Fungal Nails
(Onychomycosis)
People find funny-looking
nails embarrassing, at least in part because everyone, from
doctors to manicurists, more or less automatically calls them
"fungus" (fungal nails). This makes them sound contagious and
as if they are caused by poor hygiene.
The first thing to realize
about fungal nails, therefore, is that if you think you have
them, there is a fair-to-middling chance you don't.
What other conditions can be mistaken for
fungal nails?
Here are some other conditions you may have instead of fungal
nails:
- Lines and ridges
-- These are common and may be
considered normal.
- Whitish or
yellowish nails -- due to
onycholysis. This means separation of the nail from the nail
bed. The color you see is air. The treatment is to trim the
nail short, don't clean under it, polish if you want to hide
the color, and wait 2 to 3 months.
- Red or black
nails -- due to a hematoma, or
blood under the nail, usually from trauma (like wacking
yourself on the thumb with a hammer). Goes away by itself.
- Green nails --
caused by pseudomonas bacteria, which live silently under
many nails minding their own business. This bacteria grows
under a nail that has partially separated from the nail bed,
thereby producing a green pigment. No antibiotics are
needed. The treatment is to trim the nail short, don't clean
it, polish if you want to hide the color, and wait 2 to 3
months.
- Pitted nails --
May be associated with psoriasis or other skin problems that
affect the nail matrix, the area under the skin just behind
the nail. This is the area from which the nail grows.
- Swelling and
redness of the skin around the nail --
called paronychia. This condition occurs when
yeast infects a damaged cuticle. Applying a topical
anti-yeast cream (such as one containing clotrimazole,
miconazole, and terbinafine, which are available
over-the-counter) for 2 months or so will usually work.
Tips:
- Purchase your own tools
for use in nail salon procedures. Infectious particles can
be transmitted on tools such as emery boards, which cannot
be sterilized.
- Ask about the sanitation
standards of nail salons. How do they clean their equipment
and how often? How often do they change the filters in the
foot massages?
- Keep your toenails
trimmed, clean and neat. Keeping your nails healthy helps
prevent the spread of infection and helps your overall
health.
- Make an annual visit to a
dermasurgeon to have your skin and nails checked for early
signs of illness or problems.
- Don't have your cuticles
cut during salon procedures. If too much of the cuticle is
cut back during a manicure, the cuticle can be separated
from the nail, and infectious agents can get into the
exposed area.
- Don't shave your legs
before they're exposed to circulating water in a pedicure
spa. Nicks and cuts from shaving can be infected by bacteria
in inadequately cleaned pedicure spas.
- Don't ignore infections.
If there's redness or soreness after a procedure, it may be
a sign of an infection. See your dermasurgeon.
- Only go to licensed,
trained professionals. Each manicurist should have a
state-issued cosmetology license that is current and visibly
displayed.
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