Nail fungus is more common than most people believe. This is when a white or yellow spot occurs under the tip of your fingernails or toenails. As this gets more infected, the fungal infection goes deeper into the nail, causing your nail to discolor, to thicken and to start crumbling.
It can easily be passed from nail to nail. In the initial stages, it is not painful, and may not cause any discomfort. Over time, the fungus will settle into the nail, and cause thicker nails, and get the nails to crumble. This also passes onto other nails and causes athlete’s foot. This means getting rid of fungus on the nail, becomes a difficult process as it always keeps on coming back.
Fungal nails can make your feet smell, distort its shape, become brittle, crumbly or ragged, as well as being thick. We can work with you to fight it and get rid of fungal nails for once and for all. If you are diabetic, like all foot infections, you need to get this looked at by a podiatrist to make sure the condition is looked after properly.
Any condition where there is poor circulation can decrease the immunity against fungus. Toenail fungal infection can start from an athlete’s foot (foot fungus), and it can spread from one nail to another. But it is uncommon to get an infection from someone else.
Top 10 ways to prevent Fungal nail infections
- Sweating heavily or not drying the feet can increase the moisture for encouraging the breeding of fungus. If you dry between the toes all the times.
- If you have athlete’s foot, get this managed quickly, as this will spread to the nail.
- Walking barefoot in damp communal areas, such as swimming pools, gyms and shower rooms
- If you have diabetes, circulation problems or a weakened immune system, any infection, can increase the chance of fungus. Consult your podiatrist at the first sign of athlete’s foot.
- Change your socks daily
- Use a disinfectant, liquid or soap to scrub your feet daily
- Use antibacterial spray in your shoes
- Keep your feet dry and clean at all times
- Wear flit flops with walking in communal areas
- Do not share towels, nail clippers, etc with other people.
- Do not ever share trainers
- Always wash your hands after treating, cutting your nails (ok, we lied about 10 ways)
Observations
A severe case of fungal nails can be painful and can cause permanent damage to your nails. This can lead to other infections that spread beyond your feet, as this is caused by a low immune system or by other conditions like diabetes.
If you have diabetes or have reduced blood circulation and nerve supply in your feet you are a high risk of skin infection. So any minor injury or condition has the potential to cause more serious issues.
Fungal nail infection is a condition, which can lead to more serious conditions. Any diabetics with nail infections should get professional help as soon as possible.
Treatment
Fungal nail infections can be difficult to treat. Very few over the counter medicines have any success rates. As the results may take months, it is advisable to get professional support as quickly as possible, to look after and cure your fungal nail infections.
Some of the methods we use include
- At Bucks Foot Clinic, we have invested in the latest technologies.
- We also use homeopathy where we use natural algae to help the body fight the fungus.
- We have strong nail lacquers which we can use to fight the fungus
We have homeopathic nail cream. - We can debride (or make the nail bed rougher), to help for other methods to work better (like the nail lacquer)
With so many options available on the table, and with your particular case, we can find the right solution to get rid of your fungus.
We can use the latest state of the art equipment, or we can work with other methods to remove the fungal infection on the nails that are there. Together we can find the perfect solution.
