person from the inside. The doctor then prescribes antifungal antibiotics for oral administration, which have a systemic inhibitory effect on pathogenic microorganisms.
It is impossible to use such powerful means for fungus on the feet without the direct indication of a specialist, as the consequences of uncontrolled intake can have very serious consequences. One of them is the development of immunity of fungal spores to these drugs and their components.
Folk remedies
What helps best with fungus on the feet - pharmacology or folk pharmacy? Only a doctor can answer how to cure foot fungus, but it will not be superfluous to consult him for home remedies.
The most reliable means of removing foot fungus have long been well known:
- Soap for washing fungus on the feet. For fungi, foot baths with this component are useful, especially effective for excessive sweating of the feet. After scraping 70% brown laundry soap without fragrant aromas, take a tablespoon of sawdust and mix it with a tablespoon of baking soda. Pour the mixture into water heated to 40 degrees, dip your feet in a solution of soap and soda for half an hour. When steaming, foam the skin between the toes and rub the feet with a brush to improve the penetration of the components of the solution in the upper layers of the epidermis. At the end of the procedure, which should be performed every other day, wash your feet with clean water and apply the external medicine recommended by the doctor on the skin.
- Table vinegar is also a good folk remedy for fungus on the feet, especially against the shape of the nails. Treat your nails with care, being careful not to hurt them, as this contributes to the aggravation of the infection. After pouring hot water into a bowl whose temperature should be about 50 degrees, pour a glass of 9% vinegar in the same place. Immerse your feet in vinegar-water solution (there should be enough liquid to completely cover your feet) for 10-15 minutes. Then, without rinsing, dry your feet and put on clean socks. Repeat such foot baths for fungus 3-4 times a week.
- Another good remedy for foot fungus is iodine. Alcoholic solution of iodine should be applied with a cotton swab on the hearth, after washing the feet and treating nails. When using iodine solution against fungus on the feet, it is important to be careful not to burn, especially in the area between the toes.
- Fungal propolis is used in the form of applications applied to the nail and the skin around it, after steaming in a hot soap solution.
Herbal recipes for skin fungus:
- Euphorbia is an effective remedy against foot fungus. The juice of the plant should be lubricated with inflamed nails with a cotton swab.
- Celandine from fungi - 3 tablespoons. spoons of grass pour 1 liter of water, boil, cool to an acceptable temperature (40-46 degrees) and rise in the solution for the feet.
- Burdock - to treat fungus on the feet, you need to wrap them with a well-broken leaf of burdock, put on clean socks and go to bed with such a compress.
- Tea tree oil from the fungus on the feet is effective only in the early stages of the disease.
Unfortunately, no remedy has yet been invented that can get rid of foot fungus with a single application. Therefore, when using both pharmaceutical and folk remedies for fungus, it is imperative to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. The best remedy for treating foot fungus is what your doctor has prescribed.