Which doctor treats toenail fungus?

Are your nails discolored, losing their luster, becoming brittle and falling off, or falling off the base of the nail?This is likely to be onychomycosis, or fungus, a dangerous disease that is very difficult to treat and often recurs, especially if you delay a visit to the doctor.Which doctor treats toenail fungus and what does the right treatment look like for onychomycosis?

Types of nail fungus and symptoms

Fungal infections account for up to 15-40% of all nail diseases.Most often, the causative agents are trichophytons - parasitic fungi, and less often - candida - yeast fungi.Risk factors are:

• male gender;
• increased sweating of the feet;
• nail injury;
• visiting public baths and swimming pools;

• immunosuppression due to diabetes mellitus and HIV infection, long-term use of corticosteroids;
• wearing synthetic socks and shoes made from non-natural materials.

Clinical manifestations of nail fungus are diverse.With this in mind, modern medicine identifies six main forms:

1. White superficial - at first, the superficial layer of the nail plate is affected, and then the degenerative process spreads deep into the tissue.Most often, this variety appears as a collapsing white lesion;less commonly, there may be a white line.
2. Normotrophic - the thickness and shine of the nails remain the same, the plate only changes color, and white and yellow spots and stripes appear.
3. Hypertrophic - the nail constantly thickens and becomes deformed due to the active division of skin cells located under the nail plate.
4. Atrophic - nails become gray-brown, while their thickness is constantly decreasing, as a result of which the nail bed can be completely exposed.
5. Proximal - relatively rare.Lesions affect the folds of the nail, while the end of the nail remains intact for a long time, that is, not damaged.
6. The entire nail plate is involved in the pathological process and often develops against the background of reduced immunity.

Second medical opinion

Experts from leading Russian and foreign medical institutions will give their opinion on the results of tests and examinations, comment on previously made diagnoses and prescribed treatment.

"With onychomycosis, the nail plate is often disconnected from the underlying dermis, so it can easily be removed accidentally or on purpose. Doctors call this condition onycholysis."

Which specialist should I contact?

Which doctor treats nail fungus?In most cases, a dermatologist will help solve this problem.The doctor will conduct an objective examination and laboratory tests to determine the cause of the patient's dystrophic nail lesion.Only after this the appropriate drug therapy is selected.

In complex clinical cases, the help of a more specialized specialist - a mycologist - is needed.These are dermatologists who deal exclusively with fungal diseases of the skin, hair and nails.

"If you don't know which doctor treats nail fungus, make an appointment with a dermatologist. Usually this is enough to make a diagnosis and start therapy in time."

Diagnostic method

If there are suspicious signs, such as changes in the shape and thickness of the nail, suspicious spots and stripes, collapse, the doctor must carry out laboratory diagnostics before prescribing treatment.For this purpose, altered nail plates are collected - some of them are carefully cut with special tweezers.The resulting biomaterial is subject to:

• microscopic examination - the results are obtained almost immediately, because the spores and mycelium of the fungus are clearly visible under the microscope;
• culture research - the results are evaluated only after 0.5-1.5 months, during which time the fungus grows to form colonies.This method allows you to identify the type of causative pathogen, as well as assess its sensitivity to antifungal drugs.

"Polymerase chain reaction—the creation of multiple copies of a single piece of DNA—is only used in difficult diagnostic cases when culture cannot determine the type of causative fungus."

Therapy

It is important to know which doctor to contact for nail fungus, because delayed treatment is not only a cosmetic, but also a medical problem.It turns out that onychomycosis increases the risk of the following conditions:

• pain and discomfort in the legs;
• difficulty walking and wearing shoes;
• disharmony in the areas of professional and personal life;
• generalized fungal infection on the skin of the legs and arms, groin;
• infection of other family members;
• increased sensitivity of the body to fungal antigens with the development of bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis;
• bacterial - fungal skin infections violate the integrity of the dermis, and pathogenic and conditional bacteria easily enter the resulting microcracks.

Therefore, treatment is necessary in all diagnosed cases of nail fungus.Therapy is divided into two types:

1. Topical antifungal - the drug is applied directly to the nail plate.
2. Systemic antifungal - the drug is taken orally, and through the bloodstream it reaches the "problem" site.

Currently, combined treatment is used for onychomycosis, when the local application of drugs (nail polish or medicated cream) is combined with drugs.Topical monotherapy is less effective because the keratin and the adjacent epithelial scales prevent the drug from penetrating the nail plate.Therefore, the concentration of active components can be reduced by a thousand times.Therefore, local therapy is only possible in the early stages of superficial nail damage and in the presence of contraindications to systemic antifungal agents.

"If a family member is diagnosed with nail fungus, the whole family is treated at the same time, because onychomycosis is a highly contagious disease."

After the course of treatment, the doctor must prescribe a control test - microscopy of the nail plate.If there is no fungus in the biomaterial, then the person is considered to have fully recovered.In the future, it is important to follow the preventive rules to avoid re-infection:

• use safety shoes when visiting hotels, gyms, public baths and swimming pools;
• apply antifungal powder and absorbent to the feet - according to the signs;
• wear socks made of natural fabrics;
• trim nails regularly using individual pedicure accessories;
• replace old shoes with new ones, as they may contain large amounts of harmful fungi.

A simple rule: the earlier the treatment is started, the more effective it is - in the case of onychomycosis it works more than ever.Therefore, do not delay your visit to the doctor if you notice that the appearance of your nails has changed.

Which doctor should I see for toenail fungus?

If you suspect onychomycosis, you should seek help, for example, from a general practitioner.The doctor will prescribe tests, after which he will make a diagnosis and give a referral to a specialist.