Toenail Fungus also known as Onychomycosis, "Ringworm OF The Nail". It develops in warm and moist conditions, then it starts to grow under the nail and feed off the keratin in the nail, thus producing nail fungus.

To recognize the signs of toenail fungus, it is necessary to differentiate common signs of toenail fungus as early as possible, because this infection is sometimes hard to eradicate.  Now, let's see what the signs are:

1. You feel itchy around your toes area.
2. Yellowish or brownish or any other simple discoloration of the nail, even on the slightest part of it.
3. The thickening of the nails. Sometimes you can feel it while you try to cut your toenails.
4. Distorted in shape.
5. You feel pain in your toes or fingertips and it's uncomfortable to walk because the nail rub against your shoes.
6. Brittle nails that split easily. It means your nail can separate from the nail bed.
7. In critical stage it has a foul odor.

Those signs of toenail fungus mostly you can find them on your big toenail. In fact, most of feet fungal infections occur exclusively on the big toenail, also the "favorite victim" for nail loosening, being the first to fall off when the fungal infection enters into the advanced phase. Both podiatrists and dermatologist are fully qualified to prescribe a treatment if you feel uncomfortable visiting a doctor.

Basically, it's a nightmare to have nail fungus infections. It's like stuck between the rock and the hard place.  Exposing your feet to the public is embarrassing, because the ugly shape and the bad smells of your nails. But, on the other hand, keeping your feet inside your shoes for long periods of time will only makes the infection worse. And if you work in an office environment you can't wear sandals to work. This kind of situation can be really frustrating.

However, treatments do exist. Some over-the-counter treatments are toenail fungus topical treatment for early stages. Unfortunately you can't get over night results. Nail fungus has to be treated continuously until it is completely gone.

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• NAIL FUNGUS THAT IS ITCHY

There are people who try to cure their nail fungus by taking off their entire nail, which will only offer a short term solution because when the nail regrows it will grow with the infection. Another important factor to consider is that when you have this condition you are putting others at risk, and risking it spreading to other parts of your body. Obviously the consequences of this are that you should find a way to treat the fungus infection before you cause it to spread.

A physician may suggest that you get rid of the infected nail, or for several people they might advise you to use a sort of laser treatment called photodynamic therapy. These methods of curing nail fungus although they are sometimes effective they can create problems. The problem being that whilst they stop the symptoms they do not kill the fungus, so often people find that the nail fungus reappears. Taking this into account it suggests that you need to find a treatment which builds your body’s immune system, kills the fungus so that it doesn’t return and doesn’t have any bad side effects.

Below you can find the best tips to prevent fungus on your nails:

• Nails must be kept clean and dry always and breath fresh air.
• Don't wear shoes that are tied too tight, wearing shoes for a very long time can cause your feet to perspire and build fungus. Don’t wear high top boots if not needed.
• Change socks immediately if it becomes damp or wearing absorbent socks is more preferable.
• Always be careful when borrowing of nail cutter and other tools from other people. You might get infected by the fungus on those tools, because if the user has fungus infection it might get to you.
• Trauma injury on your toes can be one of the reasons for toenail fungus. It's because injury allows the bacteria to get in. People with low immune system have a great chance of getting this disease. Once it occurs in one toenail it spreads to other nails at the same feet. So be careful when you walk around the house on bare foot.

Now that’s to prevent getting nail fungus. What if you already got them? First you can make sure that you do have toenail fungus. On my next article I will give you some hints what the symptoms are. If it turns out that you have them, you can try over the counter treatments that can help. Or in severe cases, consult your doctor to get the help you need.

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