Nail Fungus
Nail Fungus Treatment Articles
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Disclaimer

 

This site is designed for information purposes only. It is not to substitute for medical advice provided by your physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. If you have suspect that you have medical problem, promptly contact your physician or health care provider.

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Nail Fungus and Toenail Fungus Treatment 2010

 

Useful Resources

 

“When a nail infection develops, the most common cause is a fungus. More frequent on the toenails than on the fingernails, fungal nail infections affect about 12% of all Americans.” AAD

 

“Onychomycosis means fungal infection of the nail. It is the most common disease of the nails and constitutes about a half of all nail abnormalities.” Wikipedia

 

“An infection of nail fungus occurs when fungi infect one or more of your nails. A nail fungal infection may begin as a white or yellow spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail.” MayoClinic

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A Short Background on What Nails Are

 

Let us start with a short background on what nails are; so we can easily detect if there is anything out of the ordinary. For all we know you might like the color yellow and might even welcome the discoloration of your infected toenail or fingernail.

    

Hooves, nails, and claws are hard growths of keratin. Keratin is a horny fibrous protein produced by the outer layer of the skin. They are found at the edge of the digits, fingers and toes for us humans.

    

The human nail forms a shield or barrier at the end of our fingers and toes. Our nails, the normal ones, are colorless and transparent. Though if you look at your nails it looks a little bit pinkish. This is due to the blood vessels under our skin. The end of the nail is white due to the air under it. The crescent shaped area at the root of the nail looks white. This is because it is not firmly adhered to the connective tissue.

 

Nail Fungus Treatment

The nail plate is made of horny cells and is on the top of the nail bed. This goes past the fingertip. If you look at your nails closely, the fingernail protrudes past the fingertip and the space under the nail is where the nasty nail fungal infection starts. Clean and short fingernails and toenails will likely prevent the development of infection but is not a guarantee. Still the best thing to do is to prevent rather than to cure.

    

Now, having a little bit of information about our dear old nails, you may be able to spot an infected nail.   

    

Fungus, what exactly is fungus? Fungi are parasitic or saprophytic plants which are devoid of chlorophyll.

    

Basically, nail fungal infection of the fingernails and toenails cause discoloration. You will notice this since the infected nail will definitely stand out from the rest of your nails. Couple this with the thickening and often softening of your infected nail.

 

Nail fungus infection is difficult to treat and often cause permanent damage.

 

By the way, fungus may also include a large group of simple plants including yeast, molds and mushrooms. They live as parasites and are infection-causing organisms.

    

Since fungal infections are caused by very small plant-like organisms, they tend to thrive on our skin. Our body is home to a variety of microorganisms including several types of fungi like yeast and mold, as mentioned earlier. Although some of these fungi are useful to the body or cause no problems at all, there are also those that can spread and cause infection.

    

Mold-like fungus is called dermatophytes. This group causes athletes foot, jock itch and ring worms of the skin or of the scalp. These fungi live on dead tissues of the hair, the outer layer of the skin and under the nails.

    

Nail fungal infection is hard but treatable and there are many medications available on the market. Yet before you think of self-diagnosis, it is best to consult your doctor or better yet a podiatrist.

 

 

A Short Background on What Nails Are