In addition to hair and face, nails also need treatment. Some women are willing to spend hours just to beautify their nails. Indeed, having beautiful and healthy nails can make you feel happy and confident. Only, too often do nail care can put you at risk of nail fungus.
If you often go to the salon to take care of your nails, you must be careful. Fungal nails can be transmitted through unclean nail care tools, such as scissors and foot baths. Normally, healthy nails look soft and have a consistent color.
Causes and Symptoms of Nail Fungus
Abnormalities in the nails of the hands and feet can provide information about your health condition. The disorder can be an infection or injury to the nail. However, sometimes abnormalities that appear on the nails can also indicate a more serious health disorder.
Infections that often occur in nails are fungal infections. Medically, nail fungus is known as onychomycosis (onychomycosis) or tinea unguium. Some signs that you have a nail fungus infection include brittle nails, white or yellowish nails, red or black nails due to blood clots (hematoma) under the nails, brown nails due to psoriasis, swelling and redness. the skin around the nails is called paronychia and recurrent and chronic trauma to the nails.
Usually, a nail fungus infection starts from the tip of the nail, then spreads to the center. Nails change color and are easily removed or peeled off. Infection of the nails causes the nails to become brittle, and cause pain and swelling of the skin around the nails.
Fungi are normally found in your body, and can thrive in a warm and humid environment. Nail fungus infections occur as a result of excessive mold growth on your nails. The fungus that infects the nails can come from a fungus that is already present in or on the surface of your body. In addition, the fungus can also come from other people who are infected with the fungus.
Some people are at high risk of getting nail fungus infection, for example diabetics, people with abnormalities in blood circulation, aged over 65 years, using artificial nails, swimming in public swimming pools, experiencing nail injuries, experiencing skin injuries around the nails, leaving fingers or feet that are damp for a long time, have a weak immune system, and wear fully closed shoes like tennis shoes or boots.
Nail Fungus Is Not The Same As A Skin Fungus
If you think that nail fungus and skin fungus are the same, you are wrong. Nail fungus and skin fungus are very different, so is the treatment. This difference, besides of course, lies in the location where the fungus is located, also in the causes and symptoms caused by the fungus.
Nail fungus infections are usually caused by dermatophyte fungi, whereas skin fungi are caused by candida fungi.
For skin fungus, some of the symptoms that arise are rash, cracks in the skin, pain, red and white lesions, and others. As for nail fungus, symptoms such as nails appear thick, brittle, dull and not glowing, and the dark color under your nails.
In addition, skin fungus tends to be more common in babies and overweight people, whereas nail fungus is more common in adults than children. Skin fungus also tends to cause itching, whereas nail fungus infections usually do not cause pain and itching.
Skin fungus treatment can usually use over-the-counter medicines, for example using ketoconazole or clotrimazole, as well as antifungal drugs such as azoles and miconazole. Most of these drugs will be used once or twice a day.
As for nail fungus infections, you can use antifungal drugs, such as antifungal in the form of nail varnish or topical solution for nails containing lactic acid, propylene glycol and urea. Nail fungus treatment is also very dependent on the type of fungus that causes the infection, as well as the severity of the infection that occurs.
If the infection is very severe, doctors will usually prescribe antifungal drugs such as terbinafine, itraconazole, fluconazole, griseofulvin.
The condition of your nails can reflect your cleanliness and health. Therefore, take good care of your nails so they can look clean, healthy and beautiful. Some of these ways can make your nails look healthy and beautiful, including:
- Don't cut the cuticle (a thin, dead layer on the edge of the nail), because the cuticle is a natural barrier to mold and bacteria. By cutting it off, it makes the protection disappear.
- Use enough nail polish or not at all.
- Moisturize nails and their culture, especially after cleaning nail polish. Because most nail polish cleaners contain chemicals that dry the nails.
- Take biotin supplements, which are part of vitamin B. This can increase nail thickness and prevent nail damage.
- Limit professional nail care. This is because exposure to chemicals can make nails dry and brittle. If you must and are accustomed to going to a nail salon, make sure some things such as the experience or license of the nurse and nail staff, cleanliness of the hands of nail nurses, and also the cleanliness of the tools used.
- Avoid acetone-based nail polish remover, because it can make nails become brittle.
- Don't wash your hands too often and limit the use of cleaning agents that contain chemicals.
- Don't bite your nails.
- Routinely cut the nails of the hands and feet with nail clippers or manicure scissors. Don't forget to smooth the nail tip with sandpaper. The best time to do this is after bathing, when the nails are softer.
To prevent nail fungus infection or damage that may appear on the nails, you are advised to be more careful in treating it. If abnormal symptoms develop on your nails, consult your doctor immediately for proper treatment.
