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Rid of Toe Nail Fungus
how long does this take to get rid of toe nail fungus?and can it spread to your skin on your feet?
(19 Jun 2009)
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Toe nail fungus infections or onychomycosis, as it is medically referred to, is caused by a mold like fungi, categorized as dermatophytes. This fungal infection belongs to the most common type of fungal infections that we refer to as tinea and would include the likes of athlete’s foot and ringworm. Toe nail fungus is known as tinea unguium.
Toe nail fungus may not be a threatening condition but it is something that needs to be treated very seriously because of its persistent nature. Treatment can be quite challenging as the infection, being embedded within the nail is not easy to reach. For this reason treatment and care is prolonged as a complete recovery and subsidence of symptoms is very slow and may even last for a year or more.
It is therefore extremely important that you never neglect a toe nail infection. Delaying treatment or even administering ineffective or inappropriate treatments can lead to a worsening of the condition and allow it to become more persistent. The infection can easily spread to the other toes and in some cases even to other parts of your body. So it is possible for the infection to spread to your feet.
Home remedies and natural treatments are extremely useful for a variety of diseases, particularly those that are chronic. There are unfortunately many dubious remedies that do no good but are widely propagated. Certain illnesses too, do not respond to home remedies and in other cases the results may vary from case to case. Toe nail fungal infections are one such ailment where the effects of home remedies vary and some of the remedies are suspect. In the case of toe nail infections experimenting with dubious remedies and delaying medical attention can be very damaging if the treatment proves ineffective. You can however try using natural remedies in combination with conventional treatment. Essential oils like tea tree oil are renowned for their antifungal properties and could offer some help. Warm water soaks with the oil added in or direct application of the diluted oil can help. Similarly garlic oil or fresh slices of garlic itself are said to help.
Changes to your lifestyle and self care practices are however the most important aspect of treatment, without which no remedy will be effective. As fungi can only thrive in moist and warm conditions it is important that you keep your feet clean and dry, and always use clean cotton socks. Sandals would be preferable to open foot ware.
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answered by S D on 19 Jun 2009, 2:04:10
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