If a person has a fungus on his foot, 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. This is due to the pathogenic fungal microflora of the genus Trichophyton, which can affect both the skin of the feet and the nail plates on the toes with increased sweating. The homeland of the microorganism is Southeast Asia, where nature itself has created ideal conditions for its development: a warm and humid climate and a dense population. In recent years, it has spread to Europe and America. Today, more than 20% of the world's population suffers from skin fungus.
Ways of infection
The most common way of infection with fungal spores is through contact. This often happens when a sick or healthy person lives or works together.
Common ways of transmitting fungus to the skin of the feet and nails include:
- common household items in direct contact with skin and toenails (bedding, socks, shoes, pedicure accessories);
- public baths and showers - as a rule, they are used by people working in dusty and dirty industries (mines, factories), as well as athletes, conscripts who often sweat;
- sun beds, sunbeds and mats on the beaches.
In order 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, treat them with antiseptics. Therefore, the spread of the disease occurs most often in field conditions, creating favorable conditions for the growth of fungi during long transitions from sweating feet.
In addition to sweating feet, a weak immune status increases the risk of infection. Today, this factor is one of the main reasons for the spread of this pathology due to the deteriorating environmental situation and the increase in diseases such as diabetes around the world.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Symptoms of foot fungus are widespread.
Among them:
- irritation, redness, severe itching and skin rash;
- erosion of the scales from its surface;
- cracks in the interdigital region, uterine rash;
- nail deformation.
Such pathology in the legs causes many problems and causes not only physical but also mental distress to the victims:
- the foot becomes inflamed and swollen;
- even if there is no sweating of the feet, there is an unpleasant odor on the affected skin;
- nails change color, wear and break.
But if you do not fight the disease, the symptoms gradually reach this stage of development. Therefore, you should not look for an effective remedy for athlete's foot at the first signs, but contact a dermatologist - he should decide which antifungal agents will be used to defeat the pathogen. as soon as possible. With the current level of development of pharmacology and compliance with the recommendations of experts, it is possible to treat fungus on the feet quite quickly.
Patients who come to a dermatologist with such complaints first undergo a diagnostic procedure. It is necessary to clarify the diagnosis, as it directly depends on how to treat athlete's foot.
The following methods are used to determine the type of fungal spores:
- Radiation with a special lamp makes the lesion area especially visual, because under its rays the skin in this area differs from the general background, becoming purple-red.
- Bacterial tissue, based on skin fragments, allows samples to be multiplied by placing them in a nutrient medium to identify the type of pathogen that is causing external observation and disease.
- PCR technique is the most modern method to date, and because it is based on fungal DNA analysis, it helps to diagnose with almost one hundred percent certainty.
After receiving the results of the study, choosing the most effective remedy against fungi, the doctor offers the patient certain drugs and determines the scheme of their use. In order to choose the most effective remedy for the fungus, it takes into account factors such as age, health status, and accompanying diseases.
Pharmacology arsenal
And yet, among a fairly significant number of ingredients, it is not an easy task to choose a super effective and inexpensive remedy for a fungus that grows on the feet. It can be not only an external drug, but also an oral preparation - if the external forms were weak. And yet, as a rule, treatment begins with them.
The main active ingredient of the drug is terbinafine - a proven antifungal agent in the legs, which is able to quickly destroy fungal spores. Both creams, ointments, and fungal sprays are applied directly to the skin of the feet, previously washed and dried, and ointment and cream forms should be lightly rubbed into the affected area. In people who have "caught" mycosis of the foot, the skin often takes on a rough, dense, thick appearance, which is especially characteristic of the heel and heel. The remedy for the fungus can not pass through such a "shield", so before starting treatment, the skin should be steamed in a solution of warm soap to soften the stratum corneum and remove it with a pumice stone and a special grinding file.
With increasing dryness of the epidermis, the base of the antifungal agent should be as oily as possible. This requirement is met by the ointments to be used in this situation. A fungal spray or suspension is effective in the area of the interdigital area where the skin is more delicate and delicate.
Special therapeutic varnishes applied to the nail plate are also used to combat toenail fungus, or rather toenails.
It should be treated before application: the lesions are polished, the affected areas are removed as much as possible to help the drug penetrate 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 fungus on the feet will not have the necessary therapeutic effect.
In the most severe and advanced cases, mycosis of the foot is not only resistant to foreign agents, because the harmful waste of pathogens enters the bloodstream and begins to poison a person from the inside. The attending physician then prescribes antifungal antibiotics for oral administration, which have a systemic inhibitory effect on pathogenic microorganisms.
It is impossible to use such a powerful tool for foot fungus without the direct instruction of a specialist, because the consequences of uncontrolled intake can lead to very serious consequences. One of them is the development of immunity of fungal spores to these drugs and their components.
Folk remedies
What helps the best with foot fungus - pharmacology or folk pharmacy? Only a doctor can answer how to treat athlete's foot, but it is no longer necessary to consult him about home remedies.
The most reliable means to help get rid of fungus on the legs have long been known:
- Laundry soap from the fungus on the feet. With a fungus, foot baths with this component are useful, especially effective for excessive sweating of the feet. After scrubbing 70% brown laundry soap with no aromatic odor, take a tablespoon of sawdust and mix it with a tablespoon of baking soda. Pour the mixture into water heated to 40 degrees, soak your feet in soap and soda solution for half an hour. As evaporating, lather the skin between the toes and rub the feet with a brush to improve the penetration of the components of the solution into the upper layers of the epidermis. At the end of the daily procedure, wash your feet with clean water and apply the external medication recommended by your doctor.
- Table vinegar is also a good folk remedy for fungus on the feet, especially against the shape of the nail. Treat your nails carefully, being careful not to damage them, as this will help deepen the infection. After pouring hot water into a bowl with a temperature of about 50 degrees, pour a glass of 9% vinegar in the same place. Soak your feet in vinegar-water solution for 10-15 minutes (there should be enough liquid to completely cover the feet). Then dry your feet without rinsing and wear clean socks. Repeat such foot baths for mushrooms 3-4 times a week.
- Another good remedy for athlete's foot is iodine. After washing the feet and treating the nails, an alcoholic solution of iodine should be applied to the foci with a cotton swab. When using iodine solution against toenail fungus, care should be taken not to burn, especially in the area between the toes.
- Propolis from the fungus is used in the form of applications to the nail and the surrounding skin after evaporation in a hot soapy solution.
Herbal recipes for mushrooms on the skin:
- Euphorbia is an effective remedy against athlete's foot. The juice of the plant should be lubricated with painful sticks with a cotton swab.
- Mushroom celandine - 3 tablespoons. spoons of grass pour 1 liter of water, bring to a boil, cool to an acceptable temperature (40-46 degrees) and soak in the foot solution.
- Burdock - for the treatment of foot fungus, you need to wrap them with well-beaten burdock leaves, wear clean socks and sleep with such a compress.
- Tea tree oil from the fungus on the legs is effective only in the early stages of the disease.
Unfortunately, no remedy for foot fungus has yet been invented in one application. Therefore, when using both pharmaceutical and folk medicine for fungi, it is necessary to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. The best remedy for athlete's foot is a doctor's prescription.