Toenail Fungal Infection
Toenail fungal infection is an infection which anybody from children to adults can get. Some people are especially vulnerable because of certain conditions in their day to day lifestyle. Example is Carl, a carpenter. He stands for long hours at work. He had a minor accident with a heavy piece of metal at work and split his big toenail. During weekends, Carl likes relaxing by taking a dip in the pool at his local YMCA. After a good swim, he heads for the showers and locker room. Not mindful of his feet, he doesn’t wear slippers or sandals while in the pool area, shower or locker rooms. A few days later Carl noticed a white spot on his nail. He thought it was because of his recent accident and didn’t mind the white spot. A few weeks had passed, the injured toenail looked unnaturally yellow and started thickening at the edges of the split nail. His doctor confirmed the suspicion of Carl’s wife, toenail fungal infection.
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Toenail fungal infection is caused by fungi called Dermatophytes, plants living on skin. The common kinds of Dermatophytes fungi that cause toenail fungal infection are Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale. These are not the same fungi that cause athlete’s foot or jock itch. But there are some cases where in these toenail fungal infection causing fungi are responsible for skin irritations or infections on other parts of the body. Other instances of nail fungus infections are caused by moulds and Candida or parasitic yeasts.
One type of toenail fungal infection treatment is oral medication. Oral medication is usually taken as a last resort due to the risk of side effects of the drugs. Oral medications for toe nail fungal infection are known to cure the infection in about eighty percent of the cases. Down sides are the adverse effects of the drugs such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach ache. Severe situations of side effects are liver damage and heart failure. There is no guarantee that the infection is not recurring. Aside from that, the cost of oral toenail fungal infection treatment can run up to a thousand dollars and in addition to the cost of the drugs, there is the expense of regular liver function tests that is requisite when taking the oral medications.
Two other types of toenail fungal infection treatments are herbal and alternative remedies. Herbal toenail fungal infection treatment usually consists of essential oils and other natural ingredients with antifungal properties. Essential oils like tea tree, lavender, clove, lemongrass and jojoba oils are natural fungicides and likely to be included in herbal toenail fungal infection treatment. Alternative toenail fungal infection treatments are home remedies such as apple cider or vinegar, sea or Epsom salts, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, beer bath, Listerine and Vicks VapoRub. These are not the typical toenail fungal infection treatments but users of these alternative remedies attest to their effectiveness. Take for example the beer bath, beer is an alcoholic beverage that is fermented in yeast. Beer is mixed with probiotics and vinegar to make an acid based bath for toenail fungal infection.
To read more about nail fungus infection (page 2)
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