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Grzybica is widespread among people, incl. actively practicing sports and suffering from diabetes. The disease develops insidiously without any obvious symptoms. It is caused by fungi of the dermatophyte family that attack the skin of the feet and nails. Ringworm likes warmth and humidity, so be careful in the sauna, public swimming pool, and shower.
The development ofringwormis favored by wearing plastic shoes, in whichfeetusually sweat a lot. You can also get infected by using the things of an infected person, e.g. from guest slippers.
Ringworm: who is at risk of becoming infected?
Mycosis is most often caught by athletes, diabetics, suffering from peripheral circulation disorders. There are many places where you can come into contact with pathogenic fungi. But why is it enough for some to step into a public shower barefoot once to catch a disease, and for others it is okay to even walk in slippers bought in a used-clothing store? There are many reasons and many groups of people who are more prone to mycosis than others.
» The most numerous are high-performance athletes. They wear shoes that are not always well dried and aired after previous training. More often than average people also use saunas, swimming pools or generally available showers. But it doesn't stop there. The sports shoe must fit tightly around the foot, and then the toes are squeezed, the foot is sweating.
» People with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to fungal attack. As a result of diabetes, their skin becomes dry and prone to micro-injuries. Fungi and bacteria can easily penetrate the defenseless skin, devoid of natural protection (lipid coat), and the higher blood sugar level than in others creates exceptionally favorable conditions for their development. Mycosis in diabetics is also favored by obesity and the resulting overload of the feet as well as inaccurate skin care, often justified by limited efficiency and poor eyesight.
» Another group of people susceptible to mycosis is suffering from circulatory disorders peripheral, that is, all complaining about the so-called cold feet. Malnourished and hypoxic skin of the feet is easily damaged, in addition, it is less sensitive to pain stimuli and the patient often does not feel that it has rubbed the skin. Mornings heal worse than in he althy people, so the fungi have more time to penetrate the epidermis. For those at risk of mycosisalso include asthmatics who use steroid drugs. They weaken the body's protective barrier and promote infections and the so-called superinfections with pathogenic microorganisms, including fungi and yeasts.
» People with chronic rheumatic diseases are also more at risk of mycosis. It is caused not only by steroids, commonly used in treatment, but also by deformation of the joints of the feet.
» The same applies to people with foot defects. Transverse and longitudinal flat feet, halluxes, hammer toes - all the defects that change the anatomical shape of the foot, facilitate the development of the disease. This is because the skin of the feet is sometimes compressed in places that are not adapted to it, it is more easily macerated and injured.
» Mycosis is also an ailment accompanying most disorders of the immune system, which does not effectively protect us from the attack of fungi.
We are also guilty ourselves. Mycosis favors walking without your own flip-flops in the hotel or in the pool. It is similar when we wear full shoes all day long and those with a sole that is too narrow (along the entire length), i.e. shoes that do not match the foot's width. In such a shoe there is a great tightness, the foot sweats more, which makes the skin more susceptible to the penetration of fungi.
Mycosis from the feet moves to the nails
Nail conditionsnail diseasesare caused by dermatophytes, which affect the feet more often than the hands. The disease can be confined to one nail or spread to another. Fungi can penetrate the nail plate in two ways. The first leads through the so-called the free edge of the nail, i.e. the part that is systematically cut. The second leads through the nail matrix, i.e. the part that forms its base and connects to the finger.
The nail plate disease develops as a consequence of onychomycosis of the skin of the feet. The penetration of fungi through the matrix is possible if the skins are cut too often and too much. Fungi can also get inside the plate as a result of a nail injury or wearing too tight shoes (constant pressure weakens the nails).
At first it is difficult to tell that something wrong is happening to the nails, because the beginnings of the infection are invisible. With time, however, from the side of the fungus penetration, white vertical lines become visible. The plate gradually changes its appearance - discoloration appears, first whitish, slightly later yellow, and finally brown. The tile becomes uneven. The nail crumbles, it is visibly thicker, it begins to delaminate and it becomes more and more difficult to trim and file it accurately.
Treatment of ringworm: pulse therapy
The type and duration of therapy are adjustedto the advancement of the disease. When the changes on the nails are small, sometimes it is enough to apply medicated varnish or sticking patches with a fungicide. In the case of extensive lesions, oral medications are used - the drug substance reaches the inside of the nail and accumulates at the base of the plate, blocking the development of fungi. Among the drugs there are those that should be taken for at least 3 months, and sometimes for a year.
In modern treatment of mycosis, the so-called pulse therapy. It consists of taking a medicine by mouth that reaches the infected area (through the bloodstream). The drug is taken for a week, then a three-week break is taken and the pill is taken again for a week. This treatment lasts 3 months, but the product accumulated in the nail plates lasts for 9 months. Sick nails should be trimmed gradually - just like with regular care. The regrowths are now he althy and the medicine protects them against new fungal attack.