Types of onychomycosis

With more than 20% of the world's population currently infected with foot fungus and sometimes hand fungus, many people are aware of how unpleasant this disease can be and what it can lead to. However, not everyone is familiar with information about which microorganisms cause this disease and what types of nail fungus there are.In addition to the form of the disease, its specific characteristics and treatments, it is useful to know how many different types of fungi can cause nail destruction and damage to various parts of the feet and hands.

Causes of disease and its symptoms

With this disease, everything can be very complicated, since a person is very susceptible to fungal infections, both due to his physical weakness and due to his frequent contact with infected people or objects.At present, the main causes of the disease are as follows:

• Visit to saunas, showers and public swimming pools;
• Increased sweating of the feet;
• using someone else's shoes or hygiene products;
• Weak immunity, etc.

Fungal manifestations in affected areas include the following symptoms:

• Scale formation on the skin of feet and nails;
• Skin peeling and itching;
• cracks appear;
• Thickening of infected skin and nails;
• Changes in nail color;
• Destroys nail structure.

important!In any case, onychomycosis and any other form of its manifestations can cause a lot of trouble, so it is worth promptly dealing with the prevention and treatment of the disease.

Forms and types of disease

In this case, everything is very complicated, since 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;
• Thicken according to nail size;
• By pathogen type;
• By stage of development (early, second, advanced).

If we take the example of types of pathogens, then in this case the patient will have to learn the Latin names for a long time, so it is not worth delving too deeply into unnecessary name information, it is better to know the Latin names. A detailed look at the signs of nail fungus and how this all reflects on the nail plate.

Classified by depth of penetration and location on the nail

In this case, the form of the disease is divided into the following:

• remote. This type of onychomycosis occurs on the very ends of the nails (free ones) and is characterized by a color change and the onset of delamination and destruction of the structure. Additionally, the spots begin to grow in size;
• side. The main signs are similar to the previous form, but the color of the nail changes on one or both sides of the nail;
• The surface is white. This form of fungus manifests itself in the appearance of several spots on the nail, eventually leading to its complete destruction;
• near end. The disease originates in the cuticle (inflammation) and gradually spreads throughout the nail, destroying it;
• Panonychia. The color of the entire nail plate changes, leading to faster damage.

Classification by size of nail thickening

This classification has only 3 forms and allows you to differentiate the degree of compaction of fungal-infected nails.In this case it is:

• Normal nutritional form. With this form of the disease, separate lesions appear on the nail, which are slightly different in color. There is no change in the thickness of the nails;
• Hypertrophic type. The nails begin to thicken, change color, deform, and gradually collapse, making walking no longer so comfortable;
• Nail stripper. In this form, onychomycosis causes the nail layer to peel away from the finger, and if you delay treatment and let it get to this point, you don't have to think about saving the nail.

Of course, the types of toenail fungus itself are distributed according to the pathogen. There are three main types of microorganisms, but they all come in different varieties.

Classification by pathogen type

In this case, three types of pathogens can be distinguished, each with its own subspecies. It's important to note that these microorganisms can also be present on hands, but this happens less frequently because hand hygiene is more common.The distribution is as follows:

• Mold. This is one of the simplest forms of fungus because the mold cannot penetrate deep into the affected area. However, manifestations on the toenails are still possible. The main sign is the change in color, from black to green. Sometimes, spots of the same color may appear on the skin of your fingers. More than 5 types of molds;
• dermatophytes. There are 3 main pathogens that can cause more severe symptoms. Greyish-yellow streaks appear, nails fall off, and worse yet, this microorganism can infect the entire foot;
• yeast. This fungus is well known because it belongs to the genus Candida, which is also responsible for the development of oral thrush. Symptoms of infection with this fungus are characterized by loss of nail thickness, gray color, loss, damage to the fingers and inflammation.

It is worth noting that due to the existence of subspecies, only a specialist can prescribe the right drug for the fungus; choosing a drug independently will be useless.

at last

Some experts consider the symptoms of the disease on the hands to identify other forms of the disease, but, guided by the types known to science, you can learn about the type of fungus by observing the symptoms that appear.But that doesn't mean you can self-treat in this way, as there are other conditions that can cause nail color changes and their flaking. Therefore, if fungus suddenly appears on your nails, you should immediately see a doctor, such as a dermatologist, and take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem.