Thursday, November 20, 2008

Nail Fungus - What You Need To Know

By Jennifer King

Toe nail fungi is a problem nobody wants to have. Although it's not life threatening, it has the possibility of becoming very painful if you don't treat it. You would therefore try and avoid ever becoming infected. The first real step to dodging a fungal infection of your toe nails is to research the top facts about it.

#1- You can catch them

A toe nail infection doesn't just appear out of the blue. People who get infected| catch their fungal infection from someone or something. This is slightly different catching a viral infection or a cold. Specific conditions must exist for toe nail fungi to develop and crete the infection. Fungi usually breed in warm, moist areas. You can therefore get infected in areas with moisture and a warm temperature like pool sides and shower stalls. You can also become infected if you use nail clippers and files used by an infected person.

Toe nail fungi enter near your toe nail. It is viable that you will have a cut near or around your toe nail. Once the fungus has entered via the small cut, it will remain in between the nail and the nail bed.

#2- They love nails.

Keep your toe nails clean and trimmed as much as you can. Nail fungi just enjoy living under your nails. This is mainly because your toe nails offer them the living conditions that they enjoy the most. Toe nails are warm and moist so the fungi actually have it's perfect living conditions.

It is lovely to believe that toe nail fungus will just go away. This is primarily since the first symptoms of nail fungi aren't very alarming. Tiny white dots are probably all you will get at first. If you don't do anything about it though, the infection can expand under your nail. Your toe nail will possibly turn to a nasty brown or black, and can become ragged and brittle. At this stage, it will probably be difficult to treat nail fungi with just topical applications. You can, in worst cases, need to have your toe nail removed entirely.

#3- Fingernails are vulnerable to fungal infections also.

Finger nails can get infected also. Some may not be wise to the fact that the nails on their fingers can also get fungal infections. The reason why fungal infections of the toe nails are more more commonly mentioned is because they are more common than fungal infections of the fingernails.

Shoes - These are why there is such a common episodes of toe nail fungal infections. With a high percentage of people the toes are usually kept warm and moist in non-porous footwear and socks. This environment alone can easily make an initial, tame infection worse. This is simply because closed footwear promote moisture retention.

#4- Nail infections are not simple things to get rid of.

Toe nail fungal infections are stubborn. This is because the nails, which are there to protect our toes, also protect nail fungi. It will therefore be hard for topical applications to get in. This is why topical applications need to be applied regularly, consistently and for a long time before any improvement can be seen on toe nail fungal infections. - 14130

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