General signs of fungus on the feet: medical classification, treatment methods, prevention

The prevalence of mycoid diseases has made them easily recognizable and treatable in their early stages. But the signs of athlete's foot themselves, which indicate the beginning of the infection, are not known to all people. After all, there are about fifty varieties of mushrooms alone. But there is also a broad category of skin diseases - epidermicosis. Therefore, in order to prevent the disease from becoming dangerous to the health of the body, it is necessary to examine its characteristics.

General signs

Fungal infections of the skin rank first among diseases affecting the epidermis. Its signs are easily recognizable. The main difficulty in the diagnostic process is determining the exact type of fungal infection. This is necessary because all of them are resistant to a certain group of antifungal drugs. Therefore, a mandatory visit to the doctor is required to carry out the treatment. Accurate identification of the mycoid group is impossible without special biological research.

The following signs may be a reason to see a specialist:

• Cracks in the epidermis between the toes. This area is considered the most susceptible to fungal infections. Additional evidence of infection can be excessively dry skin, peeling feet, and pain.
• Noticeable thickening and roughening of the skin layer. Similar symptoms are observed when a corn or dry callus is formed. But in some cases, the cause of this change is a fungus.
• Skin damage, blisters. Such injuries are often diagnosed first on one leg and later on the other.
• Redness of the epidermis, itching or burning sensation. This set of symptoms is considered one of the main signs confirming a fungal infection. The difficulty of diagnosis in this case lies in the fact that all types of mycoids cause such symptoms.
• A change in the color of the nail plate.
• Appearance of an unpleasant odor in the infected area.

It is important to detect the first signs of fungal growth in time, as the disease is very difficult to treat and can easily become infected.

Mycoid infection penetrates the body quite easily, infecting internal organs and systems. This explains the frequent relapse of the disease in the complete absence of external provoking factors.

Medical classification

Mycosis fungoides can be classified into four main forms based on its characteristics.

With each form of athlete's foot, the symptoms vary depending on what is involved:

1. Sheet skin.
2. Dyshidrotic.
3. Intertriginous.
4. "Classic" onychomycosis.

The scaly or scaly form of a fungal infection is considered one of the initial stages of infection. In this case, the skin changes are first observed on one leg. Over time, a second infection occurs. The main symptom of the scaly form is reddening of the skin, which then turns into keratinization of the inflamed tissue areas. Without treatment, the squamous epithelium turns into a dyshidrotic form.

The dyshidrotic form of mycoid infection has a pronounced feature - the appearance of small bubbles in the affected area. After opening, the blisters become inflamed and form a stable focus of erosion of the upper layers of the skin. The patient usually experiences strong itching, which gives way to pain in fairly advanced cases. The skin begins to peel off and erosions occur regularly. In this form of the disease, the first squamous epithelium can develop without any system. For this reason, some experts believe that the mentioned forms of mycosis fungoides are two forms of the same type of infection.

The intertriginal form of infectious fungal infection is the most common. The manifestations of the disease include the appearance of cracks on the skin of the legs that can be seen with the naked eye, and the formation of areas of white peeling skin on their edges. In the interdigital area, the characteristic sign of the intertriginal form is the formation of weeping spots and erosion of the epidermis. The patient experiences constant itching in the infected area. The treatment of this form of infection is complex and lengthy, since the disease most often takes a chronic form.

Onychomycosis is a contagious infection, the symptoms of which require special attention. Depending on the characteristics of the pathology, the type of damage to the nail plate and the type of disease vary. There are three main types of onychomycosis:

1. Hypertrophic - the nail plate gradually collapses, its color changes to yellowish, characteristic spots appear. Pain in the affected area appears after the nail is deformed.
2. Normotrophic - destruction or deformation of the nail plate does not occur, yellowish and white spots or lines appear on it.
3. Atrophic is the most dangerous form of the nail plate, which is severely destroyed, deformed and often detached from the nail bed.

Each form of onychomycosis has its own general treatment regimen. But in order to completely get rid of the infection without consequences for the body and exclude relapse, it is recommended to carry out the treatment on the recommendation and under the supervision of a doctor.

Treatment methods

In most cases, the disease detected in time can be completely cured within a maximum of one month. This is a very important point in treatment, as itching, tissue damage and other manifestations disappear, the patient sometimes stops treatment and believes that the disease has been overcome. But the remnants of the infection can easily trigger a relapse.

Treatment procedures should only be stopped after the doctor's permission and the necessary tests have been completed. This is especially true for advanced forms of the disease. The fungus is firmly "fixed" in the body, and sometimes it takes at least six months to get rid of it. But the external manifestation of the fungus on the feet as various damage to the skin or nails disappears much earlier, creating the illusion of health. By stopping the therapy in this casethe patient is almost guaranteed to relapse.

Treatment of mycoid infection of the feet is carried out comprehensively. In order to get rid of the disease, topical antifungal agents and tablets are used to remove the infectious agent that has entered the body. In order to get rid of itching, pain, brittle nails and to speed up the regeneration of tissues, certain drugs may be prescribed. It is not recommended to combine them independently with the main therapeutic group, so as not to cause an allergic reaction or poisoning of the body due to the simultaneous use of incompatible drugs.

Treating athlete's foot in its early stages is quite simple. Usually, two weeks of therapy is enough to eliminate the symptoms of mycoid infection.

Duration of treatment

A combined infection of the skin and nail plate requires one to three months of rehabilitation therapy. These terms are considered standard for the most medically effective pharmaceuticals.

Pregnancy makes a mandatory visit to the doctor to choose a method to get rid of mycoid infection. Powerful drugs and therapies that require the use of similar drugs are prescribed only under the supervision of a doctor, according to strict dosage. Many antibacterial tablets that effectively destroy the fungus can cause noticeable harm to the fetus. Therefore, whenever possible, during pregnancy, patients should be treated according to the recipes of traditional medicine. Many of them allow you to cope with the disease, but provided that the disease has not reached a complex stage. Only classical medicine can help to cope with the advanced form.

Modern medicines make it possible to restore the feet to full health within two weeks, provided that the signs of infection were detected in time.

Preventive measures

Preventing a disease is always easier and safer for your health than treating it, even with the gentlest method. In the case of a fungal infection, prevention is one of the mandatory standards of life, as it is very easy to get infected. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of the disease, it is recommended to follow some simple rules:

• try to eat right, preferably healthy foods;
• do not use other people's things and personal hygiene products;
• use basic protective equipment in public places, such as a change of shoes and hygienic antibacterial agents;
• wash your feet regularly and change your socks;
• leading a healthy lifestyle;
• Regular bathing to improve foot health;
• disinfect shoes regularly.

Prevention of fungal infection is not only important for prevention, but also in case of occurrence of the disease. In this situation, compliance with health and hygiene regulations will speed up recovery and prevent fungal infection of others.