Fungal Nail Infections

}What is a Fungal Nail Infection and how can Aubrey Podiatry help?

Fungal nail infections (medically known as Onychomycosis) are caused by a group

of fungi called Dermatophytes as well as other types of Yeasts and Moulds.

Your footwear creates three perfect environments for fungi to thrive:

1 Food - Keratin from your nails and/or dead skin cells from your foot

2 Moist Conditions -Your foot sweat.

3 Darkness - Closed in footwear

How do you get a fungal infection?

Fungal nails can result from exposure to common areas such as swimming pools, public showers and gyms or sharing nail clippers, or if you have

athletes’ foot and the fungus spreads from your skin to your nail.

Other risk factors are:

trauma to the nail

poor health and poor hygiene.

Signs of infection can include:

- scaling under the nail

- white or yellow streaks on one side of the nail

- flaky white patches with pitting on the nail plate

- brittle discoloured thickened nail that crumbles

- offensive smell

So how to treat your toenail fungal infection?

Aubrey Podiatry will be able to diagnose your infection and advise

the best treatment for your condition, whether it be on your skin or nail or both.

Treatment consultations can include filing down the thickened nail plate and discussing ways to prevent your fungal infection reoccurring. The Podiatrist may also recommend the use of Ciclopirox nail lacquer that is applied directly to the nail once a day for several weeks to months, (your nail plate requires filing to reduce the hard keratin layer to allow greater effect of the lacquer before application).

Use of ointments for skin/vesicular infections, antifungal powders that can be used for your footwear to prevent fungal spores reinfecting your feet.

If your fungal infection is severe and most of your nails are affected, you may be a candidate for oral antifungal tablets which can be prescribed by your doctor depending on your general health and well-being.

To help prevent fungal infections you should:

-Change your footwear regularly – this gives them time to breathe and dry out after use.

-Take the liner within your footwear out overnight if you do not have another pair of footwear for work.

-Wear protective footwear such as Jandals at public pools and communal areas.

-Change socks/stockings daily if not more often if you have sweating feet