Basic And Powerful Nail Fungus Treatment

Getting Nail Fungus

You can get a nail fungus infection when you come in contact with the fungus and it begins to grow on or under your nail.
Nail fungus infections are usually caused by dermatophytes (a fungus group). But nail fungus infection can appear if there are yeasts and molds on your body.

All of these microscopic organisms live in warm, moist environments (including swimming pools and showers). They can infect your skin through small unseen cuts or through a little separation between your nail and nail bed. They cause problems only if your nails are continually exposed to warmth and moisture, a perfect condition for the growth and spread of fungi.

The risk to be infected by nail fungus will be higher if you have a condition called onycholysis (the separation of the nail from the skin beneath).

Nail Fungus Symptoms

Symptoms of nail fungus infection will depend on the type of fungus infection you have. A nail fungus infection can cause an unpleasant feeling but usually will not hurt you in the beginning.

The most common nail fungus infection, distal subungual onychomycosis, is caused by dermatophytes. It infects both the nail and the nail bed (skin underneath the nail). Dermathophytes cause approximately 90% off all toenail fungus infection. Some common symptoms if your nail infected by demathophytes are as follows:
-Your nail begins to get distorted in shape.
-Yellow stripes in the nail bed and on the underside of the nail.
-Dry looking, with no luster or shine.
-Buildup of bits and pieces of skin and nail fragments (debris) under the nail.
-Easily broken, crumbly or ragged edge.

Infected nails may also separate from the nail bed, a condition called onycholysis. You may even feel pain in your toes or fingertips and detect a slightly foul odor.
The second most common nail fungus infection that also caused by dermatophytes is white superficial onychomycosis. This type of nail fungus infection appears on the nail surface. Some symptoms of white superficial onychomycosis are as follows:
-White stripes or spots on your nail surface.
-As the infection gets worse, your nail surface becomes soft and powdery.
-Your nail surface color becomes brown of gray and crumbly, however the nail does not separate from the skin underneath.

And there are two types of rare nail fungus infection, Candida onychomycosis and Proximal subungal onychomycosis. Candida onychomycosis is a fungus infection that causes approximately 50% of fungal nail infections. Proximal subungual onychomycosis is a rare fungus infection, only less than 1% off all nail fungus infection.

Most doctors erroneously believe that nail fungus is only treatable via oral medicines, and quickly reach for their prescription pads to treat nail fungus infections. In doing so, one of the following drugs is most likely to be prescribed:

    Itraconazole (Sporonox)

    Fluconazole (Diflucan)

    Terfinabine (Lamisil)

It is true that treatment of nail fungus is indeed a challenge because the infection is embedded within the nail and is difficult to reach. As a result, full removal of symptoms via current prescription medications is very slow and may take a year or more.
Of course, there are always possibilities of side effects with these medications, including headaches, stomach disorder, and the ever present issue with Rx medications--liver damage. Further, mixing these with other drugs can be extremely dangerous.

Then there is the issue of cost; treatment course for some medications exceeds $900. For this amount, you will have a 50-70% chance of cure, which is a C minus to F if being graded, or a $900 investment with a 30-50% failure rate.

Topical chemical treatments such as ciclopiroxolamine, referred to as "nail paints," are often prescribed. A combination of both oral and topical medications is also prescribed by doctors, making the drug companies very happy.

In July 2007, an analysis of the findings of 6 clinical trials for topical nail fungus treatments was reported. The main conclusions, as per Wikipedia Encyclopedia, were:
There is some evidence that ciclopiroxolamine and butenafine are both effective, but both need to be applied daily for prolonged periods (at least 1 year).

There is evidence that topical ciclopiroxolamine has poor cure rates, but amorolfine might be more effective.
Further research into the effectiveness of antifungal agents for nail infections is required.
The problem with using chemical drugs to treat nail fungus is that unlike bacteria, both human and fungal cells are similar on a molecular level; they are both eukaryotes. As a result, it is very difficult to create an effective antifungal drug that does not also damage the human system. My name is Allan Stewart and I have several websites dedicated to health and well being for people and pets as well as product information. Want to learn more about Victorinox products, go to: Fungus In Nails Or visit my website at No Nail Fungus for more information on Fungus products. Also see my other articles on The Paleo Diet: Paleo Diet Explained