Skin diseases of the feet are a very common pathology. Pathogenic bacteria cause the disease and it is transmitted from person to person. Often the sick person does not know whether the skin fungus on the legs is how to treat it, and whether it can be eliminated at home with folk remedies. There are many ways to get rid of the signs of mycosis with the help of special drugs and old recipes.
What is a skin fungus on the legs?
An infectious disease that affects the skin is called a fungus. The most common type is mycosis of the feet. Fungal spores can live in ordinary shoes for a long time and adapt to any living conditions. The most common infections are platinum nails on the legs and feet. Skin lesions are not life-threatening, but contribute to the development of cosmetic defects. If the foot mycosis is not treated at the initial stage, then other microbes join it in the form of mold bacteria or Candida fungi.
disease symptoms
Treatment of fungus on the skin of the legs should begin immediately after the first symptoms appear; otherwise the disease will last for a long time. Mycosis is characterized by flaking of the skin. This is due to the fact that the microbe penetrates deep into the layers of the skin and destroys them. Spots form on the nails (onychomycosis), small bubbles appear between the toes (intertriginous form), which fill with fluid and burst, the sole becomes covered with calluses (hyperkeratotic appearance). The reproduction of fungi in any of the layers of the epidermis is accompanied by an unpleasant odor and the following symptoms:
- burning, itching, accompanied by dry skin;
- mealy peel;
- nails darken, thicken, exfoliate;
- Erosive processes develop in areas of redness.
foot fungus treatment
Before using an antifungal agent, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since the pathology must be treated, depending on the type of pathogen and the duration of the course of the disease. In advanced forms, mycosis of the feet is difficult to treat. How to get rid of foot fungus:
- localization of the disease by local therapy at an early stage: ointments, creams, solutions, compresses, baths, shoe disinfection;
- systemic therapy at a later stage - the use of drugs.
Systemic medications are used in several ways:
- Classic. Tablets are taken throughout the course every day.
- Short. You can stop taking medication before a healthy nail grows back.
- intermittent. Therapy, which is carried out in several courses at intervals of the same duration as the course.
- pulse therapy. Taking pills is combined with breaks that exceed the duration of the course.
In the advanced stage of the disease, the use of antifungal drugs is necessary. Systemic antifungals are selected on an individual basis, since these drugs have contraindications. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is necessary to scrape the nail plate for onychomycosis and visit a dermatologist to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe medications for external and / or internal effects on the body. The most effective include:
antifungal ointments
Many people have a question - fungus on the skin of the legs - what can be treated if the infection has manifested itself only in the upper layers of the skin. In pharmacies today it is easy to find various antifungal ointments that differ in their mode of action and composition. The following local preparations quickly treat foot flexion at an early stage:
- Zinc ointment. It has a good absorbent and astringent effect. It resists skin irritations and fungal infections well. It is applied 1-2 times / day to the site of injury and the area around it. The duration of therapy is 2-3 weeks.
- Sulfuric ointment. An excellent remedy to treat foot mycosis. Within a week of daily use, you can get rid of the disease. Sulfuric ointment has one drawback - it smells unpleasant. When buying this fact must be taken into account.
Treatment of fungus on the legs at home can also be carried out with antifungal creams, which differ from ointments only in the substances that make up their composition.
To speed up the healing process, in addition to the main therapy, it is necessary to treat the fungus with the help of special antifungal varnishes. They differ from drugs of similar action in a special texture. Antifungal varnishes are liquid, and are applied directly to the platinum nail. The agent easily gets into microcracks, which affects the fungus to the maximum. This is practical, as ointments and creams have a thick consistency, so they are easily removed at the slightest impact.
After applying the drug, mycosis pathogens die after 8 hours. You can use the remedy under decorative varnishes 1-2 times a week; this does not reduce its effectiveness. The duration of treatment is until the complete disappearance of onychomycosis. List of the most popular antifungal varnishes:
With mycoses of the legs, baths with baking soda should be carried out daily, preferably before bedtime. The procedure should last at least 15 minutes. Sodium bicarbonate is a substance that negatively affects the vital activity of a fungal infection, therefore it is part of many remedies that help with athlete's foot. To treat the fungus, warm water with a comfortable temperature of 40 C-45 C is needed. Soda is diluted in the ratio of 2 tablespoons. spoons for 2 liters of water.
Before the procedure, you need to thoroughly wash your feet with soap to wash and remove the keratinized layer with pumice stone or sandpaper. You also need to process the nail plates, cutting off the free edge of the nail and removing the white plate under it as much as possible with a nail file. After the procedure, the legs should be carefully wiped with a towel, without rinsing, and then treated with an antifungal agent prescribed by a dermatologist.
Home remedies
The most effective folk remedy for foot fungus is vinegar. Creates an acidic environment that prevents the spread of yeast bacteria. As a result of exposure to vinegar at home, the pathogen quickly loses access to food sources and dies. Applications are best applied immediately after baths. To do this, a cotton ball is moistened in a 9% acetic solution and applied to the area affected by the fungus for 15 minutes.
Another effective folk remedy against the fungus Candida is the external use of hydrogen peroxide. First, it is recommended to take a bath with a soda solution, then soak a piece of cotton wool with a 3% peroxide solution and apply it to the affected area of the skin, putting clean socks on top. It is necessary to maintain the application for up to 60 minutes 2 times/day until complete recovery.
Prevention
In order to recognize the problem in time, you need to know what the fungus looks like. To do this, it is better to ask this question in advance by looking at photos on the Internet. Then you need to pay attention to the advice of dermatologists, what you need to do in order not to get infected with foot fungus:
- after visiting the beach, swimming pool and other public places, you should thoroughly wash your feet;
- with sweaty feet, the risk of mold fungus develops, so you should stop wearing closed socks and shoes for a long time;
- in order not to get infected with pathogenic microflora, it is not necessary to give other personal hygiene items, clothes or shoes;
- you need to regularly care for your toes: do a pedicure, cut off overgrown nails.
How to treat fungus on the skin of the legs.
Find out how to treat fungus on the skin of the legs, as this is a contagious disease that can reach the nails. The fungus not only looks ugly, but also harms health. This condition can not be started, it is urgent to take measures for treatment.
What is recommended to treat skin fungus on the legs.
For the treatment of trichophytosis fungus, it is necessary to cleanse the skin with iodine. With severe inflammation, it is advisable to make lotions.
In addition to all this, it is convenient to use vitamins, especially ascorbic acid.
It is better to choose vitamins for the period of treatment, since the body needs support.
If the skin is affected by the fungus Candida, then corticosteroid creams, hydrocortisone will be needed.
Symptoms of this pathology.
Most often, the fungus on the skin appears in older people, after 50 years. But we must not forget that the disease is contagious, so the younger generation can also get this disease if they do not follow certain rules.
Some signs of skin fungus include:
With an injury, the first signs are visible in the area between the fingers. It is from there that the fungus grows throughout the leg. It often covers the nails as well. Foot fungus usually affects both feet. If the form is sharp, bubbles appear, which then rot, wounds appear.
Redness is observed on the skin, it becomes very dense. In addition, there is an unpleasant foot odor, not only after wearing shoes. The legs seem to start to burn, and when walking the pain increases. The skin may be scaly, there is a strong dryness.
The fungus spreads in the following way. Redness appears in a small area of the skin. Over time, it begins to peel off and the affected area spreads.
At the initial stage, a person is practically not worried about anything, only about appearance. Then there are already painful sensations. The fungus spreads quite quickly.
Complex treatment of the disease.
Treatment of fungus on the skin of the legs should be carried out not only by applying funds directly to the affected areas, but also taking drugs inside.
To choose a drug, first of all, you need to consult a doctor. When treatment begins, it is desirable to exclude other drugs. During the treatment period, the doctor should monitor the patient's condition and perform skin scrapings regularly to determine how the treatment is going.
The full course of treatment lasts at least three months. First, the first stage of treatment, lasting one week. After that, a two-week break is made, after which treatment is resumed.
This is necessary to prevent relapse. They happen frequently, especially if the immune system is not strong. When it becomes weaker, the first signs of fungus immediately appear on the skin.
It is necessary to combine treatment. In the morning it is advisable to use the ointment, and in the evening to take the drug inside. You can use both creams and solutions several times a day.
Apply the product with rubbing movements. If after two weeks there is no noticeable improvement, stronger medications are prescribed. Any movement must be careful, because it is very easy to damage such skin.
Proven pills for fungus.
For all types of fungus, a strong drug is prescribed. Take the tablet once and only after meals. It quickly penetrates the body and immediately begins the fight against infection.
The main thing when taking pills is not to increase the amount on your own. This will help avoid overdose and side effects. Tablets are best combined with ointments or gels. A pill rarely achieves the desired effect.
drops and solutions
Drops are very effective in the fight against fungus. First, they destroy the infected cells, after which they protect the unaffected ones. In addition to eliminating the cause of the infection, the drops eliminate inflammation and itching.
Drops are best used as an additional element of treatment. The fungus is a serious disease that cannot be cured with a single remedy. The drops will work best at the initial stage, when the development of the fungus is not too extensive.
Choosing the best folk remedy.
Sometimes medicines cannot improve the condition.
In such cases, you can resort to proven folk methods:
- Coffee. This drink is useful not only for internal use, but also as a tincture for baths. Insoluble strong coffee should be poured with hot water, and the feet should be immersed in this remedy. Coffee will relieve pain and inflammation, remove too large layers of skin. It will also perfectly help after recovery to restore the condition of the epidermis.
- Wine vinegar. This tool is an excellent antiseptic and a tool in the fight against bacteria. At night, you can use the following method. Clean woolen socks should be kept for half an hour in vinegar, squeezed well, then put on your feet and covered with a blanket. By doing this procedure at night, in the morning you can notice a visible effect.
- juicesThe skin affected by the fungus can be wiped with gauze moistened in lemon or onion juice. These remedies may cause a burning sensation at first, but after a couple of minutes it will pass. Due to this, the number of bacteria is reduced, the fungus will not progress. You can try another treatment with ready-made tomato juice. You should choose juice only without salt, so that it does not pinch the skin.
- Herbal decoction. Boil calendula, verbena and oak bark in water. In this decoction, you can keep your feet or use it as lotions. Components are easy to find in a pharmacy, the effectiveness of such a collection will be on a par with expensive drugs. It can be used every day, both in the morning and at night.
- Rye flour. After foot baths, it will be useful to rub rye flour on the affected areas. It is able to absorb all the bacteria and rid the skin of the disease. The main thing is to rub a small amount.
- Antiseptics. A mixture of baking soda and laundry soap will make a homemade antiseptic. All this must be dissolved in warm water. Pour the resulting mixture into a container and leave the legs there to clean for half an hour.
Alternative methods of treatment are useful because they have no side effects and all ingredients are natural ingredients.
What to do if the nail came off?
Problems with a nail with a fungus indicate a neglected state of the disease. The nail darkens, begins to exfoliate, thins, and then moves away from the skin.
This state is divided into several types:
Onychoshisis can be identified by the fact that the nail exfoliates, kaylonchinia - the nail exfoliates in the middle.
Onychodesis is when the nail detaches only at the base. This is the most difficult case, because then inflammation occurs.
It is important to ensure that the nail does not rot, because then it can be completely lost. When a person's fingernail comes off, they don't realize it at first. Only with an infection does pain and inflammation appear.
The following symptoms will tell you that the peeling of the nail came from the fungus:
- a void forms under the nail;
- the nail acquires a yellow tint;
- severe itching appears, but you should not tear the brittle nail;
- the manifestation of pain occurs only in advanced cases of the disease.
When such a problem occurs, it is important to constantly treat the affected nail with an antiseptic, since it is open to different microbes.
You must follow the following scheme. Peeling off the tip with sterile scissors, cut off the edge. The cut site is treated with an antiseptic. After that, prepare a bath with sea salt and hold your feet for ten minutes. Lubricate the cut site with a healing agent.
You must stop painting your nails and masking the problem, this will only aggravate the condition. It is also very important not to wear tight shoes. You need to make sure that the nails are not too long, because then the shoes will compress them and they can eventually break.
On the feet, the spread of the fungus is quite fast, so it will go from one nail to another in a matter of days.
Prevention of the onset of the disease.
Avoiding the problem of infection with a fungus is not difficult. You need to follow some rules, then health will be in order.
The first rule to remember is that you can't wear someone else's shoes. After all, someone can get infected with a fungus. He tends to stay in the shoes.
You can even try on shoes in the store with just socks. Every day you should wash your feet with soap and water, especially at night, after wearing shoes for a long time. You should always choose shoes according to the weather.
It is impossible to wear warm shoes when it is too hot, because the foot begins to sweat, and in a humid environment the development of the fungus grows significantly. It is important to choose socks only from natural materials, not to use them more than once, because after use they fill with bacteria.
In any pharmacy you can find disinfectant foot sprays that you need to use if you need to wear shoes all day. When visiting the pool, it is best to bring a change of shoes and not walk barefoot on the tiles. This advice is also followed in the sauna.
At the first symptoms of the fungus, treatment should be started. This disease does not go away on its own. Not a secondary action should be an increase in the immune system.
You have to take care of the skin of the feet. When calluses appear, get rid of them immediately. If your feet suffer from excessive sweating, you need to use special foot deodorants. Cracks and open sores on the legs should be treated immediately and constantly disinfected.
When doing a pedicure, it's important to make sure all tools are sanitized, especially if you're doing it in the salon. If someone in the family has a fungus, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the floors and take a shower. You just need to wear slippers and dry yourself with an individual towel.
The fungus of the skin of the feet is a disease that is better not to face. It differs in that it requires a long time for treatment, as well as a long subsequent recovery.
A person who gets sick with a fungus, after an illness, has a huge risk of re-infection with it. To protect yourself from this, you not only need to be treated correctly, but also take preventive measures afterwards.