Toenail Fungus What You Can Do
Over six million Americans have toenail fungus. The medical term for toenail fungus is “onychomycosis,” pronounced on * EE * ko * my * KO * sis. “Onycho” means pertaining to the nails and “mycosis” refers to a disease caused by a fungus. The fungus causes the nails to become thickened and yellow. Sometimes they appear white and splotchy, and sometimes yellowish-brown. The nails can curve in at the sides and thicken substantially at the center. Many times the nails can be uncomfortable, cause pain or result in ingrown toenails. Diabetics, and those with depressed immune systems, have a higher risk of developing toenail fungus. Others with an increased risk of developing toenail fungus are the elderly, athletes and individuals with sweaty feet. The risk of developing toenail fungus increases with age. Athletes have a higher risk because of more wear in occlusive shoes combined with repeated nail trauma. This is especially true for hikers, runners, backpackers, soccer, basketball and tennis players. Fungus likes to grow in moist, warm areas. This increases the chance of infection for those with excess sweating of their feet, also known as hyperhidrosis.
Treatments
There are a number of treatments for onychomycosis. Unfortunately, many are not very effective. The most aggressive and effective way to treat the fungus is with oral anti-fungal medications. The most common oral anti-fungal medications are Itraconazole (Sporonox
Tags: fungal toenails, lamisil, onychomycosis, toenail fungus, treating toenail fungus