There are a number of strategies to prevent nail fungus (or fungus), ranging from basic hygiene measures to trying to reduce other risk factors. If you follow these tips, you will most likely be able to avoid developing a fungus on your fingernails or toenails. In the unfortunate hypothesis that mycosis occurs anyway, there are medications you can use to treat it and hopefully to prevent future episodes.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Follow Simple Daily Hygiene Rules
Step 1. Wash your hands and feet regularly
Do this using warm soapy water. In addition to your hands, you should also wash your feet at least once a day when you shower to keep your nails clean. This will reduce the chances of developing mycosis. Also carefully wash the spaces between the toes, both feet and hands, as well as thoroughly lather the nails themselves. Performing a thorough and regular cleaning is one of the most effective tools at your disposal to prevent nail fungus.
Step 2. Trim your nails regularly
It is important to intervene frequently to keep them short. Doing so serves to minimize the surface area that fungi can grow on, but also to reduce the amount of moisture and dirt that can get trapped under the nails. Cutting them regularly improves the hygiene of the body and the nail bed, therefore reducing the chances of developing mycosis.
Step 3. When doing your manicure or pedicure, go for a natural look
Although nail polishes and false nails can make hands and feet look more beautiful, they further trap moisture in the nails, thus increasing the risk of developing fungal infections. If possible, avoid using both nail polishes and artificial nails. Also, if you are in the habit of going to a beauty salon to get your manicures and pedicures done, make sure the tools you use are perfectly clean so as not to increase the risk of contracting fungal disease anyway.
- If you're worried that you might get a fungus, but still want to go get a pedicure or manicure, you can. In fact, keeping your nails clean and short is beneficial for their health.
- However, follow the advice not to use nail polish. Your nails will still look neat and presentable after a pedicure or manicure, even without nail polish.
- Likewise, you should avoid resorting to artificial or artificial nails and any artistic decorations.
Step 4. Know that mycoses can spread from nail to nail
For this reason, if a nail is affected by a fungus, it is important to wash your hands every time you touch it to reduce the chances of the infection spreading to the others.
Method 2 of 3: Experiment with other Preventive Strategies
Step 1. Use breathable socks
Since the chances of developing mycosis are related to the degree of humidity (fungi thrive in humid environments), wearing socks made of a material that does not trap sweat is a very effective prevention method.
- Breathable, highly absorbent wool or synthetic fiber socks are a great option.
- Socks need to be changed often, especially if your feet sweat a lot.
- It is best to avoid cotton socks if possible.
Step 2. Also consider the type of shoes
In addition to proliferating in humid environments, mushrooms also love confined spaces. For this reason, wearing closed shoes throughout the day, particularly if they are old, can increase the risk of developing nail fungus.
- Consider wearing open-front shoes for part of the day if your daily schedule allows for it.
- Throw away your old shoes and buy new ones. Alternatively, you can use a shoe disinfectant or antifungal powder to eliminate the risk of contracting fungal infections.
- Reserve a pair of shoes for exercise only. Compared to when you work or take care of normal daily chores, exercising you sweat a lot more and, since moisture tends to get trapped in shoes, keeping them on for a long time increases the risk of developing fungal infections.
Step 3. Do not walk barefoot in public places
Given that wearing closed shoes for a long time can be a risk factor for nail fungus, it is equally unwise to walk barefoot in public places where fungi can be present. Wear a pair of flip flops when making your way to the swimming pool and while taking a shower or changing in the changing rooms of any sports facility. In this way the chances of contracting nail fungus will be significantly reduced.
Step 4. Use rubber gloves to protect your hands from moisture
When doing household chores, such as washing dishes or hand washing, where your nails come into contact with dirt and water, one of the options available to safeguard them is to wear a pair of gloves. eraser. In this regard, it is equally important to let the gloves dry between uses. Turn them over so that the inside is perfectly dry as well.
Step 5. Understand why nail fungus affects toenails more frequently than toenails
Although it is possible to develop a fungus on the nails of the hands, the first hypothesis is by far the most likely. The reason is that the feet spend much more time in a confined space (closed in shoes or wearing socks) and moreover they are more exposed to humidity (due to the sweat that is trapped by fabrics and shoes).
- The toes are also farther away from the heart than those of the hands so, as in any other peripheral area of the body, blood circulation is weaker.
- A less active circulation implies a lower efficiency on the part of the immune system, which therefore makes it more difficult to fight potential infections.
Method 3 of 3: Ask the Doctor for Help
Step 1. Learn about the medications available to treat fungal infections
If you have developed a fungal infection on your fingernails or toenails, you can go to your doctor to prescribe a drug treatment. Fungal infections can be remedied through the use of ointments, oral tablets, or a combination of both. Most likely, your doctor will advise you to follow the treatment for at least 6-12 weeks and in some cases it may take up to 4 months to completely eradicate the fungus.
Step 2. Try using antifungal nail polish
Most of these products are unable to penetrate the nail body and the cure rate is less than 10%. The most performing are those based on 8% Ciclopirox, such as some enamels in pen to be applied daily even up to a year. The downside to these products is that they are expensive and often healing is only temporary; however, they have fewer contraindications than oral medications.
Step 3. Learn what antifungal medications to take by mouth
When the use of nail polishes and ointments proves insufficient, it is necessary to consider following an oral therapy. Discuss both possible benefits and potential contraindications with your doctor. Even with the most effective treatments, it is very common for mycosis to recur. The two most used antifungal active ingredients are itraconazole (contained for example in the drug Sporanox) and terbinafine (contained in the drug Lamisil).
- These principles can interact dangerously with any other ongoing treatments, so it's important that your doctor knows exactly what other medications (both over-the-counter and prescription) or supplements you are taking.
- In addition, they can cause serious side effects, such as irregular heartbeat, liver damage, poor urine, joint pain, hearing loss, vomiting, depression, and more. Call your doctor right away if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.
- Antifungal drugs to be taken by mouth also require constant monitoring and laboratory tests at regular intervals to rule out the presence of side effects.
Step 4. Try a combination therapy
In many cases, the combination of an orally administered cure and the use of an ointment brings the best results when it comes to defeating a fungal infection. Therefore, your doctor may suggest that you combine the use of the two drugs.
Step 5. Consider removing the nail surgically
In severe cases or when mycosis causes severe pain and cannot be treated with medication alone, surgery is an option to consider. The infected part of the nail can be cut and removed, in which case the healing time will correspond to that required for the (healthy) nail to grow back. Surgery should be considered as a last resort and only in cases where the mycosis cannot be effectively treated in any other way.
Step 6. Consider an alternative approach
You can try to cure nail fungus with natural remedies. If you are on oral treatment, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting to experiment with alternative therapy as the interaction could have dangerous effects. The very high ageratin extract can be applied to the infected nail every three days for the first month, twice a week for the second month and once every seven days for the third month. Tea tree essential oil can also be helpful. Apply it twice a day directly to the nail.
Step 7. Note that relapses are very common
Even if the mycosis has disappeared and the treatment seems to have worked perfectly, it is important to continue to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of the infection developing again. Unfortunately, it often happens that nail fungus returns after some time, but you have the power to avoid it by following the warnings in the first part of the article.
