What are the dangers of thickening nails

Thickening of nails is a type of nail disease, usually caused by onychomycosis. Onychomycosis not only causes the nails to turn black and yellow, but also makes the nail surface thicker or rougher. It is caused by fungal infection of the skin. At the same time, the nail bed will easily become fragile and cause some complications. It can be treated with medication. Pay more attention to nail care in daily life.

Thickening of toenails

Why do toenails become thicker?

Thickened toenails are usually caused by fungal infection, which causes the nails to become loose and thickened, and there may be dandruff inside. A common fungal infection of the nails is onychomycosis (onychomycosis). When infected, the surface of the nails becomes uneven, dull in color, and turns yellow or gray. Since onychomycosis manifests differently in different patients, it is recommended to go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible. Also, be careful not to use sharp objects to handle the problem on your own. Not only will it fail to treat the disease, it may also lead to other consequences due to injury.

The dangers of thick toenails

Once the toenails become thicker, they may develop into onychomycosis. The harm of onychomycosis is obvious to all. In summary, there are six points:

Once you become a source of infection:

The fungus inside onychomycosis is invisible to the naked eye and is a source of infection that often spreads pathogenic fungi to the outside world. Onychomycosis can spread the fungus to other parts of the body due to scratching, causing new ringworm; it can also cause ringworm in family members and others. Modern medical research has shown that onychomycosis can spread to the genitals of lesbians, causing difficult-to-cure gynecological diseases such as candidal vaginitis and candidal vaginitis. Onychomycosis bacteria can also invade deep tissues of the human body, causing infection of deep tissues and organs, and even endangering life.

Second, there are many complications:

Severe cases of onychomycosis can cause pain and discomfort. Moreover, the muscles inside the affected nail are exposed or compressed by the thickened nail. Once it is injured by various injuries, bacteria can easily penetrate directly, thus causing complications such as paronychia, onychomycosis, and pyoderma of the fingers. A disease that causes patients to develop severe systemic symptoms such as erysipelas or cellulitis.

Three impacts on daily life:

Nails have great physiological significance for us. All tasks humans do, such as threading a needle, writing, cooking, typing, weaving, and playing the piano, cannot be done without the assistance of nails. Once you suffer from onychomycosis, this kind of work will be disrupted. Nails and toenails grow at the ends of hands and feet to protect them. Once they become diseased, the hands and feet will easily be injured by collisions. Besides, scratching an itch is troublesome without nails. Having onychomycosis on the feet will definitely be detrimental to walking and running, and it will also make wearing shoes and socks awkward and troublesome.

Four influences on aesthetics:

As the saying goes, "Hands are a person's second face." The beauty of hands directly affects a person's temperament. The beauty of hands lies largely in the nails. Having onychomycosis on the hands does affect the appearance. Patients may even feel ashamed and embarrassed when shaking hands with others, not to mention other more intimate and close actions.

5. Restricted Work:

The consequences of nail damage are not limited to the aesthetic aspect, but may affect or even endanger the patient's work, especially those who are in the public eye and have strict hygiene requirements. Such as doctors, nurses, catering industry, silk weavers, public relations and other jobs. There was a chef who was proficient in cooking all kinds of food. He could make all kinds of dishes look good, smell good and taste good. Originally, he had no problem finding a job, but in the end he could never find a good job. All star-rated hotels and large restaurants refused to keep him. Every time recruiting companies tasted his dishes, they praised them highly. However, they would be horrified when shaking hands with him and try to make things difficult for him or they might be afraid of getting into trouble due to onychomycosis. Therefore, opportunities are always missed. There are countless examples like this in our lives.

6. Produce abnormal psychological disorders:

Patients with onychomycosis often have an inescapable sense of embarrassment and frustration, especially when long-term treatment is ineffective. Especially when certain aspects, such as work, marriage, life and social interaction, are affected and fail due to onychomycosis, the psychological blow to the patient is greater than that of normal people, and he often develops a sense of inferiority.

How to deal with thick toenails

(1) Surgical nail removal: The affected nail is removed under local anesthesia. This method causes large wounds, bleeding, and is prone to infection. Generally, you will feel more pain after the operation. Since it only treats the symptoms but not the root cause, the results are usually not ideal and it is easy to get re-infected. Moreover, patients with heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. are not suitable for surgical treatment.

(2) Oral medication: Simply taking antifungal drugs such as griseofulvin, fluconazole, itraconazole (Sporanox), etc. has a certain therapeutic effect and is convenient. However, because this type of drug must reach the deck where the fungus is parasitic to exert its antibacterial effect, and because its solubility in water is low and slow, and its absorption and metabolism are very fast, the dosage is large and the use time is long. In addition, oral medications have side effects and are prone to relapse after discontinuation of medication, so they are not suitable as a routine treatment for onychomycosis.

(3) Topical therapy: Topical therapy is generally used to treat onychomycosis. Depending on the different agents, there are mainly soaking, local application of medication, and packing and scraping. The treatment requires the removal of the diseased nail, so it is generally not as convenient as oral administration, but it is safe, painless and has no side effects. As long as the medicine is selected properly, the effect will be ideal. Use pure Chinese medicine bath therapy (for external use) to treat onychomycosis (tinea manuum and tinea pedis). The main ingredients include: Chinese herbal medicines such as Smilax glabra, Sophora flavescens, Dictyophora indica, Bombyx batryticatus, Whole worm, Centipede, and White Flower Snake. Use large doses and high concentrations, and wash and soak for more than 20 minutes each time. The treatment is carried out by soaking the hands and feet locally (generally the entire nail plate needs to be soaked) to allow the drug to penetrate deep into the nail plate and the stratum corneum of the skin, completely killing all fungi that are parasitic in the stratum corneum of the nail plate and the surrounding skin, so that the onychomycosis can be treated as a whole and cured, eliminating the occurrence of recurrence. Patients with onychomycosis can grow new nails at the base of their fingers after taking the medication for fifteen to twenty days. Continue taking the medication until all the new nails have grown out and all the diseased nails have been cut off. The disease is then eliminated and cured, and there will be no side effects during the treatment.

How to prevent thick toenails

Bath method: Soaking your feet in warm water will soften the skin around your toenails and reduce inflammation. Aluminum nitrate also has therapeutic effects when added to over-the-counter antibacterial solution-type medications. After soaking your feet, dry them and apply an antibacterial ointment.

Medication: Do not take for more than 2 weeks.

Cotton helps: Place a small piece of cotton between the toenail and the skin.

Use oil: Apply baby oil or olive oil around your nails to make the skin soft.

Leave some space; don't wear shoes that are too tight, open slippers or sandals are better.

Don't cut the corners of the nails: Don't cut them too short, and don't deliberately trim the corners of the nails too deeply.

Roomy shoes: should allow all toes to move freely.