Since more than 20% of the world's population is currently infected with fungus on their feet and sometimes also on their hands, many people know how unpleasant this disease is and what consequences it has. However, not everyone knows which microorganisms cause this disease and what types of nail fungus there are.
In addition to the forms of the disease, their specific characteristics and treatment methods, it would be helpful to know how many different types of fungi lead to the destruction of nails and damage to different areas of the feet and hands.
Causes of the disease and its symptoms
As for the causes of the disease, everything can be quite complicated, since a person easily becomes infected with a fungus, both due to the weakness of his body and the fact that he is exposed to constant contact with infected people or objects.
The main causes of the disease are currently:
- visiting saunas, showers and public swimming pools;
- Increased sweating of the feet;
- using someone else's shoes or hygiene products;
- Weak immunity and so on.
Manifestations of the fungus in the affected areas include the following symptoms:
- Formation of scales on the skin of the feet and nails;
- peeling skin and itching;
- appearance of cracks;
- thickening of infected skin and nails;
- changes in nail color;
- Destruction of the nail structure.
Important!
In any case, toenail fungus and all other forms of its manifestation cause big problems, which is why it is worth dealing with the prevention and treatment of the disease in a timely manner.
Forms and types of diseases
In this case, everything is quite complicated, since the types of fungal nail diseases are distributed according to different criteria.
The classification is as follows:
- Depending on the penetration depth and location of the fungus;
- Depending on the size of the nail thickening;
- By type of pathogen;
- By developmental stage (early, second, advanced).
If we take the type of pathogens as an example, then in this case the patient will have to study the names in Latin for a long time, so it is not worth delving too deeply into unnecessary information with names, it is better to understand them and describe in detail the manifestationsof nail fungus and how this all affects the nail plates.
Classification according to penetration depth and location on the nail
The forms of the disease are divided into the following points:
- Distal. This type of onychomycosis occurs on the outermost part of the nail (free) and is characterized by a change in color and the beginning of delamination with destruction of the structure. Additionally, the spot begins to grow larger;
- Laterally. The main signs are similar to the previous form, but the color of the nail changes on one or both sides of the nail;
- Surface white. This form of the fungus is manifested by the appearance of multiple spots on the nail, which ultimately lead to its complete destruction;
- Proximal. The disease originates in the cuticle (it becomes inflamed) and gradually spreads to the entire nail, destroying it;
- Total onychomycosis. The color of the entire nail plate changes, which leads to faster destruction.
Classification according to the size of the nail thickening
In this classification there are only three forms, which allows you to distinguish the degrees of compaction that a nail infected with fungus is subject to.
In this case it is:
- Normotrophic form. In this form of the disease, individual foci of disease appear on the nail that have a slightly different color. The thickness of the nail does not change;
- Hypertrophic form. The nail begins to thicken, becomes discolored, deformed, gradually collapses and walking is no longer so comfortable for the person;
- Onycholytic. In this form, nail fungus leads to detachment of the layer from the finger, and if you delay treatment to the point where everything goes so far, you will not have to think about saving the nail.
Of course, the types of toenail fungus vary depending on the pathogen. There are three main types of microorganisms, but there are also their own variants.
Classification according to pathogen type
Three types of pathogens can be distinguished, each of which has its own subspecies. It is worth noting that these microorganisms can also manifest themselves on the hands, but since hand hygiene is more common, this occurs less often.
The distribution looks like this:
- Mold. This is one of the simplest forms of fungus, as mold cannot penetrate deeply into the affected area. However, manifestations on the toenails are still possible. The main signs are a color change from black to green. Occasionally, patches of the same color may appear on the skin of the fingers. There are more than 5 types of mold;
- Dermatophyte. There are 3 main pathogens that cause more serious symptoms. The appearance of gray and yellow stripes, peeling of the nail and, what is worse, microorganisms of this type can infect the entire foot;
- yeast fungus. This fungus is known because it belongs to the Candida genus, which is also responsible for causing thrush. Features of the symptoms when infected with such a fungus are a decrease in the thickness of the nail, a change in its color to gray, detachment and damage to the finger, up to its inflammation.
It is worth noting that due to the presence of subspecies, only a specialist can prescribe the correct drugs against the fungus; an independent selection of remedies is simply useless.
Finally
Some experts identify other forms of the disease by considering the manifestations of the disease on the hands. However, if you are guided by the species known to science, you can understand what type of fungus it is based on the symptoms that appear.
However, this does not mean at all that you can self-medicate in this way, since there are other diseases that lead to a change in the color of the nail, as well as its peeling. For this reason, if fungus suddenly appears on your nails, you should immediately consult a doctor, for example a dermatologist, and comprehensively solve this problem.