When someone has a fungus on their feet, the main question for them is how to treat it. Among the many forms of this infection, athlete's foot is one of the most common. The cause of this is the pathogenic fungal microflora of the Trichophyton species, which with increased sweating can affect both the skin of the legs and the nail plates on the fingers. The birthplace of the microorganism is Southeast Asia, where nature itself created ideal conditions for its development: a hot and humid climate, as well as dense population. In recent years it has spread to Europe and America. More than 20% of the world's population currently suffer from skin fungi.
routes of infection
The most common routes of infection with fungal spores are contact. Most often this happens in the conditions of joint living or working of a sick and healthy person.
The most common routes of transmission of athlete’s foot and cuticle fungus include:
- common household items that are in direct contact with the skin and toenails (bedding, socks, shoes, pedicure items);
- public baths and showers - as a rule, they are used by people working in dusty and dirty production facilities (mines, factories), as well as athletes, conscripts, who often have to sweat;
- Sun beds, deck chairs and mats on the beaches.
To prevent the fungus, it is necessary to strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene and avoid situations where infection is possible.
The likelihood of contagion increases with sweaty feet if it is not possible to wash them in time, change socks and shoes and treat them with antiseptic agents. Therefore, outbreaks of the disease most often occur in field conditions, when favorable conditions for the multiplication of the fungus are created during long transitions from sweating of the legs.
In addition to sweaty feet, a weak immune status increases the risk of infection. Currently, due to the deterioration of the environmental situation around the world and the increase in diseases such as diabetes, this factor ranks first among the causes of the spread of this pathology.
symptoms and diagnosis
Signs of athlete's foot are well known.
Among them:
- irritation, redness, severe itching and rashes;
- detachment of scales from its surface;
- cracks, diaper rash in the interdigital region;
- nail deformity.
Such a pathology on the legs causes a lot of problems and causes victims not only physical, but also moral discomfort:
- the foot becomes inflamed and swollen;
- an unpleasant odor emanates from the affected skin, even if the legs do not sweat;
- Nails change color, peel and crumble.
But the symptoms gradually reach this level of development if you do not fight the disease. Therefore, at the first sign, you should not look for an effective remedy for athlete's foot yourself, but contact a dermatologist - he will have to decide which antifungal drugs to use in order to defeat the pathogen as quickly as possible. With the current level of development of pharmacology and following the recommendations of specialists, it is possible to cure the fungus on the legs quickly enough.
If patients with such complaints come to the dermatologist's practice, they are first subjected to a diagnostic procedure. Clarification of the diagnosis is necessary, since it directly depends on how athlete's foot is treated.
To determine the type of fungal spores, the following methods are used:
- Irradiation with a special lamp makes the area of \u200b\u200bthe lesion particularly visible, since under its rays the skin in this place stands out against the general background and turns purple-red.
- Bacterial seeding on the basis of skin scrapings, by placing samples in a nutrient medium, allows them to multiply for the purpose of external observation and clarification of the type of pathogen that caused the disease.
- The PCR technique is the most modern method to date, which helps to ensure an almost 100% diagnosis, as it is based on a fungal DNA analysis.
After receiving the research results and choosing the most effective remedy against the fungus, the doctor offers the patient certain drugs and establishes the scheme for their use. To choose the most effective remedy against the fungus, he takes into account such factors as age, state of health, concomitant diseases.
Pharmacological arsenal
And yet it is not an easy task to choose a super-effective and inexpensive remedy for a fungus that develops on the legs among a fairly large number of items. It can be not only an external medicine, but also an oral preparation - if the external forms were powerless. And yet treatment usually begins with them.
The main active ingredient of the drugs is terbinafine - a proven remedy for fungus on the legs, which has the ability to quickly destroy fungal spores. Both the cream and the ointment and spray from the fungus are applied directly to the previously washed and dried skin of the legs, while the ointment and cream forms should be lightly rubbed into the affected area. In people who have "caught" athlete's foot, the skin often takes on a rough-dense, thickened appearance, which is especially characteristic of the soles and heels. The antifungal agent cannot penetrate such a "shield", so it mustBefore starting the treatment, the skin can be steamed in a hot soapy solution to soften the stratum corneum and removed with a pumice stone and a special grinding file.
With increasing dryness of the epidermis, the basis of the antifungal should be as oily as possible. This requirement is met by ointments, which should be used in this case. In the area of the interdigital zone, where the skin is thinner and more sensitive, a mushroom spray or suspension is effective.
To combat athlete's foot or toenails, special therapeutic varnishes are also used, which are applied to the nail plate.
Before applying it must be processed: irregularities are polished, the affected areas are removed as much as possible to facilitate the penetration of drugs into the nail tissue.
Sometimes you have to resort to the help of a surgeon who will completely remove the affected nail plate.
If this is not done, even the most effective remedy for leg fungus cannot have a healing effect at the right level.
In the most severe and advanced cases, foot mycosis is not accessible to external influences alone, since the harmful waste products of pathogens enter the bloodstream and poison a person from the inside. Then the attending physician prescribes antifungal antibiotics for oral administration, which have a systemic inhibitory effect on pathogenic microorganisms.
It is impossible to use such potent antifungal agents without the direct indication of a specialist, since the consequences of uncontrolled intake can be very serious. One of them is the development of immunity of fungal spores to these drugs and their components.
home remedies
What helps best with athlete's foot - pharmacology or Volksapotheke? Only a doctor can answer how to cure athlete's foot, but it will not be superfluous to consult with him about home remedies.
The most reliable means of removing the fungus on the legs have long been known:
- Laundry soap from the fungus on the legs. With a fungus, foot baths with this component are useful, especially effective with excessive sweating of the feet. After grating 70% brown laundry soap without aromatic fragrances, take a tablespoon of shavings and mix them with a tablespoon of soda. Pour the mixture into 40 degree warm water and dip your feet in a soap and soda solution for half an hour. When steaming, lather the skin between your fingers and rub your feet with a brush to improve the penetration of the solution components into the upper layers of the epidermis. At the end of the procedure, which must be done every other day, wash your feet with clean water and apply to the skin the external medicine recommended by the doctor.
- Vinegar is also a good folk remedy against athlete's foot, especially against the shape of the nails. Handle the nails carefully, being careful not to injure them as this will help deepen the infection. After pouring hot water into a bowl, the temperature of which should be about 50 degrees, pour a glass of 9% vinegar in the same place. Soak your feet in a vinegar and water solution (there should be enough liquid to completely cover your feet) for 10-15 minutes. Then, without rinsing, dry your feet and put on clean socks. Repeat such foot baths against fungi 3-4 times a week.
- Another good remedy for athlete's foot is iodine. An alcoholic solution of iodine should be applied to the herd with a cotton swab, after washing the feet and treating the nails. When using an iodine solution against athlete's foot, make sure that you do not burn yourself, especially in the space between your toes.
- Propolis from the fungus is used in the form of applications that are applied to the nail and the skin around it after steaming it in a hot soapy solution.
Herbal Recipes For Fungus On The Skin:
- Euphorbia is an effective remedy for athlete's foot. The juice of the plant should be smeared with sore nails with a cotton swab.
- Celandine from the mushroom - 3 table. Spoons of grass pour 1 liter of water, boil, cool to an acceptable temperature (40-46 degrees) and rise in the foot solution.
- Burdock - to treat athlete's foot, you need to wrap them with a well-beaten burdock leaf, put on clean socks and go to bed 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 has yet been invented that can get rid of athlete's foot in one application. Therefore, when using antifungal medicines and folk remedies, it is imperative to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. The best remedy for athlete's foot is what the doctor prescribed.